2021 UEFA Nations League Finals

Last updated • 6 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

2021 UEFA Nations League Finals
Fase finale della UEFA Nations League 2021 (in Italian)
Tournament details
Host countryItaly
Dates6–10 October
Teams4
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of France.svg  France (1st title)
Runners-upFlag of Spain.svg  Spain
Third placeFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
Fourth placeFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored14 (3.5 per match)
Attendance94,168 (23,542 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of France.svg Karim Benzema
Flag of France.svg Kylian Mbappé
Flag of Spain.svg Ferran Torres
(2 goals each)
Best player(s) Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Busquets
2019
2023

The 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2020–21 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the second season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The tournament was held in Italy from 6 to 10 October 2021, [1] 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 final to determine the champions of the UEFA Nations League.

Contents

Portugal were the defending champions, having won the inaugural 2019 finals. However, they failed to qualify for the 2021 finals after finishing second in their group behind France. [2]

France won the final 2–1 against Spain for their first UEFA Nations League title.

Format

The Nations League Finals took place in October 2021 and were contested by the four group winners of League A. The four teams were each drawn into a five-team group (rather than a six-team group) for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification group stage, thereby leaving the October 2021 window available for the Nations League Finals. [3]

The Nations League Finals were played in single-leg knockout matches, consisting of two semi-finals, a third place play-off and a final. The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw. [4] All matches in the tournament utilised the 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: [5]

On 31 March 2021, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the use of a maximum of five substitutions in matches at the Nations League Finals (with a sixth allowed in extra time). [7] However, each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity allowed in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time. [8] The use of five substitutes had been permitted by IFAB during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the resulting fixture congestion, which created a greater burden on players. [9]

Qualified teams

The four group winners of League A qualified for the Nations League Finals. [10]

GroupWinnersDate of
qualification
Previous finals appearancesPrevious best
UNL Ranking
UNL Rankings
November 2020
FIFA Rankings
September 2021
A1 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy (host)18 November 20200 (debut)8 (2018–19)35
A2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 18 November 20200 (debut)5 (2018–19)21
A3 Flag of France.svg  France 14 November 20200 (debut)6 (2018–19)14
A4 Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 17 November 20200 (debut)7 (2018–19)48

Schedule

The Nations League Finals, originally scheduled for 2–6 June 2021, were moved to 6–10 October 2021 following the rescheduling of UEFA Euro 2020 to June and July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] [3] The tournament took place over five days, with the semi-finals on 6 and 7 October (the first of which featured the host team), and the third place play-off and final three days after the second semi-final on 10 October 2021. [1]

Host selection

Italy was confirmed as the host country by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 3 December 2020. [12] [13] Only League A teams could bid for the Nations League Finals, and only one of the four participants is selected as hosts. The Nations League Finals were held in two stadiums, each with a seating capacity of at least 30,000. Ideally, the stadiums would be located in the same host city or up to approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) apart.

On 24 September 2020, UEFA announced that Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland had declared interest in hosting the tournament, all three of which are members of Group A1. [1] Italy were confirmed as winners of Group A1 over the Netherlands and Poland on 18 November 2020, thereby confirming hosting rights, which were confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee on 3 December 2020, the same day as the Nations League Finals draw. [4] [14] If the fourth member of the group, Bosnia and Herzegovina, had qualified for the Nations League Finals, the UEFA Executive Committee would have decided the venues. [15]

Bidding venues

Venues

In their bid dossier, the Italian Football Federation proposed the San Siro in Milan and Juventus Stadium in Turin as the venues. [15] [18]

Milan Turin
San Siro Juventus Stadium
Capacity: 75,923Capacity: 41,507
Stadio Meazza.jpg Allianz stadium in Italy hosting the Nations League 2021 finals.jpg

Draw

The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw on 3 December 2020, 17:30 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. [19] [20] [21] [22] The first two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing A, while the remaining two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing B. [23] 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. [5]

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 was replaced by another player. [5]

Bracket

 
Semi-finals Final
 
      
 
6 October – Milan
 
 
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1
 
10 October – Milan
 
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 2
 
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1
 
7 October – Turin
 
Flag of France.svg  France 2
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 2
 
 
Flag of France.svg  France 3
 
Third place play-off
 
 
10 October – Turin
 
 
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2
 
 
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1

All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).

Semi-finals

Italy vs Spain

Italy  Flag of Italy.svg1–2Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
  • Pellegrini Soccerball shade.svg83'
Report
San Siro, Milan
Attendance: 33,524 [24]
Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)
Kit left arm italy20h.png
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Italy [25]
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Spain [25]
GK21 Gianluigi Donnarumma
RB2 Giovanni Di Lorenzo
CB19 Leonardo Bonucci (c)Yellow card.svg 30' Yellow-red card.svg 42'
CB23 Alessandro Bastoni
LB13 Emerson Palmieri
CM18 Nicolò Barella Sub off.svg 72'
CM8 Jorginho Sub off.svg 64'
CM6 Marco Verratti Sub off.svg 58'
RF14 Federico Chiesa
CF20 Federico Bernardeschi Sub off.svg 46'
LF10 Lorenzo Insigne Sub off.svg 58'
Substitutions:
DF3 Giorgio Chiellini Sub on.svg 46'
FW17 Moise Kean Sub on.svg 58'
MF5 Manuel Locatelli Yellow card.svg 82'Sub on.svg 58'
MF7 Lorenzo Pellegrini Sub on.svg 64'
DF4 Davide Calabria Sub on.svg 72'
Manager:
Roberto Mancini
ITA-ESP 2021-10-06.svg
GK23 Unai Simón
RB2 César Azpilicueta Yellow card.svg 45'
CB19 Aymeric Laporte
CB3 Pau Torres
LB17 Marcos Alonso
CM8 Koke Sub off.svg 75'
CM5 Sergio Busquets (c)
CM9 Gavi Sub off.svg 84'
RF22 Pablo Sarabia Yellow card.svg 65'Sub off.svg 75'
CF11 Ferran Torres Sub off.svg 49'
LF21 Mikel Oyarzabal Yellow card.svg 89'
Substitutions:
FW7 Yeremy Pino Yellow card.svg 71'Sub on.svg 49'
MF20 Mikel Merino Sub on.svg 75'
MF6 Bryan Gil Sub on.svg 75'
MF10 Sergi Roberto Sub on.svg 84'
Manager:
Luis Enrique

Man of the Match:
Ferran Torres (Spain) [26]

Assistant referees: [25]
Igor Demeshko (Russia)
Maksim Gavrilin (Russia)
Fourth official:
Sergey Ivanov (Russia)
Video assistant referee:
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)
Assistant video assistant referee:
Christian Dingert (Germany)

Belgium vs France

Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg2–3Flag of France.svg  France
Report
Juventus Stadium, Turin
Attendance: 12,409 [27]
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Kit left arm bel20h.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body bel20H.png
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Kit socks long.svg
Belgium [28]
Kit left arm rbl2021h.png
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France [28]
GK1 Thibaut Courtois
CB2 Toby Alderweireld
CB3 Jason Denayer
CB5 Jan Vertonghen Yellow card.svg 67'
RM21 Timothy Castagne Sub off.svg 90+2'
CM6 Axel Witsel
CM8 Youri Tielemans Sub off.svg 70'
LM11 Yannick Carrasco
RF7 Kevin De Bruyne
CF9 Romelu Lukaku
LF10 Eden Hazard (c)Sub off.svg 74'
Substitutions:
MF17 Hans Vanaken Sub on.svg 70'
FW20 Leandro Trossard Sub on.svg 74'
FW23 Michy Batshuayi Sub on.svg 90+2'
Manager:
Flag of Spain.svg Roberto Martínez
BEL-FRA 2021-10-07.svg
GK1 Hugo Lloris (c)
CB5 Jules Koundé
CB4 Raphaël Varane
CB21 Lucas Hernandez
RM2 Benjamin Pavard Sub off.svg 90+2'
CM6 Paul Pogba
CM14 Adrien Rabiot Sub off.svg 75'
LM22 Théo Hernandez
AM7 Antoine Griezmann
CF19 Karim Benzema Sub off.svg 90+7'
CF10 Kylian Mbappé
Substitutions:
MF8 Aurélien Tchouaméni Sub on.svg 75'
DF12 Léo Dubois Sub on.svg 90+2'
MF17 Jordan Veretout Sub on.svg 90+7'
Manager:
Didier Deschamps

Man of the Match:
Kylian Mbappé (France) [29]

Assistant referees: [28]
Jan Seidel (Germany)
Eduard Beitinger (Germany)
Fourth official:
Harm Osmers (Germany)
Video assistant referee:
Christian Dingert (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referee:
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)

Third place play-off

Italy  Flag of Italy.svg2–1Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report
Juventus Stadium, Turin
Attendance: 16,724 [30]
Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia)
Kit left arm italy20h.png
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Kit body.svg
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Italy [31]
Kit left arm bel20a.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body bel20A.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm bel20a.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts adidas red.png
Kit shorts.svg
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Belgium [31]
GK21 Gianluigi Donnarumma (c)
RB2 Giovanni Di Lorenzo Yellow card.svg 30'
CB15 Francesco Acerbi
CB23 Alessandro Bastoni
LB13 Emerson Palmieri Yellow card.svg 82'
CM18 Nicolò Barella Sub off.svg 70'
CM5 Manuel Locatelli
CM7 Lorenzo Pellegrini Sub off.svg 70'
RF11 Domenico Berardi Sub off.svg 90+1'
CF9 Giacomo Raspadori Sub off.svg 65'
LF14 Federico Chiesa Sub off.svg 90+2'
Substitutions:
FW17 Moise Kean Sub on.svg 65'
MF16 Bryan Cristante Sub on.svg 70'
MF8 Jorginho Sub on.svg 70'
FW10 Lorenzo Insigne Sub on.svg 90+1'
MF20 Federico Bernardeschi Sub on.svg 90+2'
Manager:
Roberto Mancini
ITA-BEL 2021-10-10.svg
GK1 Thibaut Courtois
CB2 Toby Alderweireld Yellow card.svg 63'
CB3 Jason Denayer
CB5 Jan Vertonghen (c)Yellow card.svg 14'
RM21 Timothy Castagne
CM6 Axel Witsel Yellow card.svg 56'
CM8 Youri Tielemans Sub off.svg 59'
LM22 Alexis Saelemaekers Sub off.svg 59'
RF17 Hans Vanaken
CF23 Michy Batshuayi
LF11 Yannick Carrasco Sub off.svg 87'
Substitutions:
MF7 Kevin De Bruyne Sub on.svg 59'
FW18 Charles De Ketelaere Sub on.svg 59'
FW20 Leandro Trossard Sub on.svg 87'
Manager:
Flag of Spain.svg Roberto Martínez

Man of the Match:
Domenico Berardi (Italy) [32]

Assistant referees: [31]
Uroš Stojković (Serbia)
Milan Mihajlović (Serbia)
Fourth official:
Novak Simović (Serbia)
Video assistant referee:
Marco Fritz (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Chris Kavanagh (England)
Lee Betts (England)
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)

Final

Spain  Flag of Spain.svg1–2Flag of France.svg  France
Report
San Siro, Milan
Attendance: 31,511 [33]
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
Kit left arm esp20h.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body esp20H.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm esp20h.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts esp20h.png
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks esp20h.png
Kit socks long.svg
Spain [34]
Kit left arm rbl2021h.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body france20a.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm rbl2021h.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts fra20A.png
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
France [34]
GK23 Unai Simón
RB2 César Azpilicueta
CB19 Aymeric Laporte Yellow card.svg 86'
CB12 Eric García
LB17 Marcos Alonso
CM9 Gavi Sub off.svg 75'
CM5 Sergio Busquets (c)
CM16 Rodri Sub off.svg 84'
RF11 Ferran Torres Sub off.svg 84'
CF22 Pablo Sarabia Sub off.svg 61'
LF21 Mikel Oyarzabal
Substitutions:
FW7 Yeremy Pino Sub on.svg 61'
MF8 Koke Sub on.svg 75'
MF20 Mikel Merino Sub on.svg 84'
MF18 Pablo Fornals Sub on.svg 84'
Manager:
Luis Enrique
ESP-FRA 2021-10-10.svg
GK1 Hugo Lloris (c)
CB5 Jules Koundé Yellow card.svg 55'
CB4 Raphaël Varane Sub off.svg 43'
CB3 Presnel Kimpembe
RM2 Benjamin Pavard Sub off.svg 79'
CM6 Paul Pogba Yellow card.svg 46'
CM8 Aurélien Tchouaméni
LM22 Théo Hernandez
AM7 Antoine Griezmann Sub off.svg 90+2'
CF19 Karim Benzema
CF10 Kylian Mbappé Yellow card.svg 90'
Substitutions:
DF15 Dayot Upamecano Sub on.svg 43'
DF12 Léo Dubois Sub on.svg 79'
MF17 Jordan Veretout Sub on.svg 90+2'
Manager:
Didier Deschamps

Man of the Match:
Karim Benzema (France) [35]

Assistant referees: [36]
Gary Beswick (England)
Adam Nunn (England)
Fourth official:
Craig Pawson (England)
Reserve assistant referee:
Stuart Burt (England)
Video assistant referee:
Stuart Attwell (England)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Chris Kavanagh (England)
Lee Betts (England)
Pol van Boekel (Netherlands)

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 14 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 3.5 goals per match.

2 goals

1 goal

Awards

Player of the Tournament

The Hisense Player of the Finals award was given to Sergio Busquets, who was chosen by UEFA's technical observers. [37]

Top Scorer

The "Alipay Top Scorer Trophy", given to the top scorer in the Nations League Finals, [38] was awarded to Kylian Mbappé, who finished with two goals and two assists in the Nations League Finals. [39] The ranking was determined using the following criteria: 1) goals in Nations League Finals, 2) assists in Nations League Finals, 3) fewest minutes played in Nations League Finals, 4) goals in league phase. [40]

Top scorer rankings
RankPlayerGoalsAssistsMinutes
Gold medal icon.svg Flag of France.svg Kylian Mbappé 22180
Silver medal icon.svg Flag of France.svg Karim Benzema 20179
Bronze medal icon.svg Flag of Spain.svg Ferran Torres 20133

Goal of the Tournament

The Gazprom Goal of the Tournament was decided by online voting. A total four goals were in the shortlist, chosen by UEFA's technical observers: Karim Benzema (against Spain), Ferran Torres (second goal against Italy), Théo Hernandez (against Belgium) and Romelu Lukaku (against France). Benzema won the award for his goal in the final. [41] [42]

RankGoalscorerOpponentScoreResultRound
Gold medal icon.svg Flag of France.svg Karim Benzema Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 1–12–1 Final
Silver medal icon.svg Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Romelu Lukaku Flag of France.svg  France 2–02–3 Semi-finals
Bronze medal icon.svg Flag of Spain.svg Ferran Torres Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2–02–1 Semi-finals
4 Flag of France.svg Théo Hernandez Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 3–23–2 Semi-finals

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for receiving a red card, which could be extended for serious offences. Yellow card suspensions did not apply in the Nations League Finals. [5]

The following suspensions were served during the tournament: [43]

PlayerOffence(s)Suspension(s)
Flag of Italy.svg Leonardo Bonucci Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg in semi-finals vs Spain (6 October 2021) Third place play-off vs Belgium (10 October 2021)

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