France triumph in six-goal thriller

France earned a rollercoaster 4-2 home win over Croatia in an entertaining top-tier Nations League match on Tuesday with the outcome a carbon-copy of their clash in the 2018 World Cup final.

The French, who were down 1-0, turned things around in remarkable fashion. Their first came courtesy of some sublime link-up play between Anthony Martial and Antoine Griezmann, with the latter scoring. Two minutes later, Martial's goalbound shot was deflected in.

The Croatians suffered their second successive defeat after a 4-1 drubbing at European champions and Nations League holders Portugal.

"We played with greater style, apart from the first 30 minutes when we were dominated physically and were not precise enough technically," France manager Didier Deschamps told TF1 television. "I changed seven players between the first and the second game. This system needs to be repeated in order to be integrated by the players."

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic was unhappy with his team's defending, especially at set pieces. "We're letting in goals far too easily," Dalic told reporters. "It's a fact, just like in Portugal we keep leaving rival players unmarked in dead ball situations. We have a lot of work to do if we are going to be competitive in the Nations League and in next year's Euros."

Belgium and Portugal secured comfortable wins on Tuesday night while England and Denmark played out a goalless draw. Harry Kane thought he won it for England in stoppage time, only to see his goalbound shot cleared off the line.