2021 UEFA Nations League Finals

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,[2] 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.

Not to be confused with 2021 UEFA Nations League Final, the final match of the Nations League.

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
Champions France (1st title)
Runners-up Spain
Third place Italy
Fourth place Belgium
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored14 (3.5 per match)
Attendance94,168 (23,542 per match)
Top scorer(s) Karim Benzema
Kylian Mbappé
Ferran Torres
(2 goals each)
Best player(s) Sergio Busquets[1]

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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5] 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:[6]

  • In the semi-finals and final, 30 minutes of extra time would be played.[7] If the score was still level after extra time, the winner would be determined by a penalty shoot-out.
  • In the third place play-off, extra time would not be played, and the winner would be determined by a penalty shoot-out (this was a change from the 2019 finals, which utilized extra time in the third place play-off).

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).[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

Qualified teams

The four group winners of League A qualified for the Nations League Finals.[11] All four teams made their debut in the Nations League Finals.

Group Winners Date of
qualification		 Previous finals appearances UNL Rankings
November 2020		 FIFA Rankings
September 2021
A1  Italy (host) 18 November 2020 0 (debut) 3 5
A2  Belgium 18 November 2020 0 (debut) 2 1
A3  France 14 November 2020 0 (debut) 1 4
A4  Spain 17 November 2020 0 (debut) 4 8

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.[12][4] 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.[2]

Host selection

Italy was confirmed as the host country by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 3 December 2020.[13][14] 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.[2] 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.[5][15] 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.[16]

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.[16][19]

 Milan Turin
San Siro Juventus Stadium
Capacity: 75,923 Capacity: 41,507

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.[20][21][22][23] The first two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing A, while the remaining two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing B.[24] 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.[6]

Squads
Main article: 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals 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.[6]

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
6 October – Milan
 
 
 Italy1
 
10 October – Milan
 
 Spain2
 
 Spain1
 
7 October – Turin
 
 France2
 
 Belgium2
 
 
 France3
 
Third place play-off
 
 
10 October – Turin
 
 
 Italy2
 
 
 Belgium1

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

Semi-finals

Italy vs Spain
Italy 1–2 Spain
  • Pellegrini 83'
 Report
Attendance: 33,524[25]
Italy[26]
Spain[26]
GK21Gianluigi Donnarumma
RB2Giovanni Di Lorenzo
CB19Leonardo Bonucci (c) 30'  42'
CB23Alessandro Bastoni
LB13Emerson
CM18Nicolò Barella 72'
CM8Jorginho 64'
CM6Marco Verratti 58'
RF14Federico Chiesa
CF20Federico Bernardeschi 46'
LF10Lorenzo Insigne 58'
Substitutions:
DF3Giorgio Chiellini 46'
FW17Moise Kean 58'
MF5Manuel Locatelli 82' 58'
MF7Lorenzo Pellegrini 64'
DF4Davide Calabria 72'
Manager:
Roberto Mancini
GK23Unai Simón
RB2César Azpilicueta 45'
CB19Aymeric Laporte
CB3Pau Torres
LB17Marcos Alonso
CM8Koke 75'
CM5Sergio Busquets (c)
CM9Gavi 84'
RF22Pablo Sarabia 65' 75'
CF11Ferran Torres 49'
LF21Mikel Oyarzabal 89'
Substitutions:
FW7Yeremi Pino 71' 49'
MF20Mikel Merino 75'
MF6Bryan Gil 75'
MF10Sergi Roberto 84'
Manager:
Luis Enrique

Man of the Match:
Ferran Torres (Spain)[27]

Assistant referees:[26]
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 2–3 France
 Report
Attendance: 12,409[28]
Belgium[29]
France[29]
GK1Thibaut Courtois
CB2Toby Alderweireld
CB3Jason Denayer
CB5Jan Vertonghen 67'
RM21Timothy Castagne 90+2'
CM6Axel Witsel
CM8Youri Tielemans 70'
LM11Yannick Carrasco
RF7Kevin De Bruyne
CF9Romelu Lukaku
LF10Eden Hazard (c) 74'
Substitutions:
MF17Hans Vanaken 70'
FW20Leandro Trossard 74'
FW23Michy Batshuayi 90+2'
Manager:
Roberto Martínez
GK1Hugo Lloris (c)
CB5Jules Koundé
CB4Raphaël Varane
CB21Lucas Hernandez
RM2Benjamin Pavard 90+2'
CM6Paul Pogba
CM14Adrien Rabiot 75'
LM22Theo Hernandez
AM7Antoine Griezmann
CF19Karim Benzema 90+7'
CF10Kylian Mbappé
Substitutions:
MF8Aurélien Tchouaméni 75'
DF12Léo Dubois 90+2'
MF17Jordan Veretout 90+7'
Manager:
Didier Deschamps

Man of the Match:
Kylian Mbappé (France)[30]

Assistant referees:[29]
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 2–1 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 16,724[31]
Italy[32]
Belgium[32]
GK21Gianluigi Donnarumma (c)
RB2Giovanni Di Lorenzo 30'
CB15Francesco Acerbi
CB23Alessandro Bastoni
LB13Emerson 82'
CM18Nicolò Barella 70'
CM5Manuel Locatelli
CM7Lorenzo Pellegrini 70'
RF11Domenico Berardi 90+1'
CF9Giacomo Raspadori 65'
LF14Federico Chiesa 90+2'
Substitutions:
FW17Moise Kean 65'
MF16Bryan Cristante 70'
MF8Jorginho 70'
FW10Lorenzo Insigne 90+1'
MF20Federico Bernardeschi 90+2'
Manager:
Roberto Mancini
GK1Thibaut Courtois
CB2Toby Alderweireld 63'
CB3Jason Denayer
CB5Jan Vertonghen (c) 14'
RM21Timothy Castagne
CM6Axel Witsel 56'
CM8Youri Tielemans 59'
LM22Alexis Saelemaekers 59'
RF17Hans Vanaken
CF23Michy Batshuayi
LF11Yannick Carrasco 87'
Substitutions:
MF7Kevin De Bruyne 59'
FW18Charles De Ketelaere 59'
FW20Leandro Trossard 87'
Manager:
Roberto Martínez

Man of the Match:
Domenico Berardi (Italy)[33]

Assistant referees:[32]
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
Main article: 2021 UEFA Nations League Final
Spain 1–2 France
 Report
Attendance: 31,511[34]
Spain[35]
France[35]
GK23Unai Simón
RB2César Azpilicueta
CB19Aymeric Laporte 86'
CB12Eric García
LB17Marcos Alonso
CM9Gavi 75'
CM5Sergio Busquets (c)
CM16Rodri 84'
RF11Ferran Torres 84'
CF22Pablo Sarabia 61'
LF21Mikel Oyarzabal
Substitutions:
FW7Yeremi Pino 61'
MF8Koke 75'
MF20Mikel Merino 84'
MF18Pablo Fornals 84'
Manager:
Luis Enrique
GK1Hugo Lloris (c)
CB5Jules Koundé 55'
CB4Raphaël Varane 43'
CB3Presnel Kimpembe
RM2Benjamin Pavard 79'
CM6Paul Pogba 46'
CM8Aurélien Tchouaméni
LM22Theo Hernandez
AM7Antoine Griezmann 90+2'
CF19Karim Benzema
CF10Kylian Mbappé 90'
Substitutions:
DF15Dayot Upamecano 43'
DF12Léo Dubois 79'
MF17Jordan Veretout 90+2'
Manager:
Didier Deschamps

Man of the Match:
Karim Benzema (France)[36]

Assistant referees:[37]
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.[1]

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
Rank Player Goals Assists Minutes
Kylian Mbappé 2 2 180
Ferran Torres 2 0 133
Karim Benzema 2 0 179

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), Theo Hernandez (against Belgium) and Romelu Lukaku (against France). Benzema won the award for his goal in the final.[41][42]

Rank Goalscorer Opponent Score Result Round
Karim Benzema  Spain 1–1 2–1 Final
Romelu Lukaku  France 2–0 2–3 Semi-finals
Ferran Torres  Italy 2–0 2–1 Semi-finals
4 Theo Hernandez  Belgium 3–2 3–2 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.[6]

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

Player Offence(s) Suspension(s)
Leonardo Bonucci   in semi-finals vs Spain (6 October 2021) Third place play-off vs Belgium (10 October 2021)

References
  1. "Sergio Busquets named 2021 UEFA Nations League Player of the Finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. "Two triple-headers approved for 2021 March and September national team windows". UEFA. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  3. "Portugal 0–1 France: N'Golo Kante winner sends Blues into finals". BBC Sport. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. "European Qualifiers: FIFA World Cup – Qualifying draw procedure" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  5. UEFA.com (11 July 2021). "UEFA Nations League finals: all you need to know". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  6. "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League, 2020/21" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 October 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  7. "Amendments to football's Laws of the Game in various UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  8. "Five substitutions allowed at UEFA EURO 2020 and 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals". UEFA. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  9. "Temporary amendment to Law 3" (PDF). International Football Association Board. Zürich. 8 May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  10. "IFAB approves trials with additional concussion substitutes". International Football Association Board. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  11. "Who is in the Nations League finals?". UEFA. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  12. "Resolution of the European football family on a coordinated response to the impact of the COVID-19 on competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  13. "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for December meeting". UEFA. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  14. "Tirana to host first UEFA Europa Conference League Final". UEFA. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  15. UEFA.com (3 December 2020). "Nations League finals host confirmed: Milan and Turin to stage 2021 games". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  16. "Milan and Turin candidates to host UEFA Nations League finals". Italian Football Federation. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  17. "Nederland kandidaat voor organisatie Nations League Finals 2021" [The Netherlands candidate for organiser of the 2021 Nations League Finals]. Royal Dutch Football Association (in Dutch). 24 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  18. "Polska walczy z rywalami z grupy o organizację final four Ligi Narodów" [Poland is fighting with rivals from the group to organise the final four of the Nations League]. TVN24 (in Polish). 24 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  19. "Nations League finals host confirmed: Milan and Turin to stage 2021 games". UEFA. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  20. "UEFA Nations League finals draw". UEFA. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  21. "UEFA Nations League finals draw". UEFA. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  22. "2021 UEFA Nations League Finals Press Kit" (PDF). UEFA. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  23. "Nations League finals draw: Italy vs Spain, Belgium vs France". UEFA. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  24. "UEFA Nations League 2020/21: Finals draw procedure" (PDF). UEFA. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  25. "Full Time Report – Semi-finals – Italy v Spain" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  26. "Tactical Line-ups – Semi-finals – Italy v Spain" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  27. "Italy 1–2 Spain: Ferran Torres double ends Azzurri run". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  28. "Full Time Report – Semi-finals – Belgium v France" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  29. "Tactical Line-ups – Semi-finals – Belgium v France" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  30. "Belgium 2–3 France: Theo Hernández completes stunning comeback". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  31. "Full Time Report – Third-place match – Italy v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  32. "Tactical Line-ups – Third-place match – Italy v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  33. "Italy 2–1 Belgium: Azzurri secure third place at Nations League finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  34. "Full Time Report – Final – Spain v France" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  35. "Tactical Line-ups – Final – Spain v France" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  36. "Spain 1–2 France: Les Bleus seal trophy with another comeback". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  37. "English ref Anthony Taylor and his team to take charge of Spain v France in Milan". The Football Association. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  38. "Alipay Top Scorer trophy unveiled for UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  39. "UEFA Nations League finals top scorer: Kylian Mbappé". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  40. "Alipay Top Scorer". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  41. "Goal of the Tournament". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  42. "Top Goals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  43. "UEFA Nations League 2021: Booking List before Third-place match and Final" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
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