France beat Croatia on penalties to reach Nations League semi-finals / Photo: © AFP
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France beat Croatia on penalties to reach Nations League semi-finals
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved twice in the shoot-out as France beat Croatia 5-4 on penalties on Sunday after their UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie had ended 2-2 on aggregate, sealing a place in the last four in June.
Les Bleus won 2-0 on the night with goals in normal time by Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele at the Stade de France to wipe out their deficit from Thursday's first leg.
With no further scoring in extra time the tie went to penalties, where Maignan saved from both Martin Baturina and Josip Stanisic, while Franjo Ivanovic also missed his kick for the visitors.
Jules Kounde and Theo Hernandez both failed to convert for the hosts, but Dayot Upamecano scored when he became the seventh France player to step up, sparking scenes of celebrations on the pitch and in the crowd of 77,502.
France, who won the Nations League in 2021, will now take on title-holders Spain in the semi-finals in Germany on June 5, with the winners going through to the final three days later.
Meanwhile Croatia, who lost on penalties to Spain in the final of the last edition of the Nations League in 2023, will now start their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup in June.
They will go into qualifying Group L with the Czech Republic, Montenegro, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.
France's progress to the final stages of the Nations League means they will not begin their World Cup qualifying campaign until September, when they will be in Group D with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan.
P.Anderson--BTB
