Zidane and Mancini get first home wins in charge of France and Italy in Nations League

France left it late to beat Belgium 4-1 in the Nations League as Zinedine Zidane got his first home win as the national coach on Monday.

That reinforced France’s control of Group A1, three points above Italy, which beat Turkey 3-1.

Third-placed Belgium slipped four points below France. Turkey has no points.

Zidane started his time in charge of Les Bleus with wins over Turkey and Belgium before being held to a draw by Italy on his home debut on Friday.

France was trailing until the 77th minute on Monday before goals from substitutes Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki and Michael Olise (two).

“The first half was tough; facing a low block is always difficul,” Olise said. "But we kept going and at the end it was good.

"It’s a collective effort, too. He (Zidane) brings in ideas, we follow them — we’ve done that well over the last four matches, we’re going to continue like this."

France was still to book a spot in the quarterfinals. It would have been assured of one of the top two places in the group if it beat Belgium and Italy failed to beat Turkey.

At the Stade de France, Belgium took the lead in the 35th minute. Dodi Lukébakio sprung the offside trap to run onto a magnificent, long pass from Roméo Lavia, raced through one-on-one with debutant Guillaume Restes and powered it over the France goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Doué finally pulled one back for France in the 77th with a low shot into the bottom right corner, and Les Bleus got the match winner in somewhat strange fashion four minutes later.

Maarten Vandevoordt appeared set to save Cherki’s strike but the ball hit the Belgium goalie’s foot and rebounded in off his left arm. Olise set that up and added two goals in three minutes himself to seal the match.

In Italy, Roberto Mancini was also looking for a first home win. He started his return to the Italy bench with a loss in Rome to Belgium before morale-boosting away performances against Turkey — where the Azzurri won 4-1 — and France.

Turkey was under pressure after scoring just one goal and conceding eight in its three matches. It was also missing key players but nevertheless started the brighter in Bologna.

However, Italy took the lead against the run of play in the 26th. Gianluca Scamacca attempted to knock down a cross and it bounced off a Turkey defender’s shoulder before falling kindly back to Scamacca, who volleyed it in off the underside of the crossbar.

Aral Şimşir swept in a deserved equalizer for Turkey in the 61st but Italy was back in front just three minutes later when Riccardo Calafiori headed in Nicolò Barella’s free kick.

Pio Esposito sealed the win late on when he tapped in Alessandro Romano’s shot. Esposito became only the second Italy player to score seven international goals before his 21st birthday.

Victor Gyökeres extended his record Nations League scoring streak to seven games to fire Sweden to a 1-0 win in Romania.

It was a fourth of the campaign for Gyökeres, who broke the record on Friday.

Sweden tops Group B4 and is two points above Bosnia-Herzegovina, which beat Poland 1-0.

Northern Ireland remained on top of Group B2, despite being held to 0-0 by Georgia. Hungary won against Ukraine 2-1 and was second.

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Italy's Pio Esposito, second from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Italy and Turkey in Bologna, Italy, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Italy's head coach Roberto Mancini gestures during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Italy and Turkey in Bologna, Italy, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

France's Michael Olise celebrates after scoring during the Nations League soccer match between France and Belgium in Saint-Denis near Paris, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

France players celebrate after France's Michael Olise scored his goal during the Nations League soccer match between France and Belgium in Saint-Denis near Paris, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

France head coach Zinedine Zidane follows the game during the Nations League soccer match between France and Belgium in Saint-Denis near Paris, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Teresa Suarez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,000 measles cases this year, state health officials said Monday, making it the largest state outbreak in more than three decades.

The U.S. is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991, with nearly 3,900 reported cases, according to the CDC. The nation has seen eight reported measles-associated deaths in the past two years — more than the combined total of reported deaths over the previous three decades.

Since the beginning of last year, large outbreaks have been reported in several states, including Texas and Utah, as well as South Carolina, which had the largest with 997 cases reported.

The governor of New York on Monday declared a disaster emergency because of measles cases in neighboring states and in rural areas of New York. The executive order extends the pool of people who can administer measles vaccines to include paramedics, midwives and others, and allows nurses to join doctors in ordering testing. The state has more than 100 cases this year.

Health officials say Pennsylvania’s current outbreak started in April, west of Philadelphia. There have been 1,004 cases, including 198 hospitalizations and five deaths, state officials said.

Health experts attribute such outbreaks to low vaccination rates.

It's been decades since a U.S. state has seen an outbreak surpass 1,000 cases, stretching back to a multiyear outbreak in New York City in the early 1990s that infected more than 4,500 people.

The nation eliminated the domestic spread of measles in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, but those rates have fallen in recent years to below the 95% coverage needed to prevent outbreaks.

In November, international health officials will meet to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles-free status.

Measles is highly contagious. It spreads when people who have it breathe, cough or sneeze, and through contaminated surfaces. It also can linger in the air for two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. measles infections have been surging in recent years, as fewer kids get routine vaccines due to parental waivers, healthcare access issues and rampant disinformation.

Pennsylvania and New York are not the only states with a growing problem. Another is Ohio, with more than 200 cases this year. Like in Pennsylvania, some of the hardest-hit Ohio counties have significant Amish populations, which tend to have lower vaccination rates.

Meanwhile, CDC officials have quietly begun to acknowledge measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania.

State officials in August announced that two unvaccinated residents died after being infected with measles.

The announcement quickly came under fire as a clash erupted between vaccine-promoting Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Trump administration appointee with a history of raising alarms about established vaccines.

Since then, Pennsylvania has reported three additional deaths.

But for weeks, the CDC — which Kennedy oversees — did not count any deaths on its measles data dashboard, instead saying it was seeking more information. That changed two weeks ago, when one death was finally counted, and again last week when a second was added to the agency's tally.

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FILE - A nurse, prepares a combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for a patient at a pediatrics clinic in Easley, S.C., March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon, File)