Belgium 0-1 France
Michael Olise settled a tight contest in Brussels with a stunning solo goal in the 88th minute, collecting the ball inside his own half and driving forward before curling a finish into the bottom corner.
It made it two wins from two for new coach Zinedine Zidane, who made nine changes from Friday’s win over Türkiye and gave debuts to Lucas Da Cunha and Esteban Lepaul.
Kylian Mbappé missed out after injuring his knee in that game, and Désiré Doué and Da Cunha both hit the woodwork before Olise’s late intervention. France sit top of Group A1 with six points, three clear of Belgium and Italy.
ALSO: Bafana Bafana break into FIFA’s top 50 for first time in 15 years
Türkiye 1-4 Italy
Italy raced into a 3-0 lead inside the first half through Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Frattesi and Michael Kayode, before Cenk Yılmaz pulled one back for Türkiye early in the second half.
Sebastiano Esposito restored the three-goal cushion three minutes later to complete a 4-1 win, a strong response to Italy’s opening defeat to Belgium.
Georgia 0-0 Ukraine
A quiet night in Tbilisi ended goalless, with neither side able to find a breakthrough.
Northern Ireland 0-0 Hungary
Northern Ireland and Hungary also played out a stalemate in Belfast.
AFCON 2027 qualifiers round two fixtures
Romania 2-4 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina scored four times in Bucharest, through Gigović, Muharemović, Tabaković and Mahmić, to come away with the win despite Romania replying twice through Bîrligea and Cicâldău.
Sweden 3-1 Poland
Sweden eased past Poland in Stockholm, with Nygren, Ayari and Viktor Gyökeres all scoring, with a Piotr Szymański goal briefly threatening a Polish comeback.
Armenia 2-3 Montenegro
Montenegro edged a five-goal thriller in Yerevan. Piloyan’s own goal put the visitors ahead early on, before Serobyan levelled for Armenia.
Krstović restored Montenegro’s lead before the break, only for Sperzyan to draw Armenia level again after the hour. Latković settled it in the 89th minute.
AFRICA PICKS: Football tips and predictions
Latvia 0-0 Cyprus
Latvia and Cyprus shared a goalless draw in Riga.
– AFP
Photo: Joris Verwijst/Soccrates/Getty Images
