Nations League: Spain have been paired against Italy, while the hosts, the Netherlands, will play Croatia in the semi-finals.
The matches will all take place in Rotterdam and Enschede on June 14–15, with the third-place play-off and championship game taking place on June 18.
In the competition’s 2021 iteration, Spain defeated Italy 2-1 in the semifinals before falling to France in the championship game.
2019’s finalist Netherlands were defeated by Portugal, who won by a score of 1-0.
UEFA Nations League
The senior men’s national teams of the member associations of UEFA, football’s European governing body, compete in the UEFA Nations League, a biennial international friendly competition.
The initial competition started in September 2018. League A’s four group winners advanced to the finals, which were held in Portugal in June 2019.
With more frequent competitive matches against other European national teams of equivalent caliber, the competition primarily replaces the international friendlies that were previously scheduled on the FIFA International Match Calendar.
Although less so than the UEFA European Championship qualifying play-offs, the Nations League was associated with European qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Then, the best two Nations League group winners (based on the Nations League overall ranking) that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group competed in the second round (which followed a play-off format).
Who will play in the Nations League finals in 2023?
After winning their League A groups, Croatia, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands will compete in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League finals.
In the first two competitions, Spain (2021) and the Netherlands (2019) finished second, with Italy taking third place two years ago. Croatia will make their first finals appearance at the competition in June.
Semi-finals
- Wednesday 14 June: Netherlands vs Croatia (Rotterdam, 20:45 CET)
- Thursday 15 June: Spain vs Italy (Enschede, 20:45 CET)
Match for third place
- Sunday 18 June: Netherlands/Croatia vs Spain/Italy (Enschede, 15:00 CET)
Final
- Sunday 18 June: Netherlands/Croatia vs Spain/Italy (Rotterdam, 20:45 CET)
When are the finals in 2023?
The 2023 Nations League Finals are held from June 14 to June 18.
The 2023 Nations League Finals will be held where?
The 2023 Nations League Finals will take place in the Netherlands, with games taking place at the FC Twente Stadion in Enschede and the Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam.
- Semi-final 1: 14 June (Rotterdam, 20:45 CET)
- Semi-final 2: 15 June (Enschede, 20:45 CET)
- Third-place match: 18 June (Enschede, 15:00 CET)
- Final: 18 June (Rotterdam, 20:45 CET)
How the teams qualified
After losing 3-0 to Austria at home in their opening Group A1 match, few people gave Croatia much hope.
A 1-1 draw in Split against France did little to change the situation, but Zlatko Dali’s team later demonstrated their mettle with two victories against Denmark and a magnificent 1-0 victory in France.
Then, they maintained their composure in Austria, winning 3-1 with two crucial goals in the final 21 minutes.
“In the end, the win was deserved,” Croatia team captain Modrić said. “I am very happy we are in the top four.”
- 03/06/2022 Croatia 0-3 Austria
- 06/06/2022 Croatia 1-1 France
- 10/06/2022 Denmark 0-1 Croatia
- 13/06/2022 France 0-1 Croatia
- 22/09/2022 Croatia 2-1 Denmark
- 25/09/2022 Austria 1-3 Croatia
FUN FACT: Modri became the only Croatian player to score more than one goal during their current Nations League campaign with his opening strike against Austria on Matchday 6.
