Uefa Nations League quarter-finals: Key stats and stories you might have missed | OneFootball

The quarter-finals of the Uefa Nations League concluded on Sunday evening, with some of Europe’s biggest nations battling out for a place in June’s Finals tournament.

After last week’s first legs, the ties were poised as follows:

So, some giants had serious work to do while others looked to see out their lead and take another step closer to potential glory.

Here’s how the games panned out and everything you might have missed:

1. Germany get the job done (just)

Germany returned to Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, after an impressive 2-1 win away in Milan last week and showed no signs of letting up, getting on the front foot right from the start of the second leg.

It took a while for them to actually break the deadlock, with Joshua Kimmich’s penalty opener not coming until the half-hour mark but, from there, the floodgates opened with Jamal Musiala scoring into an open net as Gianluigi Donnarumma complained to the referee and Tim Kleindienst headed home from a corner, all before half time. The first two goals were scored and assisted by Kimmich, making it five Germany goals in a row he was directly involved in.

That made it 5-1 on aggregate. So, job done, right?

Well, not quite. Italy hit back twice before the 70th minute through a Moise Kean brace to make things interesting but ultimately, Italy had given themselves too much of a mountain to climb. Giacomo Raspadori’s last-minute penalty levelled the tie on the night, but Italy still went down 5-4 on aggregate.

Germany have made the Uefa Nations League Finals for the first time in their history, while beating Italy means they’ll host the tournament in the summer.

2. Francisco Trincao spares Portugal’s (and Ronaldo’s) blushes

This was a game where Portugal scored four goals and Cristiano Ronaldo found the net again. Normal service in motion, yes?

Well, there was only the small matter that Portugal trailed 1-0 after the first leg against Denmark. And Kasper Schmeichel saved one of the worst Ronaldo penalties you’ll ever see after just six minutes. And Denmark twice restored their lead before taking Portugal to extra time. And one of Portugal’s goals only came via a Joachim Andersen own-goal.

The Seleção got there in the end, with Francisco Trincao netting a winner just a minute into extra time after forcing another 30 minutes late into the match, while Goncalo Ramos put it beyond doubt late on. But as you can tell, it was far from straightforward and Denmark missed a host of chances to end the tie throughout.

The winners of the first-ever Nations League survive but given they’ll play hosts Germany in the semi-finals, huge improvements are needed.

3. Defending champions Spain swat away the Netherlands ‘wasp’

The Netherlands proved to be a real wasp in Spain’s beer garden in this tie. Not only did they equalise in the first leg before just missing out on a priceless win in the final moments, but they also came from behind three times here in Valencia to force extra time and penalties — in a match that had already seen three penalties (one for Spain, two for the Netherlands).

Penalties followed and after three perfect spot-kicks each, Noa Lang and Lamine Yamal both missed their respective nations’ fourth attempts. Kenneth Taylor and Alex Baena got things back on track before Aston Villa star Donyell Malen missed for the Netherlands. Barcelona talent Pedri made no mistake, giving Spain a 5-4 shootout win and finally ending what was a completely ridiculous tie.

La Roja have been all-conquering over the last few years and while the Netherlands proved here that they’re home, they still found a way. The defence of their Nations League title goes on.

4. France complete turnaround after shootout scare

France beat Spain 2-1 in the 2020/21 Finals before failing to make it out of the group phase last season and here, they came very close to a quarter-final exit.

Les Bleus trailed 2-0 against last season’s runners-up Croatia following the first leg and after the first half of the return tie, they may well have been thinking fate was against them; the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni and Bradley Barcola missing enough chances to decide any match.

But France finally made their pressure pay after the break, with Michael Olise halving the deficit in the 52nd minute before Ousmane Dembele levelled it in the 80th.

Extra-time saw France continue to dominate, with only momentary glimpses from Croatia, but the visitors were resolute enough to force a shootout.

What followed was pure drama, with Croatia missing two of their first three and Jules Kounde missing France’s third, while Theo Hernandez fluffed the chance to win the shootout for Les Bleus. However, Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic was the unlucky man to miss in sudden death, with his club teammate Dayot Upamecano serving the ultimate punishment by booking France’s place in Germany in the summer.

5. Uefa Nations League Finals tournament draw and key dates

The 2024/25 Uefa Nations League Finals tournament will take place in Germany this summer, with the hosts facing Portugal in Munich on the 4th before Spain and France meet in Stuttgart a day later. The final will take place in Munich on the eighth, hours after the third-place playoff in Stuttgart.

Previous Uefa Nations League finals

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