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UEFA Nations league: Belgium crushes Poland 6-1; Scotland eases past Armenia

Substitute Leandro Trossard scored twice as Belgium put its Netherlands nightmare behind it to thump Poland 6-1 in a pulsating Nations League A game on Wednesday.

Published : Jun 09, 2022 10:21 IST

Alex Witsel equalised for Belgium and the side never stopped scoring since, netting five more in the match.
Alex Witsel equalised for Belgium and the side never stopped scoring since, netting five more in the match.
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Alex Witsel equalised for Belgium and the side never stopped scoring since, netting five more in the match.

Substitute Leandro Trossard scored twice as Belgium put its Netherlands nightmare behind it to thump Poland 6-1 in a pulsating Nations League A game at the King Baudouin Stadium on Wednesday.

Belgium, coming off a 4-1 home drubbing by its Dutch neighbour on Friday, fell behind when Robert Lewandowski netted just before the half-hour mark, but levelled before the break through Axel Witsel.

It dominated the second period and after goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Trossard (two), Leander Dendoncker and debutant Lois Openda moved second in Group Four after two rounds, above Poland in third.

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Belgium visits bottom side Wales on Saturday while Poland travels to the Netherlands. Poland hosts Belgium in its return fixture on Tuesday.

The home side never looked flustered after falling behind, having scored in every game since a 1-0 loss to France at the 2018 World Cup, a run of 46 consecutive matches.

It also had Eden Hazard running the show as he impressed in his 66 minutes on the pitch, showing flashes of quality after a season blighted by injury and poor form at Real Madrid.

But Poland took the lead against the run of play when Sebastian Szymanski fed Lewandowski in space in the box and the forward completed a typically composed finish for his 76th international goal.

Belgium was level three minutes before halftime as Witsel fired into the back of the net from the edge of the box, a reward for its growing dominance.

It peppered the Poland goal with shots in the second period and took the lead when Hazard slipped the ball to De Bruyne in acres of space in the box and the midfielder supplied a cool finish.

That was the goal to open the floodgates, and Trossard grabbed a quickfire brace, his second a superb curling effort into the top corner.

Dendoncker then crashed home a 30-yard shot under no pressure from the wilting visitor, and Openda completed the rout in injury-time as he marked his first cap with a neat finish over the goalkeeper from Thorgan Hazard's clever pass.

SCOTLAND EASES PAST ARMENIA

Scotland began its Nations League campaign with a 2-0 win over Armenia on Wednesday as Anthony Ralston and Scott McKenna scored their first international goals.

Scotland dominated the game and took the lead through Ralston when he made a run to the far post where the wing back -- making his full debut -- connected with Stuart Armstrong's cross to head the ball across goal and into the net.

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Defender Scott McKenna struck five minutes before halftime with a towering header from John McGinn's corner and he also had an effort from point-blank range ruled out by VAR for an offside in the build-up.

Scotland moved on to three points in Group 1 of League B -- the same as Armenia and Ukraine, which beat Ireland in Dublin.

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