Winners: France
After being held up for long periods by a well-drilled Croatian defence, Les Bleus began to shake things up on Sunday evening as they powered to a win on penalties.
Michael Olise opened the scoring with a sumptuous free-kick before Ousmane Dembele completely revived the tie for the French.
In the end, France won their place in the Nations League semi-finals on penalties. Faced with an in-form Dominik Livakovic, time seemed to be running out. However, Croatia missed too many shots of their shots.
France have thus qualified for the next stage of the Nations League (in early June).
Losers: Croatia
Finalists in the previous edition, Croatia distinguished themselves on Thursday by putting France to the sword (winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Ante Budimir and Ivan Perisic). But at the Stade de France on Sunday, they were unable to break through their opponents' defence.
Solid until the end of extra time, they lost out in an exercise that has worked well for them in their recent history: the penalty shootout. Franjo Ivanovic, Martin Baturina and Josip Stanisic all missed their shots.
As a result, Croatia go home empty-handed, even though they did admirably in the first leg.
Winners: Spain
Spain booked their place in the Nations League semis after an epic battle with the Netherlands. La Roja had Mikel Oyarzabal to thank for a brace on Sunday and Lamine Yamal for scoring their third on the night, although the Barcelona man missed his spot-kick in the deciding shootout.
The reigning European Champions will therefore be back in Germany this summer and will meet the side they eliminated in the EURO 2024 semi-final: France on June 5th.
Losers: Netherlands
Engaged in their European duel against Spain, the Netherlands believed right up until the end and held out until the penalty shootout. Nevertheless, Donyell Malen and Noa Lang missed their attempts and Spain took their place in the final four.
The Dutch had battled steadily and enduringly beforehand, already drawing on Thursday (2-2, Cody Gakpo/Tijjani Reijnders) and then holding La Roja at bay (3-3, Memphis Depay/Ian Maasten/Xavi Simons) on Sunday. They were valiant losers in the end.
Winners: Germany
The Germans celebrated their domination of Italy with joy on Sunday. Having won the first leg of the quarter-finals 2-1 with goals from Tim Kleindienst and Leon Goretzka, they added another layer of gloss with Joshua Kimmich's penalty and his assists for goals from Jamal Musiala and Kleindienst.
As a result, they were able to make the most of the advantage they gained on Thursday and will contest their Nations League semi-final next June.
Losers: Italy
It was thought that Italy could bounce back from their reconstruction and move forward. And for a while, there was real hope for the Azzurri against Die Mannschaft. Unfortunately for the Italians, Germany held firm.
Despite a fine comeback in the second half of the quarter-final second leg with three goals from Moise Kean (x2) and Giacomo Raspadori, and a goal in the first leg (Sandro Tonali), the balance did not tip in their favour.
Italy will have to find other opportunities to bounce back, namely in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Winners: Portugal
Portugal easily booked their place in the Nations League semi-finals. The Selecao were clearly the better side against Denmark on Sunday, making amends for their 1-0 defeat in the first leg. They scored five goals in normal and extra time, including an own goal from Joachim Andersen.
Cristiano Ronaldo, despite missing a penalty, contributed to his side's victory. Francisco Trincao scored twice and Goncalo Ramos added another.
Arguably, Portugal have achieved their objectives and will face Germany next in June.
Losers: Denmark
The Danes, on the other hand, were the losers. Having won on Thursday thanks to Rasmus Hojlund, all they had to do was repeat the feat on Sunday. But that was without taking into account Portugal's good form and their desire to turn things around.
Goals from Rasmus Kristensen and Christian Eriksen did nothing to change the outcome in the end. As a result, Denmark suffered another setback on the doorstep of the semi-finals.
Winners: Mexico
On the other side of the globe, the final of the CONCACAF Nations League took place between Mexico and Panama. In a heated atmosphere, the Mexicans came out on top and lifted the cup by beating their opponents 2-1.
Raul Jimenez was the Man of the Match and the main threat for the winning side. Scoring in the eighth minute and then from the penalty spot in the 92nd minute, he set his side free against their rivals, who had also equalised from the penalty spot in first-half added time (Adalberto Carrasquilla).
A fine victory, however, was marred at the end of the match by homophobic chants from the Mexican supporters.
Losers: Uruguay
On Friday, Uruguay played a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier against Argentina. In a match that was not easy, La Celeste conceded an early goal from Lyon's Thiago Almada and were unable to come back from behind, losing 1-0.
The Uruguayans are now fourth in the race to qualify, and although the top six places qualify, they missed an opportunity to win against their rivals, who were missing talisman Lionel Messi.
