Virgil van Dijk scored a last-minute equaliser with a fierce volley against already relegated Germany in Gelsenkirchen on Monday night to secure the Netherlands a week in Portugal next June for the finals of the Nations League.
The Dutch rallied after Quincy Promes pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining and set up a nervous finale for Germany, who had dominated throughout and looked good value for their 2-0 lead, a result which would have sent France through as group winners. Ronald Koeman’s side will join Portugal, Switzerland and England (the highest ranked of the four by Fifa) in the finals. The draw will be made in Dublin on 3 December.
The Netherlands, who defeated Germany 3-0 in Amsterdam last month, made a cautious start but they fell behind after nine minutes when Timo Werner fired a low drive past Jasper Cillessen from 25 yards. Leroy Sané added a second 11 minutes later when his left-foot shot from 18 yards went in with the aid of a deflection off Tete.
Germany knocked the ball around with total confidence in the second half and should have been out of sight but Promes’ fine goal changed the mood. Van Dijk stayed up the pitch on the assistant manager’s orders and got the reward after a cross into the box was headed on. It also ensured Germany finished without a win in group A.
Quick GuideNations League fixtures and results
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Thursday 15 November
League A, Group 2: Belgium 2-0 Iceland
A4: Croatia 3-2 Spain
B3: Austria 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
C2: Hungary 2-0 Estonia, Greece 1-0 Finland
D1: Kazakhstan 1-1 Latvia, Andorra 1-1 Georgia
D2: Luxembourg 0-2 Belarus, San Marino 0-1 Moldova
Friday 16 November
League A, Group 1: Netherlands 2-0 France
B1: Slovakia 4-1 Ukraine
B4: Wales 1-2 Denmark
C3: Cyprus 1-1 Bulgaria, Slovenia 1-1 Norway
D4: Gibraltar 2-6 Armenia, Liechtenstein 0-2 FYR Macedonia
Saturday 17 November
League A, Group 3: Italy 0-0 Portugal
B2: Turkey 0-1 Sweden
C1: Albania 0-4 Scotland
C4: Serbia 2-1 Montenegro, Romania 3-0 Lithuania
D3: Azerbaijan 2-0 Faroe Islands, Malta 0-5 Kosovo
Sunday 18 November
League A, Group 2: Switzerland 5-2 Belgium
A4: England 2-1 Croatia
B3: Northern Ireland 1-2 Austria
C2: Hungary 2-0 Finland, Greece 0-1 Estonia
D2: San Marino 0-2 Belarus, Moldova 1-1 Luxembourg
Monday 19 November
League A, Group 1: Germany 2-2 Netherlands
B1: Czech Republic 1-0 Slovakia
B4: Denmark 0-0 Republic of Ireland
C3: Cyprus 0-2 Norway, Bulgaria 1-1 Slovenia
D1: Georgia 2-1 Kazakhstan, Andorra 0-0 Latvia
D4: FYR Macedonia 4-0 Gibraltar, Liechtenstein 2-2 Armenia
Tuesday 20 November
League A, Group 3: Portugal 1-1 Poland
B2: Sweden 2-0 Russia
C1: Scotland 3-2 Israel
C4: Serbia 4-1 Lithuania, Montenegro 0-1 Romania
D3: Malta 1-1 Faroe Islands, Kosovo 4-0 Azerbaijan
Ups and downs so far
League A
Finals: Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, England
Relegated: Germany, Iceland, Poland, Croatia
League B
Promoted: Ukraine, Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark
Relegated: Slovakia, Turkey, N Ireland, Rep of Ireland
League C
Promoted: Scotland, Finland, Norway, Serbia
Relegated: Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Cyprus
League D
Promoted: Georgia, Belarus, Kosovo, Macedonia
“There is still much to improve, we have seen that again today, but this team has shown that it has a bright future ahead,” Koeman said.
The Republic of Ireland ended their year on a positive note with a 0-0 draw in Denmark, though they barely threatened in the match. Christian Eriksen went close when he curled a 42nd-minute free-kick inches over the Irish crossbar and Nicolai Jørgensen saw a shot come back off a post in the second period. “Overall, in terms of creativity [we were ] maybe not completely there, but I thought the commitment was absolutely excellent against a very strong Danish team,” said Martin O’Neill, the Republic manager.
“In the competitive games we’ve played this season, I think that might have been our eighth debutant, and the players are getting used to playing with each other. The players are bedding in, young players coming on. This is international football, this is a massive step up for a number of our players, but they are trying to adjust.”
Quick GuideNations League finals
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The format
The first semi-final, between hosts Portugal and Switzerland, takes place in Porto on Wednesday 5 June (7.45pm BST). England's semi-final against Netherlands is on Thursday (7.45pm) in Guimaraes.
The winners progress to Sunday's final in Porto (7.45pm), and there's also a third-place play-off in Guimaraes on the same day (2pm).
How they qualified
All four sides won their groups in League A. England made it with a comeback win over Croatia at Wembley, while Netherlands scored two late goals to draw with Germany and deny France. Portugal topped the group of potential hosts ahead of Italy and Poland, and Switzerland pipped Belgium on head-to-head record with a 5-2 win in Lucerne.
What do the winners get?
The inaugural Nations League winners will receive an elaborate trophy (pictured above), as well as a total prize pot of €10.5m (£9.36m). The winners will not qualify for Euro 2020 automatically, however.
Slovakia were relegated from group B after losing 1-0 to the Czech Republic. A point would have been enough to secure the Czechs’ survival in a group that had already been won by Ukraine but Roma’s Patrik Schick gave them some comfort.
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