The 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2020–21 edition of the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

, the second season of the international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

. The tournament was held in Italy from 6 to 10 October 2021, 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.

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

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 France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. France won the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

2–1 against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

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 League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Leagues (band), ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full ...

. 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. 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. All matches in the tournament utilised the

goal-line technology In many outdoor ball sports, a goal line is a line in front of goal post and which a team attempts to advance the ball or puck towards to score a goal or points. In particular, see: * Football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer fiel ...

and

video assistant referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the referee. The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a current or former referee appointed to assist the VAR in the video ope ...

(VAR) systems. In the Nations League Finals, if the scores were level at the end of normal time: *In the semi-finals and final, 30 minutes of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

would be played. If the score was still level after extra time, the winner would be determined by a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. *In the third place play-off, extra time would not be played, and the winner would be determined by a

(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). 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. The use of five substitutes had been permitted by

IFAB The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football. IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree standardised Laws for international competition, and has since acted as the "guardia ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

due to the resulting fixture congestion, which created a greater burden on players.

Qualified teams

The four group winners of

qualified for the Nations League Finals.

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 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

to June and July 2021 due to the

. 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.

Host selection

Italy was confirmed as the host country by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 3 December 2020. 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 apart. On 24 September 2020, UEFA announced that

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

had declared interest in hosting the tournament, all three of which are members of Group A1.

were confirmed as winners of Group A1 over the

and

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. If the fourth member of the group,

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, had qualified for the Nations League Finals, the UEFA Executive Committee would have decided the venues. Bidding venues * **

San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Juventus Stadium Juventus Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Stadium since July 2017, sometimes simply known in Italy as the Stadium ( it, Lo Stadium), is an all-seater football stadium in the Vallette borough of Turin, Italy, and the home o ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

* **

Johan Cruyff Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

De Kuip Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

* ** Stadion Narodowy,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Stadion Wojska Polskiego The Stadion Wojska Polskiego (, en, Polish Army Stadium), officially named Stadion Miejski Legii Warszawa im. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego ( eng, The Marshall Józef Piłsudski's Municipal Stadium of Legia Warsaw) in Warsaw, Poland, is an all- ...

(potential second venue) **

Stadion Śląski The Stadion Śląski ( en, Silesian Stadium) is a sport stadium located on the premises of Silesian Park in Chorzów, Poland. The stadium has a fully covered capacity of 55,211, after a recent refurbishment completed in October 2017. The stadium ...

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; german: link=no, Königshütte ; szl, Chorzōw) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population ...

(potential second venue) **

Stadion Miejski im. Henryka Reymana Stadion Miejski im. Henryka Reymana ( en, Henryk Reyman's Municipal Stadium) is a football-specific stadium in Kraków, Poland. It is currently used as home ground by Wisła Kraków football team playing in the Ekstraklasa. The address of th ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

(potential second venue)

Venues

In their bid dossier, the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It ...

proposed the

and

as the venues.

Draw

The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw on 3 December 2020, 17:30

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, at the UEFA headquarters in

Nyon Nyon (; outdated German language, German: or ; outdated Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilomet ...

, Switzerland. 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.

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.

Bracket

All times are local,

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

(

UTC+2 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Cairo, Pretoria, Cape ...

Semi-finals

Italy vs Spain

Belgium vs France

Third place play-off

Final

Statistics

Goalscorers

Awards

Player of the Tournament The

Hisense Hisense Group is a Chinese multinational major appliance and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. Televisions are the main products of Hisense, and it is the largest TV manufacturer in China by market ...

Player of the Finals award was given to

Sergio Busquets Sergio Busquets Burgos (, ; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona, where he is captain. He is considered to be a deep-lying playmaker capable of directing gameplay ...

, who was chosen by UEFA's technical observers. *

Top Scorer The "

Alipay Alipay () is a third-party mobile and online payment platform, established in Hangzhou, China in February 2004 by Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma. In 2015, Alipay moved its headquarters to Pudong, Shanghai, although its parent company An ...

Top Scorer Trophy", given to the top scorer in the Nations League Finals, was awarded to

Kylian Mbappé Kylian Mbappé Lottin (born 20 December 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is renowned for his dribb ...

, who finished with two goals and two assists in the Nations League Finals. 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. Goal of the Tournament The

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...

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 Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...

(against Spain),

Ferran Torres Ferran Torres García (born 29 February 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team. Torres began his career at Valencia, where he made his senior debut in 2017. H ...

(second goal against Italy),

Theo Hernandez Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

(against Belgium) and

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan, on loan from club Chelsea, and the Belgium national team. Lukaku began his senior club career playing for Ander ...

(against France). Benzema won the award for his goal in the final.

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. The following suspensions were served during the tournament:

References

External links

*
UEFA Technical Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uefa Nations League Finals 2021

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2021–22 in Italian football International association football competitions hosted by Italy October 2021 sports events in Italy 2021–22 in Belgian football 2021–22 in French football 2021–22 in Spanish football