Theo Hernandez on Thursday shot France into a UEFA Nations League final with Spain with a last-gasp strike that earned Les Bleus a thrilling 3-2 win from two goals down against Belgium.
AC Milan fullback Hernandez netted his first France goal in the 90th minute of his second international appearance after France had come back from 2-0 down at halftime at the Allianz Stadium in Turin through strikes from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe.
Didier Deschamps’ side face La Roja in tomorrow’s final at the San Siro in Milan after an exciting encounter that Belgium thought they had won in the final minutes when Romelu Lukaku netted from Yannick Carrasco’s cross.
Photo: Reuters
However, with the Red Devils still celebrating, Lukaku’s first-time finish was ruled out for offside.
With the match looking like it was heading to extra-time, Hernandez collected the ball on the left before rifling home the winner.
He had started the match alongside his brother Lucas Hernandez, making the pair the first brothers to play for France since Herve and Patrick Revelli featured in a friendly against Romania in 1974.
“Winning that match from where we were proves the strength of character of this team,” Deschamps told broadcaster TF1. “Nobody thought it possible at halftime, and I understand that looking at the score, but they were here to not leave anything on the pitch and to play in the final.”
The match had been fairly even for most of the opening period, although Hugo Lloris had to be at his best to stop Kevin de Bruyne’s close-range effort in the fourth minute.
Three minutes later, Benjamin Pavard should have done better when he met Mbappe’s cross from the left with a volley that he sent straight at Thibaut Courtois.
Mbappe, who became the youngest ever player to earn 50 caps for France, also fired too close to Courtois midway through the first half.
Belgium’s opening goal came eight minutes before the break, Carrasco cutting inside Pavard and then drilling a low shot between Lloris and his near post.
Three minutes later Lukaku, who flopped in the same stadium last week in a Chelsea shirt, doubled Belgium’s lead with his sixth goal in six games for his country.
The 28-year-old did brilliantly to spin Lucas Hernandez while collecting De Bruyne’s pass down the right flank, before charging into the penalty area and slamming home a high shot that beat Lloris at his near post.
Left with a tough task to make the final, France came out firing after the restart and Mbappe was the key to drawing them level.
First he burned Carrasco in the 58th minute before sending in a low cross that Antoine Griezmann could not turn in.
Then, four minutes later, he tricked his way past Youri Tielemans and passed to Benzema, who flashed home despite being surrounded by Belgium defenders.
He then crashed home the spot-kick that set up an exciting finish after Tielemans’ clumsy foul on Griezmann was spotted following a video assistant referee check.
De Bruyne and Paul Pogba then both had shots saved before the frantic finale saw Lukaku score what he thought was the decisive goal and Pogba smash a free-kick against the bar.
Hernandez then snatched a win that highlighted all the qualities that made France world champions.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS