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• Belgium 3-1 Israel: De Bruyne double hands Red Devils winning start

  Kevin De Bruyne scored twice either side of half-time to hand Belgium a winning start to their Nations League campaign, beating Israel 3-1 at the Nagyerdei Stadion.

  De Bruyne got the ball rolling with a fine finish early on, only for Timothy Castagne's own goal to level things up on neutral ground in Hungary.

  But the Red Devils rallied after the break, with Belgium's captain scoring from the spot shortly after Youri Tielemans had restored their advantage.

  Belgium took the lead in the 21st minute as Manchester City's Jeremy Doku skipped to the byline before finding his club team-mate De Bruyne, who finished emphatically.

  Despite their dominance, Belgium were pegged back nine minutes before half-time as Anan Khalaili's goal-bound header deflected off Castagne and beyond Koen Casteels. 

  But Tielemans restored their advantage three minutes after the restart, firing into the bottom corner after Lois Openda's neat touch. 

  De Bruyne grabbed his second of the game four minutes later after Openda was fouled by Raz Shlomo inside the box, finishing confidently from 12 yards.

  Belgium were awarded another penalty soon after, with Openda again involved, only for the RB Leipzig striker to step up and see his spot-kick saved by Yoav Gerafi.

  The Red Devils travel to Lyon on Monday to face France, who were beaten 3-1 by Italy in their opening fixture in Group A2.

  Data Debrief: De Bruyne at the double

  While many of Belgium's 'golden generation' have come and gone, De Bruyne proved once again he is still the jewel in the Red Devils' crown.

  The City midfielder contributed an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.64 to Belgium's 3.53 total, also playing more passes in the final third (34) than any other player on the pitch. 

  He also created two big chances for his team-mates, with his 10 touches in the opposition box a total only bettered by Doku (11) for the hosts.

• France 1-3 Italy: Azzurri launch stunning fightback after 12-second setback

  Italy conceded inside 12 seconds but recovered to stun France in their Nations League opener, fighting back for a memorable 3-1 victory at the Parc des Princes.

  France hit the front almost straight from Italy kicking off as Giovanni Di Lorenzo took too long on the ball, allowing Bradley Barcola to steal possession before driving into the box and side-footing past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

  Italy should have levelled just five minutes later, but Davide Frattesi could only rattle the crossbar with his header with the goal gaping, then Mateo Retegui diverted the rebound over the top.

  The Azzurri were back on terms through a magnificent goal on the half-hour mark, though. Sandro Tonali played a sumptuous flick over the top of the France backline, and Federico Dimarco hammered a brilliant left-footed volley across Mike Maignan and into the far corner.

  Barcola saw an effort deflect narrowly wide of Donnrumma's goal before half-time, but the third goal went Italy's way five minutes into the second half. Youssouf Fofana lost possession cheaply and Luciano Spalletti's men made France pay, Retegui crossing low for Frattesi to slide it home at the far post. 

  Despite France enjoying plenty of possession, Italy extended their advantage with 14 minutes to play, Giacomo Raspadori side-footing past Maignan after being teed up by Destiny Ugodie.

  Antoine Griezmann almost set up a grandstand finish when he curled narrowly wide of the left-hand post, but that was as close as France came in the dying stages, with the full-time whistle prompting a chorus of boos from the home fans.

  Italy face Israel in their second game in Group A2 on Monday, while the pressure is on for Didier Deschamps' Bleus as they host Belgium on the same day.

  Data Debrief: Azzurri end Paris Bleus 

  Friday's victory was Italy's first over France at the Parc des Princes, with the Azzurri recording three draws and one defeat in the teams' previous four meetings on the ground.

  Only two Italy players found the net across those four previous matches, with Alessandro Del Piero and Pierluigi Casiraghi both netting in a 2-2 friendly draw in 1997.

  Prior to Dimarco's equaliser, a stunning volley teed up in expert fashion by Tonali, the last Italy player to score versus France in a competitive match was Danielle De Rossi, who netted in a 2-0 group-stage victory for the Azzurri at Euro 2008. 

• 'Maresca one of the best', says Madueke after flying season start

  Noni Madueke believes new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is one of the best in the business and is looking forward to flourishing under his stewardship.

  Madueke, who joined the Blues from PSV Eindhoven in 2023, started the new Premier League campaign in fine form in the early tenure of the Italian.

  The 22-year-old has scored four goals in four appearances this season, netting his first professional hat-trick in their 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last month.

  Madueke managed just 11 goal involvements (eight goals and three assists) across all competitions last term, but feels Maresca's arrival has helped him add another level to his game.

  "He's a great guy, a good manager, a very good tactician. He's helping me a lot with my game, little details," Madueke told talkSPORT.

  "Things that you wouldn't necessarily think of yourself. I always feel like a great manager will say 'this can help you score more' or this can help you get in behind more'.

  "Little things that I feel like he's helping me with."

  His impressive start to the campaign has resulted in a first senior England call-up under interim head coach Lee Carsley for the Three Lions' upcoming Nations League fixtures.

  Only Taylor Harwood-Bellis (21) has made more appearances than Madueke (19) for England's Under-21's side during Carsley's time in charge, helping them to success at the European Under-21 Championship last year.

  However, when it was suggested that Carsley's appointment had given Madueke more motivation to impress, he insisted that his full focus remained on Chelsea.

  "Not so much England, more so because I had a new coach at Chelsea and you want to impress your new coach at your club, and just play well,’ Madueke said.

  "Every time I get the chance to play for Chelsea, it's such a massive club, I feel like it's a thing of pride, and you want to do the best you can.

  "I always want to improve my game, so this season I just wanted to start as well as possible."

  Madueke managed just 13 starts in the Premier League last season, and faces another year of fighting for his place in Chelsea's line-up. 

  The Blues welcomed 11 new faces to Stamford Bridge during the transfer window, with Pedro Neto offering the biggest threat to his starting spot on the right-hand side of their attack. 

  But Madueke is relishing the prospect of competition at the club, saying that he will embrace the situation with ambitions of succeeding at the highest level.

  "If you want to play for one of the top clubs in the world, you’re going to have to deal with competition," Madueke concluded.

  "That’s not something you should shy away from, that’s something you should just take head on.

  "If you believe you’re a good player, you want to be around good players, because it increases your level.

  "You don’t want to feel like you’re going to play every week and can just cruise through because that allows you to drop your standards a little bit.

  "So it’s good that we have a lot of great players in the building, so the training level is better and, ultimately, we’re better on the pitch when it comes down to it."