Four sides will book their place in the 2024/25 Nations League semi-finals on Sunday evening when they contest their quarter-final second legs across the continent.
There were several upsets during Thursday night’s first legs as Croatia conquered France and Denmark triumphed over Portugal, leaving two of Europe’s behemoths and previous competition winners with a mountain to climb if they want to progress to the final four.
Spain are the defending champions and have a sizeable barrier to hurdle on Sunday themselves, while Germany and Italy will also fight for their place in the next round.
Here is how 90min believes the second legs will play out.
Croatia stunned their 2018 World Cup final adversaries France on Thursday and were worthy winners in Split. They boast a 2-0 advantage from the first leg courtesy of Ivan Perisic rolling back the years, but will be hard pushed to hold their lead. Les Bleus will be an entirely different proposition on home soil and have the deepest and most talented squad in international football.
Denmark also upset the odds with their 1-0 victory over inaugural Nations League champions Portugal in the first leg, Rasmus Hojlund scoring the only goal of the game during a dominant performance from the Scandinavians. They should have a healthier cushion heading into the second leg, however, and Roberto Martinez’s side may punish their opponents’ profligacy on Sunday.
Spain have enjoyed a trophy-laden spell under Luis de la Fuente, starting with the Nations League in 2022/23 and continuing with the European Championships last summer. They struck in stoppage time on Thursday during their 2-2 first leg draw with the Netherlands to ensure they enter the second leg only needing a one-goal victory to progress to the last four. The Dutch, who were beaten finalists in 2018/19, will be underdogs in Valencia.
Somewhat surprisingly, Germany have never made it to the semi-finals of the Nations League, something they’re aiming to rectify on Sunday when they host Italy. Their comeback victory in Milan means they’re 2-1 up from the first leg and they will be fancied to make it beyond the quarter-finals. The Azzurri are still finding their feet under Luciano Spalletti and will want to defy expectations in Dortmund this weekend.
Kick-off time (GMT)
Fixture
Prediction
19:45
France vs Croatia
3-0 (AET)
19:45
Germany vs Italy
1-1
19:45
Portugal vs Denmark
3-1
19:45
Spain vs Netherlands
2-1
