New Belgium head coach Mark van Bommel made an impressive start as the Red Devils won their Nations League opener against Italy in Rome.
The result marked a miserable return as Azzurri boss for Roberto Mancini, who guided his country to EURO 2020 glory before twice finishing third in the Nations League.
Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappe was injured scoring the winning goal as France began their campaign by winning away to promoted Turkey.
Northern Ireland, Armenia, Ukraine, Montenegro and Sweden also won on the second night of action on Nations League matchday one.
Belgium vs Italy: Nations League joy for Van Bommel
In his first job since leaving Antwerp in 2024, former Netherlands international Van Bommel will have enjoyed the quality of his side’s goals.
New Paris Saint-Germain signing Mika Godts completed a mazy run by scoring the opener from inside the box at the Stadio Olimpico.
Benfica winger Dodi Lukebakio’s goal was arguably even more spectacular in the 2-0 win, completing a lightning counter-attack by approaching the box from near the halfway line, producing a flourish of trickery to keep the ball and striking from distance.
Full Nations League results: September 25 2026
In League B, Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres scored either side of a reply from Dennis
Man as Sweden beat Romania 2-1 in Solna.
Danylo Sikan’s first-half winner proved the only goal of the game as Ukraine defeated Hungary 1-0 in Budapest, where Oleksandr
Nazarenko was sent off in the 92nd minute for the visitors.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia spurned a 65th-minute penalty before Shea Charles scored in the 99th minute of Northern Ireland’s 1-0 win over Georgia in Tbilisi.
Despite prolific captain Robert Lewandowski leading the line for the hosts, Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina shared a 0-0 draw in Warsaw.
Georgii Arutiunian and Artur Garibyan’s goals gave Armenia a 2-0 home win over Latvia in Group C, with Nikola Krstovic and Milutin Osmajic scoring as Montenegro came from behind to beat visitors Cyprus, who went ahead through Marcus Edwards.
Nations League fixtures: September 26 2026
Here’s how Saturday’s fixtures look.
| League | Fixture | BST start time | ET | PT |
| B | Slovenia vs Scotland | 14:00 | 09:00 | 06:00 |
| C | Iceland vs Estonia | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 |
| C | Faroe Islands vs Kazakhstan | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 |
| C | San Marino vs Finland | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 |
| C | Bulgaria vs Luxembourg | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 |
| A | England vs Spain | 19:45 | 14:45 | 11:45 |
| C | Albania vs Belarus | 19:45 | 14:45 | 11:45 |
| C | Slovakia vs Moldova | 19:45 | 14:45 | 11:45 |
| B | North Macedonia vs Switzerland | 19:45 | 14:45 | 11:45 |
| A | Czechia vs Croatia | 19:45 | 14:45 | 11:45 |
Where to watch the Nations League: TV channel, live online stream
Viewing information for the new season worldwide is available by checking UEFA’s full list of Nations League broadcasters.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
