Spain has completed the line-up for the 2023 UEFA Nations League Final Four, joining Croatia, Italy and the Netherlands.
Álvaro Morata scored late in the decider against Portugal in Braga as a 1-0 win took Luis Enrique’s team top of Group A2. italy had secured their place on monday thanks to a 2-0 win over previous group a3 leaders hungary. On Sunday, the Netherlands secured their ticket following a 1-0 win against neighbors Belgium, while Croatia toiled in Austria, where Marko Livaja and Dejan Lovren made second-half efforts to seal a crucial 3-0 win. 1.
The semi-finals will be played on June 14 and 15, 2023, and the final and third-place match will be played on June 18. hosts will be appointed in January 2023; all four sides of group a4 (belgium, poland, netherlands and wales) declared interest.
Croatia
how they rated
not many gave croatia high hopes when they were thrashed 3-0 at home by austria in their first match of group a1. The picture was not much improved by a 1-1 draw with france in split, but zlatko dalić’s charges then showed their mettle, with two wins against denmark interspersed with a great 1-0 win in france. They then held their nerve in Austria to prevail 3-1 thanks to a pair of vital goals in the final 21 minutes. “In the end, the victory was deserved,” said captain Modrić. “I am very happy that we are in the top four.”
03/06/2022 croatia 0-3 austria06/06/2022 croatia 1-1 france06/10/2022 denmark 0-1 croatia06/13/2022 france 0-1 croatia09/22/2022 croatia 2-1 denmark25/ 09/2022 austria 1-3 croatia
tactics
dalić is most comfortable using a 4-3-3 formation, occasionally switching to 4-2-3-1, although with little difference between the two. the coach rotated a lot during the league phase, although he was left with a trio in midfield made up of modrić, mateo kovačić and marcelo brozović, plus ivan perišić on the left. Elsewhere, Dalić experimented while looking for solutions up front, on the right and in defence.
key player
even at 37, there is no doubt that everything still depends on midfielder maestro modrić’s form. Croatia’s regal captain still retains his magic and ability to dictate games, with his passes delivered with supreme intelligence and his sense of the game on a different level.
one to watch
joško gvardiol could soon become one of the most wanted defenders in the world. the leipzig center back is only 20 years old, but his reactions and maturity are already remarkable, especially when he is under pressure. croatia’s future, he has become a key pillar in dalić’s team.
did you know?
with his first goal against austria on matchday 6, modrić became the only player from croatia to record more than one goal in his current nations league campaign.
italy
how they rated
along with euro 2020 final opponents england and germany in a difficult section roberto mancini’s team regained some pride after their surprise loss to north macedonia in the cup play-offs of the world. A 5-2 loss to Germany on Matchday 4 was a blow, but the Azzurri came through with back-to-back wins in September, with Giacomo Rasadori scoring in both.
04/06/2022 Italy 1-1 Germany07/06/2022 Italy 2-1 Hungary06/11/2022 England 0-0 Italy06/14/2022 Germany 5-2 Italy09/23/2022 Italy 1-0 England26/ 09/2022 hungary 0-2 italy
tactics
In qualifying, Mancini mainly used the 4-3-3 formation that led the Azzurri to triumph at Euro 2020, but switched to a 3-5-2 for the last two group stage matches, earning wins and clean sheets. against england and hungary.
key player
The Azzurri have won their last two group games without the injured Marco Verratti but, when fit, the Parisian midfielder brings crucial intensity, energy and technique to Mancini’s side.
one to watch
raspadori scored in september wins against england and hungary. At 22, the Napoli striker could be the solution to Italy’s attacking problems with his never-give-up attitude, creativity and lethal finishing.
did you know?
in the decisive qualifier against hungary, salernitana right-back pasquale mazzocchi became the 51st player to make his italy debut under mancini. Only Arrigo Sacchi (55) has had more debutants as Azzurri coach.
netherlands
how they rated
the netherlands, the only team to remain undefeated in league a, started as they intended to continue by beating neighbors belgium 4-1. It wasn’t easy after that: Oranje came from 2-0 down to draw with Poland, while both wins against Wales came courtesy of added-time goals. however, the dutch always found a way and sealed their stint with a 1-0 win over belgium in amsterdam.
03/06/2022 belgium 1-4 netherlands08/06/2022 wales 1-2 netherlands06/11/2022 netherlands 2-2 poland06/14/2022 netherlands 3-2 wales09/22/2022 poland 0 -2 netherlands25/09/2022 netherlands 1-0 belgium
tactics
a defense of three, full-backs who are a vital element of the attack, a diamond in midfield with the point in front and two forwards, usually steven bergwijn and memphis depay, who are fast, mobile and almost impossible to pin down . . and, of course, a team full of players who can exchange positions comfortably.
key player
van dijk remains the cornerstone on which Dutch success is built. a colossus of defense, born leader, and occasional scorer of vital goals.
one to watch
jurriën wood. van dijk considers the 21-year-old ajax defender, smart in his position and a ball player, to be “much further along in his development than i was at that age.”
did you know?
the dutch had failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their games in 2022 until remko pasveer took charge in goal and proved unbeatable in the last two games.
spain
how they rated
It was an up-and-down qualifying campaign for Spain as they sealed their place in a second successive final. The 2022 runners-up struggled to pick up momentum in the opening games, with a pair of draws followed by a narrow win against Switzerland, which then condemned the Reds to their first home loss since 2018. However, they showed character and resistance to secure a priceless win away to portugal, Álvaro Morata scored the winning goal in the final minutes to seal a place in the semi-finals.
02/06/2022 Spain 1-1 Portugal 05/06/2022 Czech Republic 2-2 Spain 09/06/2022 Switzerland 0-1 Spain 06/12/2022 Spain 2-0 Czech Republic 09/24/2022 Spain 1-2 switzerland 09/27/2022 portugal 0-1 spain
tactics
in general, luis enrique is a 4-3-3 man, with a philosophy of “everyone defends, everyone attacks”. he focuses on the team rather than the people, and predicting his starting xi is one of the hardest jobs in the business. his side presses high, plays direct and likes to grab the ball. however, they have sometimes been guilty of not being ruthless enough in both areas.
key player
despite being only 19 years old, pedri, the young player of the uefa euro 2020 tournament, has become a mainstay for club and country. His influence is growing and he is often the key to Spain’s attacking threat, having added goals to his game of late.
one to watch
luis enrique has enormous faith in ansu fati and will be desperate to see him back fit and shooting as he continues to recover from his injury. As the season progresses, the striker is expected to return to being a regular at both Barcelona and Spain; His goalscoring instinct, in particular, is something the national team has lacked.
did you know?
gavi, who made his debut for spain in the semifinals of the last nations league in october 2021, became the country’s youngest ever scorer in this season’s competition by scoring against the czechia at the age of 17 and 304 days, beating ansu fati september 2020 record by one week.