The 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the third season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The tournament was held from 14 to 18 June 2023 in the Netherlands and was contested by the four group winners of Nations League A. The tournament consisted of two semi-finals, a third place play-off and a final to determine the champions of the UEFA Nations League.
Following their win in 2021, defending champions France were unable to retain their title after finishing third in their group. Spain won the final against Croatia, 5–4 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time, for their first UEFA Nations League title.
Format The Nations League Finals took place in June 2023, and were contested by the four group winners of League A. The four teams were drawn into a five-team group (rather than a six-team group) for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying group stage, thereby leaving the June 2023 window available for the Nations League Finals.
The Nations League Finals took place over five days and were played in single-leg knockout matches, consisting of two semi-finals on 14 and 15 June (the first of which featured the host team), and a third place play-off and final three days after the second semi-final on 18 June 2023. The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw. All matches in the tournament utilised goal-line technology and video assistant referee (VAR) systems.
In the Nations League Finals, if the scores were level at the end of normal time: In the semi-finals and final, 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If the score was still level after extra time, the winner would be determined by a penalty shoot-out. In the third place play-off, extra time would not be played, and the winner would be determined by a penalty shoot-out.
Qualified teams The four group winners of League A qualified for the Nations League Finals.
Group Winners Date ofqualification Previous UNL Finalsappearances Previous bestUNL performance UNL RankingsSeptember 2022 FIFA RankingsApril 2023 A1 0 (debut) Ninth place (2018–19) 2 7 A2 1 (2021) Runners-up (2020–21) 3 10 A3 1 (2021) Third place (2020–21) 4 8 A4 1 (2019) Runners-up (2018–19) 1 6
Host selection The Netherlands was confirmed as the host country by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 29 November 2022. Only League A teams could bid for the Nations League Finals, and only one of the four finals participants would ultimately be selected as hosts. UEFA required the tournament to be played at two Category 4 stadiums, each with at least 30,000 net seating capacity. The stadiums ideally would be located in the same host city or up to approximately apart. UEFA envisioned the larger of the stadiums to host the first semi-final (featuring the host team) and the final. The bidding timeline was as follows:
28 February 2022: Applications formally invited 13 April 2022, 16:00 CEST: Closing date for registering intention to bid (non-binding) 14 April 2022: Bid requirements made available to bidders May 2022: Opening workshop for bidders July/August 2022: Technical calls with bidders 7 September 2022, 16:00 CEST: Closing date for submission of preliminary bid dossier 5 October 2022, 16:00 CEST: Closing date for submission of final bid dossier 29 November 2022: Host appointment by the UEFA Executive Committee
On 13 April 2022, UEFA announced that Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Wales had declared interest in hosting the tournament. As all four associations were in Group A4, the group winner was in line to be appointed as the host, provided that the associations submitted bids which meet UEFA's requirements. Poland and Wales were unable to win Group A4 following their results on 14 June 2022, leaving Belgium and the Netherlands as the remaining potential hosts. On 25 September 2022, the Netherlands won Group A4 over Belgium and advanced to the Nations League Finals, thereby automatically winning hosting rights, which were confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee on 29 November 2022.
Venues De Kuip in Rotterdam and De Grolsch Veste in Enschede were confirmed as the venues for the tournament on 29 November 2022. Other potential stadiums, such as the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam (the largest in the country) and the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, were both unavailable for the tournament due to previously scheduled concerts.
Rotterdam Enschede De Kuip De Grolsch Veste Capacity: 51,117 Capacity: 30,205
Draw The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw on 25 January 2023, 11:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Former Dutch international Wesley Sneijder, ambassador for the Nations League Finals, drew the match pairings. The first two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing A, while the remaining two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing B. For scheduling purposes, the host team was allocated to the first semi-final as the administrative home team. The administrative home team for both the third place play-off and final were predetermined as the teams which advanced from semi-final 1.
Squads
Each national team had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers, at least ten days before the opening match of the tournament. If a player became injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation in the tournament before his team's first match, he could be replaced by another player.
Bracket
All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).
Semi-finals
Netherlands vs Croatia
GK 1 Justin BijlowRB 22Denzel Dumfries CB 12Lutsharel GeertruidaCB 4 Virgil van Dijk (c)LB 5 Nathan Aké CM 6 Mats Wieffer CM 20Teun Koopmeiners CM 21Frenkie de Jong RF 18Donyell Malen CF 9 Cody Gakpo LF 11Xavi Simons Substitutions:FW 19Wout Weghorst MF 8 Georginio Wijnaldum FW 7 Steven Bergwijn FW 10Noa Lang MF 15Marten de Roon DF 16Tyrell Malacia Manager:Ronald Koeman GK 1 Dominik Livaković RB 22Josip Juranović CB 6 Josip Šutalo CB 21Domagoj VidaLB 14Ivan PerišićDM 11Marcelo Brozović CM 10Luka Modrić (c) CM 8 Mateo Kovačić RW 15Mario Pašalić LW 16Luka Ivanušec CF 9 Andrej Kramarić Substitutions:MF 13Nikola Vlašić DF 2 Josip Stanišić MF 7 Lovro Majer DF 5 Martin Erlić FW 17Bruno Petković DF 3 Borna Barišić Manager:Zlatko Dalić
Man of the Match: Luka Modrić (Croatia)
Assistant referees: Vasile Marinescu (Romania) Ovidiu Artene (Romania) Fourth official: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey) Video assistant referee: Bastian Dankert (Germany) Assistant video assistant referee: Sören Storks (Germany)
Spain vs Italy
GK 23Unai SimónRB 22Jesús NavasCB 3 Robin Le NormandCB 14Aymeric LaporteLB 18Jordi Alba (c) CM 16RodriCM 6 Mikel Merino RW 19Rodrigo AM 9 Gavi LW 15Yéremy Pino CF 7 Álvaro Morata Substitutions:FW 10Marco Asensio MF 11Sergio Canales MF 8 Fabián Ruiz FW 12Ansu Fati FW 20Joselu Manager:Luis de la Fuente GK 1 Gianluigi DonnarummaCB 13Rafael TolóiCB 19Leonardo Bonucci (c) CB 15Francesco AcerbiRM 2 Giovanni Di LorenzoCM 7 Davide Frattesi CM 8 Jorginho CM 18Nicolò BarellaLM 4 Leonardo Spinazzola CF 11Nicolò Zaniolo CF 17Ciro Immobile Substitutions:DF 5 Matteo Darmian DF 3 Federico Dimarco FW 14Federico Chiesa MF 16Bryan Cristante MF 6 Marco Verratti Manager:Roberto Mancini
Man of the Match: Rodri (Spain)
Assistant referees: Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia) Andraž Kovačič (Slovenia) Fourth official: Irfan Peljto (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Video assistant referee: Nejc Kajtazović (Slovenia) Assistant video assistant referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Third place play-off
GK 1 Justin BijlowRB 22Denzel DumfriesCB 12Lutsharel Geertruida CB 4 Virgil van Dijk (c)LB 5 Nathan AkéCM 6 Mats Wieffer CM 21Frenkie de JongCM 11Xavi Simons RF 18Donyell Malen CF 9 Cody GakpoLF 10Noa Lang Substitutions:FW 7 Steven Bergwijn MF 8 Georginio Wijnaldum FW 19Wout Weghorst MF 20Teun Koopmeiners MF 17Joey Veerman Manager:Ronald Koeman GK 1 Gianluigi Donnarumma (c)RB 13Rafael TolóiCB 15Francesco Acerbi CB 23Alessandro BuongiornoLB 3 Federico Dimarco CM 7 Davide FrattesiCM 16Bryan CristanteCM 6 Marco Verratti RF 20Wilfried Gnonto CF 9 Mateo Retegui LF 22Giacomo Raspadori Substitutions:FW 14Federico Chiesa MF 11Nicolò Zaniolo DF 4 Leonardo Spinazzola MF 18Nicolò Barella MF 10Lorenzo Pellegrini Manager:Roberto Mancini
Man of the Match: Federico Dimarco (Italy)
Assistant referees: Mahbod Beigi (Sweden) Andreas Söderqvist (Sweden) Fourth official: Kristo Tohver (Estonia) Video assistant referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland) Assistant video assistant referee: Paweł Pskit (Poland)
Final
Statistics
Goalscorers
Assists
Awards Player of the Tournament
The Player of the Finals award was given to Rodri, who was chosen by UEFA's technical observers. Rodri
Goal of the Tournament
The Alipay Goal of the Tournament was decided by online voting. A total of four goals were in the shortlist, chosen by UEFA's technical observers: Federico Dimarco (against Netherlands), Donyell Malen (against Croatia), Mario Pašalić (against Netherlands) and Bruno Petković (against Netherlands). Petković won the award for his goal in the semi-final.
RankGoalscorerOpponentScoreResultRound Bruno Petković3–24–2 Semi-finals— Federico Dimarco1–03–2Third place play-off— Donyell Malen1–02–4 Semi-finals— Mario Pašalić2–14–2 Semi-finals
Discipline A player would have been automatically suspended for the next match for receiving a red card, which could have been extended for serious offences. However, no players received a suspension during the Nations League Finals. Yellow card suspensions did not apply in the Nations League Finals, including any pending suspensions from the league phase, while yellow cards issued were not carried forward to any other future international matches.
References
External links
UEFA Technical Report