London, Nov 19: Italy earned the right to host a star-filled Nations League finals that will feature the current No. 1-ranked team and three of the past four World Cup champions.
Italy’s 2-0 win at Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday sealed top spot in Group 1 above the Netherlands, which beat Poland 2-1. That group winner had been pre-selected to host the Final Four next October.
Top-ranked Belgium also booked its place in that knockout bracket, lifted by Romelu Lukaku’s 56th and 57th international goals in a 4-2 win over Denmark. Belgium and Italy join Spain and France, who topped groups that finished Tuesday. That means the tournament will feature the winners of the World Cup in 2006, 2010 and 2018. A total of 18 Nations League games were played Wednesday to complete a difficult 2020 program for Europe’s 55 national teams amid a spike in the coronavirus pandemic. A swath of players and team staff tested positive for for COVID-19 during this international break, including Italy coach Roberto Mancini was was absent in Sarajevo. The games also resolved promotion and relegation issues in the four-tier Nations League.
Andrea Belotti and Domenico Berardi scored for Italy midway through each half in a win that relegated last-place Bosnia from the top tier. Had Italy slipped up, the Netherlands or Poland could have taken top spot with a win. The Dutch sealed a 2-1 win with late goals from Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum. Belgium could have lost top spot in Group 2 to Denmark but eased into a 3-1 second-half lead when Lukaku struck with trademark powerful finishes.
Belgium gave up a freakish own goal when Thibault Courtois let a pass slide under his foot, but Kevin de Bruyne immediately restored the two-goal margin. England’s 4-0 win over Iceland made it 10 straight losses for the visitors across two editions of the Nations League. (AP)
