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)
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in