France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France.
Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain.
Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday.
Photo: AFP
France had a total of 22 chances while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes.
It was a tense affair at a simmering Stade de France and Les Bleus were a side transformed after their catastrophic outing in the first leg.
Pressing high and playing with confidence, they pressured Croatia from the start and finally converted some of their chances in the second half with their attacking players combining well throughout.
Photo: AFP
In the shootout, Maignan, a penalty specialist, saved efforts from Martin Baturina and Josip Stanisic with Franjo Ivanovic skying his attempt over the bar.
Theo Hernandez and Jules Kounde missed the target for France, but Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni, Randal Kolo Muani, Desire Doue and Upamecano converted.
“We got up this morning with the idea it could be a great night,” Mbappe said. “We were convinced we were going to do it, we needed a game like this to get our fans back with us.”
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said it was a frustrating night for his side.
“It was really hard for us we could not do what we did in Split. We gave everything,” he said.
France got off to a strong start with eight attempts in the opening 20 minutes and had their first clear chance in the 16th minute, only for Tchouameni’s header to brush the post.
However, their first shot on target came on the stroke of halftime when Bradley Barcola’s angled shot from close range was deflected away by Dominik Livakovic.
With Mbappe asking for the crowd’s support — and getting loud roars from the Stade de France faithful — France were all over Croatia, and they were rewarded after the break.
Olise, who had been a menace throughout the first half, broke the deadlock as he curled a splendid free kick under the bar in the 52nd minute.
France kept up the pressure, and the visitors cracked 10 minutes from time with Dembele slotting the ball home from Olise’s cutback after a nice one-two with Mbappe.
Substitute Doue tested Livakovic twice in extra time, and Mbappe had a golden chance, only for the Croatia keeper to deny him with a firm hand.
Maignan then made the difference.
Elsewhere on Sunday, it was:
‧ Germany 3, Italy 3
‧ Portugal 5, Denmark 2
‧ Spain 3 (5), Netherlands 3 (4)
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,