France takes Mbappé off and beats Belgium, but Haaland is the star of the Nations League.

France bҽat Belgium again in the Nations League on Monday, even though they left star forward Kylian Mbappé on the bench.

Two players that Mbappé used to play with at Paris Saint-Germain, Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembélé, scored two powerful goals in a 2-0 win in Lyon.

This win helped France catch up in the top Nations League group after they lost to Italy 3-1 in Paris on Friday. Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean scored goals in Italy’s 2-1 win over Israel on Monday. Italy is now in first place in the four-team group.

Norway bҽat Austria 2-1 thanks to a goal made by Erling Haaland in the 80th minute. In Slovenia’s 3-0 win over Kazakhstan, star player Benjamin Sesko scored a hat trick. Haaland and Sesko used to play for the same club in Austria, at Salzburg.

Mbappé was rested from the start, even though France was trying to avoid a third straight loss. This was two months after losing to Spain in the quarterfinals of the European Championship and missing out on the title.

The new star player for Real Madrid didn’t have much time to prepare for the season after Euro 2024, but he played the whole game against Italy. For the game against Belgium, coach Didier Deschamps slowly brought him on. In the 67th minute, he replaced Kolo Muani with his leader.

France has now won four straight games against Belgium during the Mbappé era. France bҽat Belgium in the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup, the semifinals of the 2021 Nations League, and the round of 16 of the 2024 Euro.

The last time France lost a game was in 1981, in Brussels, in a World Cup qualifier. It was 43 years ago today, on Monday.

Belgium started out very determined, and France withstood a wave of early charges in a situation that was getting more and more tense. The Belgian forward Loïs Openda was in the middle of most of the action and fights.

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“Belgium gave us a lot of trouble, especially in the first 25 minutes,” Deschamps admitted.

In the 30th minute, France took the lead when Kolo Muani smashed in a shot from close range after Dembélé’s weak, bouncing shot was saved by goalie Koen Casteels.

In the 57th minute, Dembélé was more determined. He cut in from the right side of the penalty area and scored with a rising left-foot shot. Mbappé, who was one of the subs, joined Dembélé in celebrating and helped him get to his feet.

Before scoring his 32nd goal for Norway in just his 35th international game, Haaland had to wait and wait. There was a 2-½-minute video review check in the middle.

In the 80th minute, with the score tied at 1-1 against Austria, the ball came back to Haaland near the penalty area. The striker dribbled past two players and put in a low shot. The VAR check for offside went on and on before it was confirmed that the goal had been scored.

Norway and Slovenia are tied for first place in their second-tier group with four points each. They will play each other in Oslo on October 10.

Norway’s captain Martin Odegaard left the game in the second half because of an ankle injury. This caused worry for his team, Arsenal, which has three tough away games in eight days: at Tottenham, at Atalanta in the Champions League, and then at Manchester City, who is currently winning the English Premier League.

Turkey is ahead of Wales in the second-tier group by goal difference. Both teams have four points after wins.

Kerem Aktürkoglu scored Turkey’s first goal in the second minute of their 3-1 win over Iceland. This came just a few days after he moved from Galatasaray to Benfica, which gave him a second chance to play in the Champions League this season.

Wales bҽat Montenegro 2-1 in the rain after scoring twice in the first three minutes. Harry Wilson scored the second goal with a slide shot from 25 meters out.

Romania bҽat Lithuania 3-1 in the fourth minute of a night full of early goals. The game was in Group 2, which is the third level. In the same group, Kosovo didn’t score their first goal until the ninth minute in Cyprus. Vedat Muriqi scored a second soon after, and they won 4-0.

As a result of pictures going around of fans holding a pro-Serbia political sign, Cyprus could be sued by UEFA. Cyprus does not agree with Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of separation from Serbia.