UEFA Nations League matchday 6 Monday overview: Croatia and Denmark complete quarter-final line-up | UEFA Nations League

Draws in Split and Leskovac were enough for Croatia and Denmark to secure the last spots in the League A quarter-finals.

UEFA.com concludes the Monday action of matchday 6 of the Nations League.

Monday’s games

Joško Gvardiol’s equalizer in the second half earned Croatia a place in the last eight of the Nations League. João Félix’s sharp finish gave Portugal the lead inside 33 minutes, but Zlatko Dalić’s substitutions turned the hosts’ second half around. Kristijan Jakić’s excellent cross found Gvardiol at the far post in the 65th minute and the defender’s confident finish put qualification back in his hands.

Denmark held on and secured a place in the Nations League quarter-finals against Serbia in Leskovac. The hosts created the better chances, with Kasper Schmeichel denying Dušan Vlahović in both halves, while Aleksandar Mitrović’s acrobatic clearance off the line denied Mikkel Damsgaard at the other end. Serbia had Strahinja Pavlović sent off late for two bookings and had to settle for a place in the League A/B play-offs as they could not find the breakthrough.

Andy Robertson’s stoppage-time header saved Scotland from direct relegation from League A, while a 2-1 win in Poland sent them into the play-offs. John McGinn gave the visitors an early lead and Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay could have added a second but both hit the woodwork. The home side leveled through Kamil Piątkowski’s spectacular strike from the edge of the penalty area, but Robertson’s late header confirmed Poland’s relegation from League A.

The best of the rest

• San Marino earned promotion to League C as they came from behind to secure a 3-1 win – their biggest ever – in Liechtenstein.
• Spain, already confirmed as group winners, protected their unbeaten record in Group A4 with a dramatic 3-2 home win over Switzerland, with Bryan Zaragoza converting a decisive penalty in stoppage time.
• Northern Ireland were promoted to League B despite taking a two-goal lead in the 2-2 draw in Luxembourg.

Monday results

A1 Croatia 1-1 Portugal, Poland 1-2 Scotland
A4 Serbia 0-0 Denmark, Spain 3-2 Switzerland
C2 Kosovo 1-0 Lithuania, Romania 4-1 Cyprus
C3 Bulgaria 1-1 Belarus, Luxembourg 2-2 Northern Ireland
D1 Liechtenstein 1-3 San Marino

Tuedsay’s competitions

A3 Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Netherlands, Hungary vs Germany
B1 Albania vs Ukraine, Czech Republic vs Georgia
B4 Montenegro vs Turkiye, Wales vs Iceland
C1 Slovakia vs Estonia, Sweden vs Azerbaijan
D2 Malta vs Andorra

All kick-offs 20:45 CET.

Sunday’s games

Italy 1-3 France

Two headers from Adrien Rabiot helped France win with the two goals they needed to lift Italy to top spot in Group A2. The midfielder opened the scoring before Lucas Digne’s spectacular free-kick went in via Azzurri goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Andrea Cambiaso’s composed finish then moved the hosts back into first place before half-time, but Rabiot met a Digne cross with 25 minutes to go to secure top spot for Didier Deschamps’ side, whose qualification for the quarter-finals – just like that of Italy – was previously insured. kick-off.

England 5-0 Republic of Ireland

England returned to League A with an emphatic win in Lee Carsley’s final match as interim manager. After a goalless first half, the hosts found the net through five different goalscorers in the second, with four players claiming their first international goal.

The visitors’ stern defensive effort was undermined shortly in the second period when Liam Scales was shown a second yellow card after conceding a penalty, which Harry Kane converted. England quickly added two more goals through Anthony Gordon and Conor Gallagher, before Jarrod Bowen registered with his first touch and debutant Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed in a brilliant cross from Jude Bellingham.

Norway 5-0 Kazakhstan

An Erling Haaland hat-trick helped Norway seal promotion to League A as they defeated Kazakhstan in Oslo. The 24-year-old, who now leads the Nations League top scorer race, showed his attacking instincts as he followed Antonio Nusa’s shot to open the scoring in the 23rd minute before doubling his tally with a header.

Alexander Sørloth rounded off the third nicely for the home side and Haaland completed his treble in the second half by converting a right-footed strike from outside the penalty area. A wonderfully curled shot from Nusa found the far corner five minutes later and completed the victory.

The best of the rest

Sunday’s results

A2 Israel 1-0 Belgium, Italy 1-3 France
B2 England 5-0 Ireland, Finland 0-2 Greece
B3 Austria 1-1 Slovenia, Norway 5-0 Kazakhstan
C4 Latvia 1-2 Armenia, North Macedonia 1-0 Faroe Islands