France and Germany beat fierce rivals in Nations League

France and Germany had stand-in forwards to thank for wins over fierce rivals in the Nations League on Monday.

With Kylian Mbappé again absent , Randal Kolo Muani started up front for France and scored a goal in each half in a 2-1 victory away to Belgium.

The Belgians must be sick of the sight of Kolo Muani, who also netted in a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture in Lyon last month. It was also the Paris Saint-Germain striker’s shot that deflected into the net when France beat Belgium 1-0 in the last 16 at the European Championship during the summer.

On his debut for Germany, Jamie Leweling had a second-minute strike ruled out after a video review but had more luck with a rasping drive in the 64th to seal a 1-0 triumph over the Netherlands in Munich.

Leweling, a forward for Stuttgart, was one of four players making their first starts for Germany on a night fans paid tribute to four players — Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan — who recently retired from national-team duty. Neuer, Muller and Gundogan were at Allianz Arena to receive the acclaim of Germany fans.

There were also victories for Italy, which beat Israel 4-1, and Hungary, a 2-0 winner in Bosnia.