2023 UEFA Nations League final explained

2023 UEFA Nations League final
Team1:Croatia
Team1score:0
Team2:Spain
Team2score:0
Details:After extra time
Spain won 5–4 on penalties
Stadium:De Kuip
City:Rotterdam
Man Of The Match1a:Marcelo Brozović (Croatia)
Referee:Felix Zwayer (Germany)
Attendance:41,110
Weather:Partly cloudy night
25°C
69% humidity[1]
Previous:2021
Next:2025

The 2023 UEFA Nations League final was a football match that determined the winners of the final tournament of the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League. It was the third final of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA. The match was held on 18 June 2023 at De Kuip in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and was contested by Croatia and Spain.[2]

Spain won the match 5–4 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time for their first UEFA Nations League title.

Venue

De Kuip was chosen by the Royal Dutch Football Association as one of the two venues for the Nations League Finals, along with De Grolsch Veste. Amsterdam's Johan Cruyff Arena, which is the largest stadium in the Netherlands, was unavailable because of a concert.[3] Consequently, De Kuip, the second-largest stadium in the country, was selected to host the first semi-final, featuring the Dutch team, as well as the final.[2]

De Kuip (Dutch for "the Tub"), officially known as the Stadion Feijenoord, is situated in the Feijenoord district of Rotterdam. The stadium, characterised by its distinctive bowl-shaped design, has a seating capacity of 51,117 and is the home of Eredivisie club Feyenoord.[4] Construction began on the stadium in 1935, and it opened in March 1937. The stadium underwent extensive renovations in 1994, becoming an all-seater, with an extended roof to cover all seats. The venue hosts selected matches of the Netherlands national team, and has also been the site of the KNVB Cup final since 1989.[5] De Kuip has hosted numerous UEFA club finals, including two in the European Cup (1972 and 1982), six in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1963, 1968, 1974, 1985, 1991 and 1997) and two in the UEFA Cup (the 1974 second leg and 2002). In addition, it was one of the venues for UEFA Euro 2000, hosting five matches, including the final between France and Italy. The stadium has also been used as a concert venue since 1978.[6]

Route to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

CroatiaRoundSpain
OpponentsResultLeague phaseOpponentsResult
0–3 (H)Match 11–1 (H)
1–1 (H)Match 22–2 (A)
1–0 (A)Match 31–0 (A)
1–0 (A)Match 42–0 (H)
2–1 (H)Match 51–2 (H)
3–1 (A)Match 61–0 (A)
Group A1 winnerFinal standingsGroup A2 winner
OpponentsResultNations League FinalsOpponentsResult
Semi-finals2–1

Match

Summary

In the 84th minute Spain's Ansu Fati had a shot cleared off the line by Ivan Perišić. After a goalless match the game went to extra-time and finally to penalties. The first six penalties were all scored before Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón saved with his foot from Lovro Majer.[7] Both teams scored another penalty before Aymeric Laporte had the chance to win the game but hit his shot off the bar. Simón then saved down to his right from Bruno Petković with Dani Carvajal going on to win it for Spain by chipping into the net for a 5–4 win.[8]

Details

width=25!width=25
GK 1 Dominik Livaković
RB 22
CB 6 Josip Šutalo
CB 5 Martin Erlić
LB 14Ivan Perišić
DM 11Marcelo Brozović
CM 10Luka Modrić (c)
CM 8 Mateo Kovačić
RW 15
LW 16
CF 9
Substitutions:
FW 17
MF 13
MF 7
DF 2
Manager:
Zlatko Dalić
width=25!width=25
GK 23Unai Simón
RB 22
CB 3
CB 14Aymeric Laporte
LB 18Jordi Alba (c)
CM 16
CM 8
RW 10Marco Asensio
AM 9
LW 15
CF 7
Substitutions:
FW 12
FW 20
MF 6
DF 4
FW 21
DF 2
Manager:
Luis de la Fuente
Man of the Match:
Marcelo Brozović (Croatia)[9]

Assistant referees

[10]
Stefan Lupp (Germany)
Marco Achmüller (Germany)
Fourth official


Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)
Video assistant referee


Marco Fritz (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referees


Sven Jablonski (Germany)
Stuart Attwell (England)

|style="width:60%; vertical-align:top;"|Match rules[11]
  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time

|}

Statistics

First half[12]
StatisticCroatiaSpain
scope=rowGoals scored00
scope=rowTotal shots46
scope=rowShots on target30
scope=rowSaves13
scope=rowBall possession47%53%
scope=rowCorner kicks12
scope=rowFouls committed58
scope=rowOffsides12
scope=rowYellow cards00
scope=rowRed cards00
Second half
StatisticCroatiaSpain
scope=rowGoals scored00
scope=rowTotal shots39
scope=rowShots on target01
scope=rowSaves10
scope=rowBall possession51%49%
scope=rowCorner kicks11
scope=rowFouls committed47
scope=rowOffsides10
scope=rowYellow cards11
scope=rowRed cards00
Extra time
StatisticCroatiaSpain
scope=rowGoals scored00
scope=rowTotal shots56
scope=rowShots on target20
scope=rowSaves02
scope=rowBall possession46%54%
scope=rowCorner kicks25
scope=rowFouls committed23
scope=rowOffsides00
scope=rowYellow cards02
scope=rowRed cards00
Overall
StatisticCroatiaSpain
scope=rowGoals scored00
scope=rowTotal shots1221
scope=rowShots on target51
scope=rowSaves25
scope=rowBall possession48%52%
scope=rowCorner kicks48
scope=rowFouls committed1118
scope=rowOffsides22
scope=rowYellow cards13
scope=rowRed cards00

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Croatia v Spain: Match info UEFA Nations League 2023 Final . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 18 June 2023 . 18 June 2023.
  2. Web site: UEFA Nations League final four: Who is in it? When is it? Where does it take place? . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 25 January 2023 . 25 January 2023.
  3. News: Vlietstra . Bart . Nations League mag handen dichtknijpen met Nederland, Spanje, Italië en Kroatië in finaleronde . Nations League can squeeze hands with the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Croatia in the final round . . 28 September 2022 . 6 October 2022 . nl.
  4. Web site: Stadium Feijenoord . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 27 January 2023 . 15 May 2023.
  5. News: Ajax and Feyenoord to play two legs in Dutch Cup final . . . 15 April 2010 . 15 May 2023.
  6. Web site: Feijenoord – historie . vasf.nl . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070516173256/http://www.vasf.nl/historie.php . 2007-05-16 .
  7. Web site: Croatia 0 Spain 0 (4–5 on pens): As it happened. 18 June 2023. Guardian. 20 June 2023.
  8. Web site: Croatia 0 Spain 0 (4–5 on pens). 18 June 2023. BBC Sport. 20 June 2023.
  9. News: Pettit . Mark . Spain win Nations League: Croatia edged out on penalties . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 18 June 2023 . 18 June 2023.
  10. News: Patience pays off for Rotterdam referee Zwayer . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 16 June 2023 . 16 June 2023.
  11. Web site: Regulations of the UEFA Nations League, 2022/23 . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 22 September 2021 . 27 September 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210927201456/https://documents.uefa.com/api/khub/maps/5qGTXCxubTzMfOeAyWGmuQ/attachments/5avrJwcMhtmUTz_I1lWP9g/content?filename=UNL_Regulations_1_October_2021_EN_strPDF.pdf . 27 September 2021.
  12. Web site: Full Time Report – Final – Croatia v Spain . UEFA.com . Union of European Football Associations . 18 June 2023 . 18 June 2023.