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Nations League Roundup: Spain Edge England 3-2, Mbappé Suffers Knee Injury, and Modrić Scores for Croatia
Spain recovered from a deficit to beat England 3-2 at Wembley, Real Madrid confirmed a knee injury for Kylian Mbappé, and Croatia claimed a 2-1 away victory over Czech Republic.
Spain mounted a dramatic second-half comeback to defeat England 3-2 at Wembley Stadium in their opening UEFA Nations League Group A3 clash. Lamine Yamal gave the world champions an early lead in the 2nd minute following a defensive mistake by the hosts. England responded before the break, with Anthony Gordon finishing in the 36th minute and Harry Kane placing a header into the net in the 40th minute to give the home side a 2-1 half-time advantage. However, after Kane struck the crossbar with a 54th-minute penalty, substitutes Álex Baena (60') and Mikel Oyarzabal (74') scored to secure Spain's victory. England head coach Thomas Tuchel expressed frustration over early defensive errors, stating, "I think we did everything today to beat Spain."
Meanwhile, Real Madrid confirmed that Kylian Mbappé suffered a left knee injury while on international duty with France in the UEFA Nations League. Mbappé scored the decisive goal in the 54th minute of France's 1-0 win over Turkey on Friday before being forced off in the 58th minute. Real Madrid released an official statement on Saturday announcing that tests diagnosed him with a hyperextension of the posterior capsule of his left knee. France head coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed the national team would "not going to take any risks" with their captain, who has left the international camp to return to Madrid for treatment and recovery.
Elsewhere in the Nations League, Croatia kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 away victory against the Czech Republic at the Fortuna Arena in Prague. Captain Luka Modrić broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half in the 47th minute, but Adam Karabec drew Czechia level in the 54th minute. Marco Pašalić then headed home the winning goal in the 77th minute following a cross from Ivan Perišić. The result marked a successful return for manager Slaven Bilić in his first match back in charge of the Croatian national team.
Sources: https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQGTFlAJ1btPvT3CKrwkl1Q46iMjidD8gRBwCaOMSMDIYxBWj9iJtkHzOodNqUeB1BGVBrXfADGUvfPVZ-JQdZRcyB1wYxA6mHMKvDNxluy42aFf6m3ihKAuH9syL5XlPNwy93_9OxGlWjU-fJWFyKS87YSi3McnF9iPYN9gb3m6o64z-38YA22mmkgaEg62uvdwdw8= · https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQFs5mrZU9EsQqQeXNaouIYJEBlA89C1jxzQxDBx1jdfwv3SL0p5vtdfcR2AwPgiQ6o6okJvbXZHOxiPP0ZhpYLXpuTpJmWv9okS_fG1bD5P5lMnwG5Fk8vXa0Ilovev74crqBas7Wyq2vX7jupzFCR-mq5xMRoxcjDn6Si-WnlRV5iO2FxNIekMHvbjzwclMZNuBP8OaCChIx3gNFS_85Pq430n7ZEJJ04U0WqWkSX0LETbs0DSe17QwOT4E35AiDr7dX2MuY4Ns7-yioelwTWeIg==
Nations League · Spain · England · Mbappe · Modric
Competition: UEFA Nations League