Denmark upsets France & the Netherlands destroy Belgium

On Friday, June 3^rd, 2022 Denmark shocked the current title – holder in France as Denmark won the match with a final tally of 2 – 1 in their opening Nations League game which was held at the Stade de France, that ended the world champion’s 7 – match winning streak.

After Karim Benzema put the host side ahead, the substitute Andreas Cornelius scored 2 – goals in order to give Denmark their 1^st win over France since way back at the 2002 World Cup. Cornelius evened the score with an excellent volley then popped in the game – winner during the 88^th – minute of match play.

France was undefeated over their last 20 – matches. France will travel to play Croatia next who lost to Austria with the final score of 3 to 0 at home in Group – A1.

Meanwhile, Memphis Depay scored 2 – times as the Netherlands put together their 1^st – win versus their bitter rival in Belgium in 25 – years with the final tally of 4 to 1 in Brussels, in a different group of the top – tier League – A.

Just one – week following the Champions League final that was unfortunately blemished by crowd chaos, there were apparently no reported incidents at the Stade de France this time around.

France was under serious duress during the opening 10 – minutes of the match, but they gradually found the right formula to create their 1^st – good opportunity during the 13^th – minute of the contest for Benzema who was back at the Stade de France only 1 – week following Karim helping the Real Madrid football club claim the Champions League championship title trophy for Real Madrid.

That move fueled a great spell of dominance for France, with Benzema and Kylian Mbappé combining well in order to dismantle Denmark’s defensive set – up.

While on the other hand Denmark managed to keep the host nation under control by closing down space on the pitch exceptionally well.

Mbappé, who appeared to have suffered some sort of an injury, was replaced by Christopher Nkunku after the halftime break. Nkunku definitely had an immediate significant impact on the match, and during the 51^st – minute of game action he set up Benzema, who dribbled his way through a bunch of defenders and got off a nice low shot for his 37^th – international goal score.

However, Cornelius managed to outwork the offside trap, and he snapped off a sweet shot that found the back of the net during the 68^th – minute of the contest. Christian Eriksen came close to scoring during the closing moments of the match, but France’s goal – keeper Hugo Lloris made an outstanding quick reflex save in order to deny that low shot by Eriksen.

Cornelius then provided the victory for Denmark when he connected with a ball that was lofted up, and then Cornelius beat the defender William Saliba so that he could fire in a shot at the top corner of the goal.

In Brussels, Belgium started the game out well, but they rapidly began to fade as their preparations for the World Cup started with a distressing uncharacteristic defensive performance in the absence of their 1^st – choice goal – keeper in Thibaut Courtois.

“Mostly we were really distracted,” says Leandro Trossard. “We gave them way too much space. When we got the ball, we immediately lost it. The Netherlands have shown that they are a very strong team that can hurt everyone.”

The Oranje had 11 – shots on goal during just the 1^st – half, and they broke the deadlocked tie 5 – minutes before the halftime break. Once Frenkie De Jong collected a pass with his back to the goal, Steven Bergwijn abruptly turned towards the goal as he unleashed a 25 – meter bullet into the back of the net.

Romelu Lukaku struggled throughout the night as he left the pitch after just 27 – minutes of game action following him getting a knock, and he managed to only touch the ball a few times during the time that he played during the contest.

Depay doubled the lead for the Netherlands’ following a bad pass from Dedryck Boyata that was picked off in midfield of the pitch. Steven Berghuis sent off the counter with a long pass for Depay who was able to beat the goal – tender Simon Mignolet with a powerful and impressive shot.

Denzel Dumfries pushed the lead in the game to 3 – 0 during the 61^st – minute of match play, and Depay finalized his brace just after from Daley Blind. Michy Batshuayi managed to score a worthless consolation goal during the unimportant stoppage time of this game.

The 4 – group winners in League – A will qualify for the final four in June of 2023. The group winners throughout the lower leagues will be granted promotion.

Sources:

Petrequin, Samuel. “Denmark upsets France, Netherlands thrashes Belgium”. The Associated Press. June 3, 2022.