LONDON: There was tension until the very end of Sunday night’s UEFA Nations League quarter-finals as defending cham­pion Spain and France needed penalty shootouts to reach the final four, where they were joined by Germany and Portugal.

Holders Spain were pegged back three times by the Netherlands in a 3-3 draw after extra time for a 5-5 aggregate score after a dramatic quarter-final second leg in Valencia. Barcelona midfielder Pedri scored the decisive penalty kick as the shootout finished 5-4.

France won the shootout by the same score against Croatia after leading 2-0 after 90 minutes to level the tie overall and force extra time in Paris, which saw no more goals scored. Dayot Upamecano scored the decisive spot kick in a shootout that needed 14 attempts to be decided.

.Portugal beat Denmark 5-2 after extra time in Lisbon after losing the first leg 1-0. Francisco Trincao scored twice for Portugal late on, with Cristiano Ronaldo missing an early penalty.

Only Germany qualified in 90 minutes. The Finals hosts scored three first-half goals against Italy but then held on grimly for a 3-3 draw to win 5-4 on aggregate. Giacomo Raspadori’s penalty deep into second-half stoppage time of the second leg had put Italy within one goal of forcing extra time in Dortmund.

The semi-finals begin on June 4 with Germany playing Portugal in Munich, followed on June 5 with Spain clashing with France in Stuttgart. The final is on June 8.

European champions Spain took the lead in the tie, after Thursday’s 2-2 first-leg draw, when Mikel Oyarzabal picked himself up after being fouled in the box to slot home an eighth-minute penalty.

Memphis Depay, playing his 100th game for the Netherlands, leveled from the penalty spot in the 54th minute after going down easily as he and Robin Le Normand challenged for a cross, before picking himself up and firing high into the net.

Oyarzabal grabbed his second in the 67th minute after a strong run forward by Nico Williams, only for the Dutch to level again with 11 minutes remaining through Ian Maatsen’s fierce strike after an excellent pass from Xavi Simons.

Lamine Yamal struck shortly before the interval in extra time, though, curling the ball into the far corner after a couple of superb touches.

There was yet another twist as Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon brought down Simons, who picked himself up to score as the Dutch took Spain to penalties.

After Noa Lang struck the crossbar with the Netherlands’ fourth kick, Yamal’s effort was also saved. But Simon saved from Donyell Malen in sudden death with Pedri then converting to give Spain victory.

“I think this national team is very young, it has a very long way to go and the important thing is the attitude of the players. They are insatiable, they want to keep competing, they want to compete to win,” Spain manager Luis de la Fuente told reporters.

“But these are details ... I remember that two years ago some enlightened person said it was a minor competition. In the semi-finals, three world champions and one European champion. They can beat us, but we will fight. I hope there will be a national team for a long time, but you can’t win all the time.”

Michael Olise got France back into their tie against Croatia after a 2-0 first leg defeat with a brilliant free-kick in the 52nd minute, before Ousmane Dembele swept Olise’s cutback into the bottom corner to send the quarter-final to extra time.

Les Bleus looked for the win in extra time, with Croatia looking happier to wait for penalties, but it was France who qualified with goalkeeper Mike Maignan saving twice before Upamecano slotted in.

“We woke up thinking it could be a great night,” Kylian Mbappe told TF1. “We were convinced we were going to do something great.”

RONALDO’S SOFT PENALTY NOT COSTLY

Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in men’s football, but he saw his tame sixth-minute spot-kick, after a stuttering run-up, saved by Kasper Schmeichel, who guessed the right way and gathered easily.

Portugal took the lead close to halftime when defender Joachim Andersen clumsily headed into his own net from a corner.

But the Danes restored their aggregate advantage 11 minutes into the second half through Rasmus Kristensen’s excellent header.

Ronaldo did get his 136th international goal, though, turning the ball in after Schmeichel tipped Bruno Fernandes’ shot against the post.

But Portugal were caught out in the 76th minute when Christian Eriksen tapped home after great work from Patrick Dorgu.

Trincao scored Portugal’s third of the night with four minutes left to play to take the tie to extra time, and he added a fourth early in extra time, with Goncalo Ramos ensuring the win with five minutes left.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game, but we knew how to be a team, we knew how to be a family, and we are happy with the victory,” an elated Trincao said.

GERMANY HOLD OFF ITALY FIGHTBACK

Germany quickly built on their 2-1 first leg win as they blitzed Italy with three goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half.

Germany extended their overall advantage on the half-hour mark when Joshua Kimmich tucked home a spot-kick before playing a key role in a bizarre second goal.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma left his goal after making a save to complain at the referee and Kimmich took a quickly-taken corner which was flicked into an empty net by Jamal Musiala.

Tim Kleindienst nodded in Kimmich’s clipped cross on the stroke of half-time, but Moise Kean scored twice to give Italy a glimmer of hope heading into the last 20 minutes.

Raspadori converted a penalty in injury time to equalise on the night, but there was not long enough left for the Azzurri.

“A football game is never perfect, but it was some unbelievable football, and the best I’ve seen us play,” Germany coach Nagelsmann said.

LUKAKU’S LATE DOUBLE SAVES BELGIUM

Elsewhere, Belgium narrowly avoided relegation to League B as two late goals from Romelu Lukaku helped them overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Ukraine with a 3-0 victory.

Greece were promoted to League A after overturning a 1-0 deficit with a resounding 3-0 win in Scotland, with 17-year-old midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas among the scorers.

Turkey were promoted to Lea­gue A after a 3-0 win in Hungary completed a 6-1 aggregate victory.

Serbia maintained their place in the top tier on the back of a 2-0 win over 10-man Austria in Belgrade, closing out a 3-1 aggregate victory, while the Republic of Ireland preserved their League B status by completing a 4-2 aggregate win over Bulgaria.

Georgia comfortably retained their League B spot with a dominant 6-1 win over Armenia, sealing a 9-1 aggregate victory. Kosovo earned promotion overcoming Iceland 3-1 and 5-2 on aggregate.

Slovenia earned a narrow 1-0 win over Slovakia to remain in League B.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025