France and Italy qualified for the quarterfinal stage of the revamped Nations League on Thursday as England got its revenge on Greece ahead of the imminent arrival of Thomas Tuchel as coach.
France drew 0-0 with Israel in a match requiring a high-security operation in and around Paris, a week after violence erupted in Amsterdam in connection with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv’s visit for a Europa League match. Around 150 Israel supporters were among a crowd of 16,611 inside the 80,000-capacity Stade de France and there was a brief scuffle between some fans at one point in the first half.
The draw was enough to secure France a top-two finish in its group along with Italy, which beat Belgium 1-0 away thanks to Sandro Tonali's 11th-minute goal. They advance to the quarterfinals in March, from which the lineup of the Final Four mini-tournament in June will be determined. Germany and Spain were the first two nations to qualify for the quarterfinals in October.
England won 3-0 in Athens thanks to strikes by Ollie Watkins and debutant Curtis Jones, either side of an own-goal, and that made amends for a humbling first loss to Greece last month at Wembley Stadium. England captain Harry Kane was left out of the team, with Watkins preferred up front, and came on as a second-half substitute.
England has one more match under interim coach Lee Carsley before Tuchel begins his tenure in January as the country's latest foreign-born manager.
Prolific Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was again among the scorers for Norway in its 4-1 win in Slovenia.
Paris on high alert
Soccer took a back seat to security for the France-Israel match, with Paris authorities having been on high alert after last week's incidents in Amsterdam where assaults on Maccabi fans sparked outrage and were widely condemned as antisemitic.
Some 4,000 police officers and security staff were deployed in and around the Stade de France, and the vast number of empty seats made for an eerie atmosphere at a match attended by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Israel’s national anthem was whistled by some fans and Israel players were jeered at times when they got the ball, but the visitors held firm for their first point in qualifying against a France team again lacking a cutting edge without Kylian Mbappé.
Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz saved well from Randal Kolo Muani, Warren Zaïre-Emery and Christopher Nkunku, while veteran midfielder N’Golo Kanté — France’s captain in the ongoing absence of Mbappé — dragged a shot wide.
“There’s frustration and also anger, because we didn’t play well.” France defender Jules Kounde said.
Italy moves clear
Italy moved three points clear of France atop Group 2 in League A ahead of the teams' meeting in Milan on Sunday that will determine their finishing positions.
Tonali tapped into an empty net from a cross from the right to earn Italy its fourth victory from five group games.
Belgium stayed in third place, three points ahead Israel. They meet on neutral territory in Hungary on Sunday, with Israel in the relegation spot and Belgium currently in line to face a two-legged promotion-relegation playoff with a runner-up from second-tier League B — potentially England or Greece.
Kane left out
A day after bemoaning the withdrawals of so many England players for the team's latest matches, Harry Kane was dropped to the bench against Greece with Carsley wanting to give Watkins a rare opportunity.
He took it by scoring in the seventh minute, turning in Noni Madueke's cross. Jude Bellingham hit the post before driving in a 78th-minute shot that also struck the goal frame, rebounded onto goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and went back over the line. Jones' deft back-flick clinched the win on the Liverpool midfielder's senior debut.
Haaland scores again
Haaland moved onto 19 goals for the season for club and country with one of Norway's strikes against Slovenia that kept the team tied on 10 points with Austria in their League B group and virtually guaranteed it being among the second seeds for the World Cup qualifying draw on Dec. 13.
Austria beat Kazakhstan 2-0.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
