Denmark and Austria surprise France and Croatia on matchday one

Netherlands thrash Belgium with Memphis brace

MADRID, 3 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Danish and Austrian national teams surprised France and Croatia, respectively, on Friday on the first day of the 2022/23 Nations League, thanks to their victories at the Stade de France (1-2) and at the Gradski stadium Vrt from Osijek (0-3) in group 1 of Division A.

In Paris, a week after the 'Champions League' final, France could not get the three points in a game that was equal at the beginning but soon -in the second half- they faced the 'bleus' with a goal by Karim Benzema. The madridista, brand-new European champion and main contender for the Ballon d'Or, pulled an outstanding maneuver from his hat inside the area.

Benzema accommodated the ball with both legs and on two occasions to get rid of two rivals. His action ended at the bottom of the net after a shot with his left foot. The goal woke up the Danes, who were more involved in the duel as the minutes went by. At 68, in a play by Andreas Cornelius, the draw came.

But it did not stop there because Denmark, with the same protagonist, left Saint-Denis frozen with another goal two minutes from the end. The 1-2 allows the team from northern Europe to be the leader of group A, tied with Austria, which rules over the rest due to better goal difference after the 0-3 endorsed by Croatia.

The pupils of Ralf Rangnick, who has left Manchester and is fully focused on the national team, gave a recital against a Croatia that greatly missed Luka Modric in the starting eleven. The madridista only played the last half hour, when the Austrians were already winning 0-3.

Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch and Marcel Sabitzer scored the goals for an Austria that resolved the match in just 15 minutes and did not have David Alaba, absent for a break.

On the other hand, also in Division A, but in group 4, the Netherlands team paid tribute to Belgium (1-4) in a duel that had a great protagonist, the Barcelona player Memphis Depay, author from a double in Brussels, where Courtois was not, he went down in the previous days.

The Dutch completed the win with goals from Steven Bergwijn -assisted by Frenkie De Jong- and Denzel Dumfries, who put the icing on the victory for the 'oranje'. The Belgian goal was the work of Michy Batshuayi in stoppage time. In this way, the Netherlands leads the group together with Poland, which got rid of Wales 2-1 on Thursday.