Portugal was the first winner of the League of Nations, France the second, and on Sunday, we will have the third. Croatia, the bronze medalist from the World Cup in Qatar, secured the final after winning on Wednesday night in Rotterdam against the Netherlands with 4:2 after extra time, and tonight (21.45), old acquaintances Spain and Italy will compete. This will be a replay of the semifinals of the second edition from two years ago when Red Fury won 2:1.Modric leads Croatia as they kill Oranje in extra time to reach Nations League finalBoth national teams are in crisis. Italy, after the European crown two years ago, again failed to reach the World Cup, missing the second one, while Spain made it to the round of 16 in Qatar. Luis Enrique’s boys were eliminated by Morocco, the semi-finalist of the planetary championship and the coach paid the price. There was a lot of controversy about the composition of both selections ahead of this match. Spain’s new coach Luis de la Fuente, who succeeded Luis Enrique, made a radical change to the players who started the European Championship qualifiers.All The Best to Jordi Alba, Ansu Fati and Gavi in Spain’s UEFA Nations League semi-final against Italy tonight. 🇪🇸🙌 pic.twitter.com/7ewRMBXaBM— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) June 15, 2023 As many as 13 footballers who were initially invited three months ago are now not at all in the combination for the semi-final with Italy. Brighton’s goalkeeper Robert Sanchez will not be here: Real and Tottenham defenders Nacho Fernandez and Pedro Porro; Bilbao stopper Inigo Martinez; Valencia and Barcelona left-backs Jose Gaya and Alejandro Balde; Real and Sociedad midfielders Dani Ceballos and Mikel Oyarzabal, Celta and Betis’ forwards, Iago Aspas and Borja Iglesias. Pedri (Barcelona), Gerard Moreno (Villarreal) and Bryan Hill (Sevilla), who were initially on the list, dropped out due to injuries.’They just want more money’: De Jong slams UEFA over packed football calendarCompared to the previous list from March, Italy coach Roberto Mancini did not invite Alessandro Buongiorno, Alessandro Florencio, Federico Gatti, Federico Baschirotto, Manuel Locatelli, Emerson Palmieri, Gianluca Scamacca, Sandro Tonali, while Matteo Pessina and Domenico Berardi were absent due to injuries.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Nicolo Zaniolo, who was absent from the beginning of the qualification for the European Championship, returned under the Italian flag, mainly due to the fact that he started to play well for the champion of Turkey, Galatasaray. Argentine Tigre forward Mateo Retegui, who introduced himself to the public with goals against England and Malta in March, also retained his place.🇮🇹 Italy will debut their 125th anniversary kit tonight 🤩#NationsLeague | #adidasNTF | @adidasfootball pic.twitter.com/5PUWXVISmQ— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 15, 2023 Mancini invited five Inter players – Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian, Dimarco and Barella, who joined the national team late after the Champions League final with Manchester City. Among the three goalkeepers, there is no Ivan Provedel, officially the best netkeeper in Serie A last season. His colleague Mattia Zaccagni scored ten goals and assisted for seven, and both men are highly responsible for Lazio’s second place in Serie A, but they didn’t get the call. Both teams did not start the qualification for the European Championship well. Spain suffered a defeat in Glasgow by Scotland at the end of March this year, while the Azzurri lost to England at home. This will be the 40th match of these selections, and the score is 12:11 for Spain, with as many as 16 draws.UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE – SEMIFINALSWednesdayThe Netherlands – Croatia 2-4 a.e.t. (2-2, 1-0)/Malen 34, Lang 90+6 – Kramaric 55 pen, Pasalic 72, Petkovic 98, Modric 116 pen/Thurdsay21.45: (2.35) Spain (3.25) Italy (3.15)***odds are subject to change***
