England and Norway, where “special goalscorers” Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and Elling Holan (Man City) played well, have been promoted to UEFA Nations League A.
England beat Ireland 5-0 at Wembley Stadium in London on the 18th (Korea time) in the sixth leg of Group B of the UEFA Nations League in 2024-2025 season.
England had a landslide 3-0 victory over Greece three days ago, displaying robust performance of eight goals in two matches. With five wins and one loss, England (+13 goal difference) was on par with Greece (+7) with 15 points, but had a significant lead in goal difference to secure the top spot in Group 2. England succeeded in promotion. The top spot in each Group B will be promoted to League A.
England operated a 4-2-3-1 formation. Kane was positioned at the front line. Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Noni Madueke were placed at the second line. Curtis Jones and Conor Gallagher were positioned in the midfield. The four backs were formed by Lewis Hall – Mark Gehi – Kyle Walker – Valentino Livramento. Jordan Pickford defended the goal.
The troubleshooter was Kane. Kane has displayed strong patriotism ahead of the upcoming A-match game in November. As a total of nine players including Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Levi Colwill, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Aaron Ramsdale failed to join the national team due to injury, the “captain” Kane openly expressed discontent. “I think England comes first above all else. England comes first before the club. The national team is the most important.”
England ended the first half 0-0 with Kane’s penalty kick in the eighth minute of the second half. Kane neatly scored a penalty kick that Bellingham had earned. It was Kane’s 69th A-match goal. Kane played 103 A-matches. In the process, England had a numerical advantage as Kane was sent off. England, where Kane opened, continued to score goals.
Gordon volleyed a cross from the right to open the scoring. It was his A-match debut goal. In the 13th minute of the second half, Guehi changed the direction of Madueke’s corner kick to a header and Gallagher finished the match. It was also his A-match debut goal. England continued its momentum with Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Anthony Rogers, Dominic Solanke and Bruce Bowen.
비아그라 did not know how to cool down its scoring position. Bowen scored with a non-stop shot after Bellingham’s pass in the 30th minute of the second half. Four minutes later, House Belis, who also received a fantastic cross from Bellingham, shook the Irish net with a header. Both players were thrilled to have scored their A-match debut goal.
England, where Thomas Tuchel, who coached Kim Min-jae in Bayern Munich, will take office next year, has successfully completed the system of acting coach Lee Kasley.
Norway has also confirmed its promotion to League A. On the same day, the Norwegian team won a landslide 5-0 victory over Kazakhstan at its home ground. Norway, which has three more points, has secured the top spot in Group B, beating Austria with 11 points. It is the first time that Norway has advanced to League A.
Norway, which needed a win to secure promotion on its own, had “Monster” Holan. Holan continued his amazing scoring ability in the national team, bringing honor to his country. Holan scored back-to-back goals in the 23rd and 37th minutes of the first half. Alexander Seurlott added another goal for Norway, leading 3-0 in the first half.
Norway continued its offensive in the second half. It was Holan again this time. He swung his right foot into the net with a shot from the penalty arc in the 26th minute of the second half to score a hat trick. Antonio Nusa scored the decisive goal five minutes later.
Holan has scored a whopping seven goals in six Nations League matches. Holan, who had no relationship with the international stage, achieved promotion to the Nations League A with his remarkable scoring ability.
France, which already qualified for the quarterfinals in Group A, secured a 3-1 victory over Italy in its sixth and final match at Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italy. France and Italy both had four wins, one draw and one loss, but France (+6), which is leading by a narrow margin in goal difference, overtook Italy (+5). The team that secured the first and second place in each group of League A will advance to the quarterfinals.
In France, midfielder Adrien Rabiot became the top contributor to the victory. He scored multiple goals in the second minute of the first half and the 20th minute of the second half to give France three points.
Israel beat Belgium 1-0, but failed to avoid relegation from League B. Both teams also had one win, one draw, and four losses, but Belgium (-3) was ahead of Israel (-8) on goal difference. Israel had no choice but to accept the tearful move to League B.