Fans of the Polish national team were already looking forward to Saturday, October 12 game with Portugal, but the day before the Nations League schedule included several interesting matches. For example, in group No. 3 of Division A, where the Germans faced Bosnia and Herzegovina away, and the Hungarians had to tame the Netherlands at home. It was also worth taking a look at group no. 1 of Division B, because there were a lot of Polish threads there. Game Ukraine – Georgia, for obvious reasons, took place in Poland, specifically at the Lech Poznań stadium. The Czech Republic – Albania was a revenge for the Polish group of our infamous qualifiers Euro 2024.
The Hungarians had the Netherlands at their fingertips
The favorites in the clash between the Hungarians and the Netherlands were undoubtedly our rivals from Euro 2024. Ultimately, in September, the Dutch defeated Bosnia 5:2 and took a point away from the Germans (2:2), and the Hungarians, with the same set of rivals, won only 1 point (a home draw with Bosnia 0:0 and a thumping 0:5 from the Germans away). And yet, until the break, the Magyars were leading 1-0 after a goal by Roland Sallai, who avoided offside in the 32nd minute and gave the Hungarians a goal from close range.
After the break, the Dutch completely dominated the game, having over 80% of the ball. But they couldn't shoot themselves. In addition, in the 79th minute Virgil van Dijk was sent off with a red card (for two yellows, the first one had been shown just three minutes earlier), but five minutes later… the Oranje equalized. Specifically, Denzel Dumfries with a perfect header after Cody Gakpo's cross. They couldn't afford more and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Germans had it easy, but they got themselves into trouble
The Germans were the favorites from the very beginning. In goal they had… a debutant, because Alexander Neubel had not played for the national team before, and now he had to replace the injured Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. Another thing is that the Bosnians did not make his debut particularly difficult for a long time. The Germans were already leading 2-0 at the break after Deniz Undav's double. Although when the Bosnians aimed at the goal, they scored a goal. Specifically Edin Dzeko and it seems that Neubel should have done more because he had that header on his gloves. However, the Germans were not surprised again, winning 2-1.
Ultimately, Friday's results in group 3 meant that Germany leads with seven points. Behind them are the Netherlands (5 points), Hungary (2 points) and Bosnia (1 point). On Monday, October 14, the Hungarians will face Bosnia away, while Germany will host the Netherlands at home.
Ukraine kept Georgia and the Czechs took revenge on the Albanians
As for Division B, it suffered a setback… stadium in Poznań. In the first half of the Ukraine – Georgia match, the lights above one of the stands went out. The match was interrupted for a while, but over time she came back and played, and after about ten minutes the light came on. The Ukrainians were quite unexpectedly leading 1-0 at the break after a beautiful goal by Mudryk (unexpectedly, because in September they lost both matches, and the Georgians won both). What's more, they kept this result. They were helped by VAR, which caught Davitashville's goal offside in the 90th minute, but the effect is the effect.
However, in the second match of this group, the Czechs took successful revenge on Albania for the defeat (0:3) and draw (1:1) in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. After two goals by Tomas Chory, our southern neighbors won 2:0 and jumped to second place, having 6 points, the same as Georgia, which is still leading (Albania and Ukraine are next, having 3 points each).
Group No. 4 of Division B is, in turn, a 2-2 draw between Iceland and Wales (even though the Icelanders were already losing 0-2) and a 1-0 triumph for Turkey over Montenegro. As a result, the Turks lead the group with 7 points, followed by Wales (5 points), Iceland (4 points) and Montenegro (0 points). However, the matches are from Division C, i.e. Estonia – Azerbaijan i Slovakia – Sweden, ended with a 3-1 triumph for the Estonians and a 2-2 draw, which the Swedes may very much regret as they were leading 2-0. They maintained the lead in group no. 1, but they have the same number of points as their today's rivals (7 each).
Nations League matches on Friday, October 11:
- (Division A) Bosnia and Herzegovina – Germany 1:2
- (AND) Hungary – Netherlands 1:1
- (B) Ukraine – Georgia 1-0
- (B) Czech Republic – Albania 2-0
- (B) Iceland – Wales 2:2
- (B) Türkiye – Montenegro 1-0
- (C) Slovakia – Sweden 2:2
- (C) Estonia – Azerbaijan 3:1