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 in each half in a 2-1 victory away to neighbor 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, in the top-tier League A.

With two group games remaining in November, France, Italy and Germany all stand on the verge of clinching a top-two finish and spots in the quarterfinals.

France was forced to hang on to preserve its third win in four group matches after Aurélien Tchouaméni, its captain in the absence of Mbappé, was shown a second yellow card in the 76th for tripping Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans.

Tielemans had earlier lifted a penalty kick over the bar in the 23rd, only for Kolo Muani to convert his own spot kick after Wout Faes was penalized for handball after falling to the ground attempting to challenge Bradley Barcola.

Loïs Openda headed in the equalizer from Timothy Castagne's cross, with the goal initially ruled out for offside but awarded after VAR check.

Kolo Muani, who has started only two games for PSG this season, grabbed the winner in the 62nd in Brussels by heading in Lucas Digne's left-wing cross.

It felt like a new era for Germany, with Neuer, Muller and Gundogan all given a fond farewell before the game. Together with Kroos, who wasn’t there in person due to commitments at his youth academy, the four players won more than 450 caps for Germany.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann is bringing through younger players, with Aleksandar Pavlovic, 20, and Angelo Stiller, 23, handed first starts and the 23-year-old Leweling making his debut in place of the injured Deniz Undav. At the other end of the age scale, goalkeeper Oliver Baumann became the third oldest debutant for Germany — at 34 years, 134 days — having been on the bench 26 times.

Baumann produced a brilliant flying save to deny Netherlands substitute Donyell Malen and keep a clean sheet, ensuring the Oranje's 13-match unbeaten streak in the group stage of the Nations League came to an end.

Germany is on 10 points from four games, five more than both the Dutch and Hungary.

Stringent security measures, including armed military personnel on the roof of the 25,000-seater stadium in Udine, were in place as Italy hosted an Israel team playing its first match outside neutral Hungary this year. It came amid Israel's ongoing conflict in the Middle East which has spread to Lebanon after more than a year-long war with Hamas in Gaza.

Mateo Retegui — from the penalty spot — scored the opener for Italy, which had further goals by Giovanni Di Lorenzo (2) and Davide Frattesi as well as a debut for Daniel Maldini, the son of AC Milan great Paolo Maldini.

Around 1,000 people took part in a pro-Palestine demonstration in the city center before the match. Areas around the stadium were blocked off 48 hours before kickoff and declared a “red zone," while hundreds of extra police officers were called up from surrounding areas.

Italy is in the same group as France and leads by one point. Belgium is third, five points behind France, while Israel has lost all four games.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates after he scored during the Nations League soccer match between Bosnia and Hungary in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Hungarian players celebrate after a goal during the Nations League soccer match between Bosnia and Hungary in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Italian's Giovanni di Lorenzo celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Italia and Israel at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Italy, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Andrea Bressanutti/LaPresse via AP)

Italian's Giovanni di Lorenzo celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Italia and Israel at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Italy, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Andrea Bressanutti/LaPresse via AP)

Germany's scorer Jamie Leweling, right, celebrates with teammate Antonio Ruediger after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Nations League group 3 soccer match between Germany and The Netherlands in Munich, Germany, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

Germany's scorer Jamie Leweling celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Nations League group 3 soccer match between Germany and The Netherlands in Munich, Germany, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

France's Randal Kolo Muani, left, celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during the UEFA Nations League, group A2 soccer match between Belgium and France at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, Belgium, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

France's Randal Kolo Muani, left, celebrates after scoring his sides second goal during the UEFA Nations League, group A2 soccer match between Belgium and France at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, Belgium, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims.

The X owner, an unelected figure, not only used his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so without regard for the facts and gave a preview of the role he could play in government over the next four years.

“Trump has got himself a handful with Musk,” John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said in an email. “Trump’s done this kind of thing before, blowing up a bill at the last minute. This time, though, it looks like he was afraid of Musk upstaging him. Now there’s a new social media bully in town, pushing the champion social media bully around.”

Hansen added: “We’ll see what Musk’s influence is when he runs up against reality — like when he proposes cutting off ‘wasteful’ spending for other people but not NASA contracts for Space-X.”

Musk’s objections to the 1,547-page omnibus bill included misinformation about congressional salaries, federal funding and public health preparedness, among other topics.

He alleged that the plan included a 40% raise for lawmakers. But the maximum pay increase possible through the proposal would have been 3.8%, according to the Congressional Research Service.

One way that members of Congress can receive a pay raise is through automatic adjustments that go into effect unless denied by law. Most members make $174,000 per a year after their last increase of 2.8% in 2009. Congressional leadership is the exception, with the Speaker of the House earning the most at $223,500 annually.

The rejected bill struck a section from a previous appropriations act that denied members of Congress this automatic pay raise. A maximum increase of 3.8% would have bumped their annual salary by about $6,600, to approximately $180,000 annually.

Musk also shared a post from another user that falsely claimed the bill provided $3 billion in funding for a potential new stadium for the NFL's Washington Commanders, commenting: “This should not be funded by your tax dollars!”

The bill included a provision to transfer control of the land that houses RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. That transfer is necessary to pave the way for the Commanders to possibly build a new stadium in the franchise's old home — though the team is still considering other locations.

However, no such funding is provided by the bill. It states, in fact, that the federal government “shall not be responsible for payment or any costs or expenses” that the District of Columbia incurs after the transfer is complete aside from responsibilities related to specific environmental issues.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed false claims about the stadium's funding on Thursday, calling them “frustrating.”

“It was stated that the C.R. contains $3 billion for a stadium,” she said at a press conference. "All wrong. There are no federal dollars related to the transfer of RFK and in fact, the legislation does not require or link at all to a stadium.

Bowser added that she has reached out to the Trump administration to correct misinformation about this issue.

In a third post, Musk incorrectly claimed that “We're funding bioweapon labs in this bill!”

The plan provided funds for up to 12 regional biocontainment research laboratories, not facilities for creating bioweapons. It stipulates that among their uses, the labs will conduct biomedical research to prepare for biological agents such as emerging infectious diseases.

A spokesperson for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.

Some members of Congress expressed dismay that Musk had disseminated misinformation about the bill.

“I love you Elon but you need to take 5 seconds to check your sources before highlighting bottom feeders looking for clicks,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, wrote on X.

In a hastily convened Thursday evening vote, the House rejected a new Trump-backed bill whittled down to 116 pages, with the bill failing 174-235. Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in opposition.

The House finally approved a third spending deal Friday evening, and the Senate followed suit early Saturday. President Joe Biden planned to sign it into law later Saturday.

Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history in his first term during the 2018 Christmas season, and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan COVID-relief bill and forcing a do-over.

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, left, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attend a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP, File)