Nations League: Wales v Turkey, France v Italy and more – clockwatch | Nations League

Wales 0-0 Turkey. A spate of bookings in Cardiff. Kenan Yıldız is late on Connor Roberts. An in-flight Yıldız is then cynically pulled back by Harry Wilson. Then Yıldız is tugged back by Brennan Johnson; another yellow. And finally Barış Alper Yılmaz is booked, rather weirdly it has to be said, after being lightly brushed by Joe Rodon in the Wales penalty box, then taking exception to Rodon’s attempt at hauling him back to his feet. Rodon makes himself scarce, having got away with one there.

GOAL! Belgium 1-0 Israel (De Bruyne 21). Kevin De Bruyne does what his Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland couldn’t manage earlier in Kazakhstan. A goal! Their fellow Citizen, Jérémy Doku, tees it up with a run down the left and cutback.

GOAL! Slovenia 1-0 Austria (Šeško 16 pen). Benjamin Šeško gives the hosts the lead from the spot in Ljubljana.

Wales 0-0 Turkey. Harry Wilson sends a free kick in from the left. Ben Davies tries to steer home an acrobatic shot at the far stick but his shot is deflected out for a corner. The set piece is half cleared, but Connor Roberts curls a sensational ball in from the right. It drops to Joe Rodon, six yards out and all alone. He’s been played onside, and has to score, but leans back and shanks his sidefooted effort yards over the bar. Oh dear. What fine play otherwise, though. What a ball in from Roberts.

Wales 0-0 Turkey. Wales are well on top here. Harry Wilson makes a nuisance of himself near the centre circle to spook Turkey into shipping possession. The ball breaks to Ethan Ampadu who strides forward and lashes a fierce shot well wide right of goal. The early signs suggest that Craig Bellamy’s new high-speed pass-and-move style could be fun.

Wales 0-0 Turkey. Another good chance for Aaron Ramsey, who meets Sorba Thomas’s right-wing corner but gets his feet in a tangle at the near post. The ball clanks wide. It might not have been easier to score, but it was probably just as easy to hit the target. Either way, chalk it up as another poor connection.

France 1-0 Italy. That was a nightmare start for Italy, and in particular Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who was snoozing and snoozing hard as Bradley Barcola waltzed off with his swag. What pressing by Barcola, though. If only Euro 2024 favourites France had been similarly proactive in Germany, huh.

Wales 0-0 Turkey. The hosts have started on the front foot in Cardiff. Connor Roberts storms down the right flank and crosses for Aaron Ramsey, who throws himself at the ball, eight yards out, and flashes a header over the bar. Actually on second glance, the ball hit his shoulder. A slightly scrappy end to an otherwise swashbuckling move.

GOAL! France 1-0 Italy (Barcola 13 sec)

Here we go, then. Let’s see if the 12 teams playing tonight can add to today’s running tally of one Nations League goal.

The teams are out all across Europe. Patriotic folk music blaring out all over the shop. The rain’s pelting down in Cardiff. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.\

France and Italy were both disappointing at Euro 2024, in their own distinct but not particularly eye-catching ways. The journey onwards and upwards begins tonight at the Parc des Princes, and despite everything that went on back there in Germany, it’s still a showdown to whet the appetite. Here are how the teams line up.

The new Wales boss Craig Bellamy speaks to S4C. “Sorba Thomas has energy and aggressiveness with pressing but also runs in behind … he deserves his place … there’s been a lot of work this week … it was definitely needed … the exciting part is to see how it comes out today … the combinations and the links … the understanding between the players … see how far they’ve come in such a short place of time.”

Pre-match postbag. “We appear to have arrived early in Nikšic – the hastily arranged venue for Monday’s game against Montenegro. I’m making some progress with getting my head around the polycentric and digraphic nature of the language formerly known as Serbo-Croat but cannot understand why Karl Darlow has bagged the number one shirt but doesn’t start. Any clues? And it’s a bit of a long shot but does anyone know of a bar here showing the Wales-Turkey game?” – Alun Pugh

“Maybe Erling Haaland should have picked the country of his birth (England) rather than the country of his father? He’d have been just as mobile as Harry Kane at Euro 2024, and might have scored a few more too” – Andy (not that one) Flintoff

Craig Bellamy names Aaron Ramsey as captain of his first selection as Wales manager. There’s no Dan James, who is hamstrung, but Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson offer some threat up front. Neco Williams, whose goal against the Turks last November allowed Wales to dream of automatic qualification for 36 minutes, starts at the back, while Nantes winger Sorba Thomas earns a recall.

Turkey – pound for pound, the most entertaining team at the Euros (see below) – start without captain and Ballon d’Or nominee Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who has injury concerns and is wrapped in cotton wool on the bench. Edge-of-seat-bothering 19-year-old superstar-in-waiting Arda Güler starts.

FULL TIME: Lithuania 0-1 Cyprus. Ioannis Pittas the difference-maker in Kaunas on 34 minutes. Only five attempts on target between the teams, which isn’t great but four more than Kazakhstan and Norway mustered. Stay buckled in, kids.

The game in Cardiff is a rerun of last autumn’s Euro 2024 qualifier that ended Welsh hopes of automatic qualification. Masochists can relive the match by clicking below.

Team news: Wales v Turkey

FULL TIME: Kazakhstan 0-0 Norway. The Premier League: the best league in the world! The Premier League: not as good as the Kazakhstan national football team! It’d long been suspected, but now conclusive proof is in. Erling Haaland has scored seven goals in his first three matches this season for Manchester City, but tonight the big man played all 90 minutes for Norway in Almaty yet didn’t get a single shot on target. QED. Ipswich Town and West Ham United want to have a long think.

Preamble