Northern Ireland frustrated by Hungary, Olise scores stunning winner for France

France beat Belgium 1-0 while Italy returned to winning ways ​with a thumping 4-1 away triumph over Turkey

Michael Olise scored a brilliant solo goal for France as they beat Belgium 1-0. Pic: FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)

Northern Ireland were left frustrated in a 0-0 draw at home to Hungary that looked to be there for the taking.

Patrick Kelly twice went close in the first half and Isaac Price was denied by Balazs Toth late on, but Northern Ireland could not find a goal which would have made it a perfect start to the campaign in Group B2 of the Nations League.

They looked the better side against higher-ranked opposition who struggled to create chances until the latter stages of a night when Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai’s most notable contribution was to charge up the Windsor Park crowd.

There were nervous moments in the closing stages as Ruairi McConville made a key block from Willi Orban and Pierce Charles saved from Alex Toth to preserve his fifth clean sheet in seven competitive appearances for Northern Ireland.

It means Michael O’Neill’s side have lost only one of their last 10 games in Belfast, and they looked resolute again with Hungary managing only one shot on target.

The major frustration for O’Neill will be the number of yellow cards shown by referee Ricardo De Burgos, with four Northern Ireland players – Shea Charles, Jamie Donley, Isaac Price and Ethan Galbraith – going in the book along with the manager himself.

ABSOLUTELY WORLD CLASS FROM OLISE!

'88 - Olise does what he does best. The Bayern man picks up the ball inside his own half before driving straight through the heart of the Belgian defence before finding the perfect finish into the bottom corner.

0-1#VMSport #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/Q0PngNxte3

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) September 28, 2026

France substitute Michael Olise scored two minutes from time as the visitors snatched a late 1-0 win against Belgium in the Nations League, while Italy returned to winning ways ​with a thumping 4-1 away triumph over Turkey.

Fortunes ebbed and flowed in Brussels but ‌Olise kept up France coach Zinedine Zidane’s winning start to his new job with a surging run from midway inside the Belgian half before a superb finish to win the Group A1 fixture.

France were without captain Kylian Mbappe ​and Zidane made nine changes to the side that edged Turkey 1-0 last week but ​it was after bringing on the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Rayan Cherki and ⁠Olise that the French turned the game in their favour.

Desire Doue was a persistent danger as ​he took on the home defence and twice hit the woodwork but Belgium will rue the opportunities ​they spurned.

Italy lost last Friday’s opening fixture of their Nations League campaign 2-0 at home to Belgium in a false start for Roberto Mancini on his return to the coaching job, but in the rain in Bursa they looked ​a very different outfit.

Alessandro Bastoni gave the visitors a ninth-minute lead from a corner and 13 ​minutes later Davide Frattesi pounced on a rebound after Michael Kayode’s shot from the left was parried by goalkeeper ‌Altay Bayındır.

Italy ⁠were 3-0 up in the 27th minute as debutant Kayode hit home a low effort and the visitors finished the half with 10 attempts such was their dominance.

The frenetic nature of the game continued after the break as Barıs Alper Yılmaz pulled one back for Turkey, who made three substitutes ​at halftime, but Italy’s three-goal ​advantage was restored ⁠as Pio Esposito headed home a fourth in the 50th.

Bosnia registered an emphatic 4-2 win away to Romania in Bucharest in Group B4 as former ​great Gheorghe Hagi suffered another setback on his return to the manager's post.

But Sweden ​lead the ⁠group two points above Bosnia after a second home win, this time 3-1 over Poland in Stockholm.

The two Group B2 fixtures ended goalless with Ukraine away in Georgia and Northern Ireland home to Hungary.

Montenegro's Aleksa ⁠Latkovic scored ​a last-minute winner as they won 3-2 in Armenia to ​move three points clear of their opponents on six points atop Group C2 where Latvia and Cyprus drew 0-0 in Riga ​to each pick up their first point.