Germany put five past the reigning European champions Italy in Group A3 of UEFA Nations League. Meanwhile, England suffered their biggest home defeat in almost a century at the hands of Hungary.
Die Mannschaft took the lead ten minutes into the match through Joshua Kimmich. The Bayern Munich midfielder burst through the middle of the Italian box to get to the end of a David Raum cross, which he guided past Gianluigi Donnarumma for the opener.
Ilkay Gundogan doubled Germany’s lead from the spot on the stroke of half-time after Alessandro Bastoni had barged into Jonas Hofmann from behind. Thomas Muller made it 3-0 six minutes after the interval, smashing a volley in from close range after a scuffed clearance from Bastoni.
Timo Werner grabbed a quickfire double in the 68th and the 69th minutes, first tapping in from close range and then capitalizing on a defensive error to poke the ball past Donnarumma.
The Azzurri did pull two back late as Wilfried Gnonto got himself on the scoresheet, following up on Manuel Neuer’s save from Federico Dimarco, while Bastoni added a second with the last kick of the game.
As such, Italy’s chances of moving to the final four diminished – as did England’s. The Three Lions suffered their worst home defeat since 1928 against Hungary, who climbed over Germany to take the lead in their group after four games.
Gareth Southgate’s men fell behind in the 16th minute through Roland Sallai’s unstoppable volley from close range, but it wasn’t until late that England collapsed remarkably. Seventy minutes in, Sallai put the Hungarians two goals up by poking the ball past Aaron Ramsdale from close range at the end of a Martin Adam cross.
In the 70th minute, Adam set up Zsolt Nagy to thunder the ball into the net from just outside the box to put the Hungarians 3-0 up.
England’s woes continued after the referee sent off John Stones for dangerous play in the 82nd minute. To make matters worse, Daniel Gazdag added a fourth late, making it a horrendous night for Southgate and co. The 2020 Euro finalists currently lie at the bottom of their group, without a win in four.
2022/23 Nations League: Group A3
| # | Team | Matches played | Goal difference | Points |
| 1 | Hungary | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | Germany | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | Italy | 4 | -2 | 5 |
| 4 | England | 4 | -5 | 2 |
