The 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the third season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The tournament was held from 14 to 18 June 2023 in the Netherlands 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 a final to determine the champions of the UEFA Nations League.
| Finaleronde UEFA Nations League 2023 (in Dutch) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Netherlands |
| Dates | 14–18 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Spain (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Croatia |
| Third place |  Italy |
| Fourth place |  Netherlands |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 14 (3.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 126,319 (31,580 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | 14 players (1 goal each) |
| Best player(s) | Rodri |
Following their win in 2021, defending champions France were unable to retain their title after finishing third in their group.[1][2]
Spain won the final against Croatia, 5–4 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time, for their first UEFA Nations League title.
Format
The Nations League Finals took place in June 2023, and were contested by the four group winners of League A. The four teams were drawn into a five-team group (rather than a six-team group) for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying group stage, thereby leaving the June 2023 window available for the Nations League Finals.
The Nations League Finals took place over five days and were played in single-leg knockout matches, consisting of two semi-finals on 14 and 15 June (the first of which featured the host team), and a third place play-off and final three days after the second semi-final on 18 June 2023. The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw. All matches in the tournament utilised goal-line technology and video assistant referee (VAR) systems.[3]
In the Nations League Finals, if the scores were level at the end of normal time:[3]
- In the semi-finals and final, 30 minutes of extra time would be played. 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.
Qualified teams
The four group winners of League A qualified for the Nations League Finals.
| Group | Winners | Date of qualification | Previous finals appearances | Previous best UNL performance | UNL Rankings September 2022 | FIFA Rankings April 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Croatia | 25 September 2022 | 0 (debut) | Ninth place (2018–19) | 2 | 7 |
| A2 | Spain | 27 September 2022 | 1 (2021) | Runners-up (2020–21) | 3 | 10 |
| A3 | Italy | 26 September 2022 | 1 (2021) | Third place (2020–21) | 4 | 8 |
| A4 | Netherlands (host) | 25 September 2022 | 1 (2019) | Runners-up (2018–19) | 1 | 6 |
Host selection
The Netherlands was confirmed as the host country by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 29 November 2022.[4] Only League A teams could bid for the Nations League Finals, and only one of the four finals participants would ultimately be selected as hosts. UEFA required the tournament to be played at two Category 4 stadiums, each with at least 30,000 net seating capacity. The stadiums ideally would be located in the same host city or up to approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) apart. UEFA envisioned the larger of the stadiums to host the first semi-final (featuring the host team) and the final. The bidding timeline was as follows:[5]
- 28 February 2022: Applications formally invited
- 13 April 2022, 16:00 CEST: Closing date for registering intention to bid (non-binding)
- 14 April 2022: Bid requirements made available to bidders
- May 2022: Opening workshop for bidders
- July/August 2022: Technical calls with bidders
- 7 September 2022, 16:00 CEST: Closing date for submission of preliminary bid dossier
- 5 October 2022, 16:00 CEST: Closing date for submission of final bid dossier
- 29 November 2022: Host appointment by the UEFA Executive Committee
On 13 April 2022, UEFA announced that Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Wales had declared interest in hosting the tournament. As all four associations were in Group A4, the group winner was in line to be appointed as the host, provided that the associations submitted bids which meet UEFA's requirements.[6] Poland and Wales were unable to win Group A4 following their results on 14 June 2022, leaving Belgium and the Netherlands as the remaining potential hosts.[7] On 25 September 2022, the Netherlands won Group A4 over Belgium and advanced to the Nations League Finals,[8] thereby automatically winning hosting rights, which were confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee on 29 November 2022.[4]
Venues
De Kuip in Rotterdam and De Grolsch Veste in Enschede were confirmed as the venues for the tournament on 29 November 2022.[4] Other potential stadiums, such as the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam (the largest in the country) and the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, were both unavailable for the tournament due to previously scheduled concerts.[9]
| Rotterdam | Enschede | |
|---|---|---|
| De Kuip | De Grolsch Veste | |
| Capacity: 51,117 | Capacity: 30,205 | |
 |  |
Draw
The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw on 25 January 2023, 11:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[10][11] Former Dutch international Wesley Sneijder, ambassador for the Nations League Finals, drew the match pairings.[12] The first two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing A, while the remaining two teams drawn were allocated to match pairing B. 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.[13]
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 could be replaced by another player.[3]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 14 June – Rotterdam | ||||||
| Netherlands | 2 | |||||
| 18 June – Rotterdam | ||||||
| Croatia (a.e.t.) | 4 | |||||
| Croatia | 0 (4) | |||||
| 15 June – Enschede | ||||||
| Spain (p) | 0 (5) | |||||
| Spain | 2 | |||||
| Italy | 1 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 18 June – Enschede | ||||||
| Netherlands | 2 | |||||
| Italy | 3 | |||||
Semi-finals
Netherlands vs Croatia
| Netherlands | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
          Netherlands[16] |     Croatia[16] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[16] |
Spain vs Italy
     Spain[19] |    Italy[19] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[19] |
Third place play-off
     Netherlands[22] | Italy[22] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[22] |
Final
    Croatia[25] |  Spain[25] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[27] |
Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 14 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 3.5 goals per match.
1 goal
Awards
Player of the Tournament
The Player of the Finals award was given to Rodri, who was chosen by UEFA's technical observers.[28]
Goal of the Tournament
The Alipay Goal of the Tournament was decided by online voting. A total of four goals were in the shortlist, chosen by UEFA's technical observers: Federico Dimarco (against Netherlands), Donyell Malen (against Croatia), Mario Pašalić (against Netherlands) and Bruno Petković (against Netherlands). Petković won the award for his goal in the semi-final.[29]
| Rank | Goalscorer | Opponent | Score | Result | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Bruno Petković | Netherlands | 3–2 | 4–2 (a.e.t.) | Semi-finals |
| — | Federico Dimarco | Netherlands | 1–0 | 3–2 | Third place play-off |
| — | Donyell Malen | Croatia | 1–0 | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | Semi-finals |
| — | Mario Pašalić | Netherlands | 2–1 | 4–2 (a.e.t.) | Semi-finals |
Discipline
A player would have been automatically suspended for the next match for receiving a red card, which could have been extended for serious offences. However, no players received a suspension during the Nations League Finals.[30][31] Yellow card suspensions did not apply in the Nations League Finals, including any pending suspensions from the league phase, while yellow cards issued were not carried forward to any other future international matches.[3]