Favorites night: Italy's second half rhapsody, France's routine

In the France–Ukraine match, it all started with an early goal from Olise and ended with a late strike by Mbappe. On the other hand, the Italians waited until the second half to find their rhythm and score freely

France took a narrow 1-0 lead into halftime of their World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, a scoreline that could easily have been more decisive given the visitors’ dominance.

Les Bleus struck early, breaking the deadlock in the 10th minute with their very first attack. Bradley Barcola surged down the left flank before squaring the ball to an unmarked Michael Olise, who calmly slotted home for his third international goal. The goal is HERE!

Olise nearly doubled his tally eight minutes later after a defensive lapse by Ukraine, but goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin reacted sharply to deny him. Moments later, Kylian Mbappe had a chance of his own, firing over the bar after a neat French passing move in the 22nd minute.

Aurelien Tchouameni also came close shortly before the break, continuing a half in which France were firmly in control. Ukraine, on the other hand, barely managed to threaten and rarely ventured into the French penalty area, leaving Trubin as their most decisive figure in keeping the match alive.

The second half opened with France continuing to press forward. In the 55th minute, Michael Olise picked up a rebound on the edge of the area and fired at goal, but his attempt went wide.

Ten minutes later, France created a massive opportunity to extend their lead. After a fine build-up and a cross into the box, Artem Dovbyk’s header looked certain to find the net, only for Ibrahima Konate to clear the ball off the line with a crucial intervention in the 65th minute.

Almost immediately, Ukraine came within inches of equalizing in their best chance of the match. A free-kick delivery forced Mike Maignan into a save, and Illia Zabarnyi’s follow-up header crashed against the woodwork in the 66th minute.

France soon responded again through Olise, whose solo run ended with a dangerous shot in the 68th minute, though it missed the target. In the 75th minute, Olise led a quick counterattack and sent a perfect pass to Bradley Barcola, who went one-on-one with the goalkeeper but lifted his shot over the bar.

The decisive moment came in the 82nd minute. Kylian Mbappe produced a dazzling counterattack, dribbling past Zabarnyi before finishing clinically. It was his 52nd goal for France, sealing a 2-0 victory for Les Bleus. The goal is HERE!

Italy - Estonia 5-0 (0-0)

Italy went into halftime frustrated as their dominance failed to produce a breakthrough, with the score locked at 0-0 against Estonia.

The Azzurri set the tone early, with Federico Dimarco wasting two good chances in the opening minutes. In the 4th, he found space on the edge of the box but dragged his effort just wide of the right post. Four minutes later, he fired again, this time missing to the right of goal as the ball rolled out for a goal kick.

Italy’s clearest opportunity of the half came in the 21st minute, once again through Dimarco. He found himself one-on-one with Karl Hein inside the six-yard box, but the Estonian keeper produced a superb save to deny what looked like a certain goal.

Ten minutes later, tension rose when the referee reviewed a possible penalty incident inside Estonia’s area. After a lengthy check at the monitor, the decision was no penalty, and play resumed.

Just before halftime, Mateo Retegui squandered another golden chance, heading over the bar from close range in the 44th minute.

Italy turned a frustrating first half into a commanding performance after the break, scoring five goals to sweep aside Estonia.

Estonia tried to make an impression early in the second half when Mattias Kait tested Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low strike from distance in the 52nd minute, but the Italian keeper saved comfortably. From that moment on, however, it was all Italy.

Moise Kean broke the deadlock in the 58th minute, rising high in the box to power a header into the top right corner. Just over ten minutes later, Mateo Retegui doubled the lead with a clinical finish into the bottom left corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. This is the FIRST, and the SECOND goal!

The floodgates had opened. Two minutes after Retegui’s goal, Giacomo Raspadori made it 3-0 with a close-range header, punishing Estonia’s static defense. This is the GOAL!

Retegui struck again in the 89th minute, this time with another powerful header tucked inside the left post, before Alessandro Bastoni capped the rout in stoppage time, heading home in the 92nd minute to complete a dominant 5-0 second half for the Azzurri. This is the FOURTH and FIFTH goal!

2026 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS - EUROPE

Thursday

Kazakhstan - Wales 0-1 (0-1)

/Moore 24/

Georgia - Turkey 2-3 (0-2)

/Davitashvili 63, Kvaratskhelia 90+8 - Muldur 3, Akturkoglu 41, 52/

Lithuania - Malta 1-1 (0-0)

/Gineitis 90+6 pen - Satariano 83/

Luxembourg - Northern Ireland 1-3 (1-1)

/Dardari 30 - Reid 7, Charles 46, Devenny 69/

Slovakia - Germany 2-0 (1-0)

/Hancko 42, Strelec 55/

Bulgaria - Spain 0-3 (0-3)

/Oyarzabal 5, Cucurella 30, Merino 38/

Netherlands - Poland 1-1 (1-0)

/Dumfries 28 - Cash 80/

Liechtenstein - Belgium 0-6 (0-1)

/De Cuyper 29, Tielemans 46, Theate 60, 70 pen, De Bruyne 62, Fofana 90+1/

Friday

Denmark - Scotland 0-0

Faroe I. - Croatia 0-1 (0-1)

/Kramaric 31/

Greece - Belarus 5-1 (4-0)

/Karetsas 3, Pavlidis 17, Bakasetas 21, Kourbelis 36, Tzolis 63 - Barkovskiy 72 pen/

Iceland - Azerbaijan 5-0 (1-0)

/Palsson 45+2, Johannesson 47, 56, Gudmundsson 66, Hlynsson 73/

Italy - Estonia 5-0

/Kean 58, Retegui 69, 89, Raspadori 71, Bastoni 90+2/

Moldova - Israel 0-4 (0-2)

/Peretz 15, Solomon 35, Baribo 59, Gloukh 77/

Montenegro - Czech R. 0-2 (0-1)

/Cerv 3, Cerny 90+6/

Slovenia - Sweden 2-2 (0-1)

/Lovric 46, Vipotnik 90 - Elanga 18, Ayari 73/

Switzerland - Kosovo 5-0 (4-0)

/Akanji 22, Embolo 25, 45, Widmer 39/

Ukraine - France 0-2 (0-1)

/Olise 10, Mbappe 82/