2023 UEFA Nations League final

Not to be confused with 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals, the final tournament of the Nations League.

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.^[6]

2023 UEFA Nations League final

Match programme cover
Event	2023 UEFA Nations League Finals
Croatia Spain 0 0
After extra time Spain won 5–4 on penalties
Date	18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)
Venue	De Kuip, Rotterdam
Man of the Match	Marcelo Brozović (Croatia)[1]
Referee	Felix Zwayer (Germany)[2]
Attendance	41,110[3]
Weather	Partly cloudy night 25 °C (77 °F) 69% humidity[4][5]
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Spain won the match 5–4 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time for their first UEFA Nations League title.^[1]

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.^[7] 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.^[6]

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.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

Route to the final

Further information: 2022–23 UEFA Nations League, 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A, and 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals

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

Croatia		Round	Spain
Opponents	Result	League phase	Opponents	Result
Austria	0–3 (H)	Match 1	Portugal	1–1 (H)
France	1–1 (H)	Match 2	Czech Republic	2–2 (A)
Denmark	1–0 (A)	Match 3	Switzerland	1–0 (A)
France	1–0 (A)	Match 4	Czech Republic	2–0 (H)
Denmark	2–1 (H)	Match 5	Switzerland	1–2 (H)
Austria	3–1 (A)	Match 6	Portugal	1–0 (A)
Group A1 winner Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1  Croatia 6 13 2  Denmark 6 12 3  France 6 5 4  Austria (R) 6 4 Source: UEFA (R) Relegated		Final standings	Group A2 winner Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1  Spain 6 11 2  Portugal 6 10 3   Switzerland 6 9 4  Czech Republic (R) 6 4 Source: UEFA (R) Relegated
Opponents	Result	Nations League Finals	Opponents	Result
Netherlands	4–2 (a.e.t.)	Semi-finals	Italy	2–1

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.^[11] 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.^[12]

Details

Croatia	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Spain
	Report
Penalties
Vlašić Brozović Modrić Majer Perišić Petković	4–5	Joselu Rodri Merino Asensio Laporte Carvajal

18 June 2023 (2023-06-18)

20:45 UTC+2

De Kuip, Rotterdam

Attendance: 41,110^[3]

Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

Croatia[4]

Spain[4]

GK 1 Dominik Livaković RB 22 Josip Juranović  112' CB 6 Josip Šutalo CB 5 Martin Erlić LB 14 Ivan Perišić DM 11 Marcelo Brozović CM 10 Luka Modrić (c) CM 8 Mateo Kovačić RW 15 Mario Pašalić  61' LW 16 Luka Ivanušec  78' CF 9 Andrej Kramarić  90+1' Substitutions: FW 17 Bruno Petković  90+2'  61' MF 13 Nikola Vlašić  78' MF 7 Lovro Majer  90+1' DF 2 Josip Stanišić  112' Manager: Zlatko Dalić

GK 23 Unai Simón RB 22 Jesús Navas  97' CB 3 Robin Le Normand  78' CB 14 Aymeric Laporte LB 18 Jordi Alba (c) CM 16 Rodri  97' CM 8 Fabián Ruiz  78' RW 10 Marco Asensio AM 9 Gavi  81'  87' LW 15 Yeremy Pino  66' CF 7 Álvaro Morata  66' Substitutions: FW 12 Ansu Fati  66' FW 20 Joselu  66' MF 6 Mikel Merino  78' DF 4 Nacho  96'  78' FW 21 Dani Olmo  87' DF 2 Dani Carvajal  97' Manager: Luis de la Fuente

Man of the Match: Marcelo Brozović (Croatia)[1] Assistant referees:[2] 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)

Match rules[13] 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[note 1]

Statistics

First half[14] Statistic Croatia Spain Goals scored 0 0 Total shots 4 6 Shots on target 3 0 Saves 1 3 Ball possession 47% 53% Corner kicks 1 2 Fouls committed 5 8 Offsides 1 2 Yellow cards 0 0 Red cards 0 0

Second half[14] Statistic Croatia Spain Goals scored 0 0 Total shots 3 9 Shots on target 0 1 Saves 1 0 Ball possession 51% 49% Corner kicks 1 1 Fouls committed 4 7 Offsides 1 0 Yellow cards 1 1 Red cards 0 0

Extra time[14] Statistic Croatia Spain Goals scored 0 0 Total shots 5 6 Shots on target 2 0 Saves 0 2 Ball possession 46% 54% Corner kicks 2 5 Fouls committed 2 3 Offsides 0 0 Yellow cards 0 2 Red cards 0 0

Overall[14] Statistic Croatia Spain Goals scored 0 0 Total shots 12 21 Shots on target 5 1 Saves 2 5 Ball possession 48% 52% Corner kicks 4 8 Fouls committed 11 18 Offsides 2 2 Yellow cards 1 3 Red cards 0 0

Notes

1. Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.