France lose; Netherlands, Croatia reach National League Final Four

COPENHAGEN: Nations League holders France lost 2-0 to Denmark in their final Group 1 game, but salvaged their place in the top tier at the end of a dismal campaign on Sunday.

Didier Deschamps' side, who will face Denmark in Group D at the World Cup in November, finished third in the Nations League standings with five points from six games after Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen scored first-half goals for the hosts.

World champions France, who had several first-choice players injured including Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema and Hugo Lloris, were a far cry from their best and Deschamps will be crossing fingers that all have recovered for the tournament in Qatar.

"We had a lot of chances, but we were not aggressive enough and made several technical mistakes," Deschamps said. "We had a young team and they don't have the experience of a high level. Tonight was a reality check."

"I'm not worried for the World Cup because we'll get most of our injured players back in time. We don't however think we're stronger than the others and we know it's going to be a big fight," said Deschamps who won a World Cup medal as player in 1998 and as coach in 2018.

Kylian Mbappe had a good shot parried away by Kasper Schmeichel and Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga bossed the midfield as France were on top in the opening stages of a lively game, but they gradually faded away.

Thomas Delaney had Denmark's first chance in the 23rd minute when his header was blocked by Alphonse Areola.

The hosts opened the scoring on 34 minutes when Dolberg latched on to a perfect cross from Christian Eriksen.

Five minutes later, Skov Olsen's volley from just outside the area gave Denmark a 2-0 lead.

Les Bleus struggled to handle their opponents' pace but tried to hit back after the break, with Schmeichel denying Mbappe at the end of a swift counter-attack and blocking the forward's powerful shot from close range.

France lacked defensive stability with Raphael Varane on the bench as Deschamps looked to preserve other key players amid a packed schedule.

Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud were also substituted in the second half, as with Austria trailing in Croatia, Les Bleus had nothing to gain or lose.

Van Dijk header secures top spot for Dutch

Captain Virgil van Dijk netted a second-half winner as The Netherlands beat neighbours Belgium 1-0 on Sunday to ensure top spot in their Nations League group and a place in next year's finals tournament.

Van Dijk powered home a header from a corner in the 73rd minute at the Amsterdam Arena on Sunday to ensure the Dutch finished runaway winners in League A Group Four.

They finished with 16 points, six more than Belgium who had a chance to leapfrog their neighbours, and take first place, but needed to win by three goals or more on Sunday to do so.

Croatia seal semi-final place with win in Austria

Croatia qualified for the Nations League semi-finals next year as defender Dejan Lovren marked his return to the team with a rare goal in a comprehensive 3-1 victory over relegated Austria in Vienna on Sunday.

Lovren, playing his first international in almost a year, scored the third goal for the visitors, who topped League A Group 1 with 13 points from six matches, one point ahead of second-placed Denmark. Austria finished bottom.

Luka Modric gave Croatia an early lead with his 23rd international goal as he took a touch to control Nikola Vlasic's pass and fired low into the net.

That joy was short-lived as Austria equalised three minutes later when Christoph Baumgartner glanced Marcel Sabitzer's cross into the net with a deft header.

But two goals in three minutes midway through the second period sealed the points for Croatia as Marko Livaja headed home at the back post after a cross from Ivan Perisic, before Lovren was left free by the home defenders to score with a header from Lovro Majer's cross.

Despite the loss, it was a special night for home forward Marko Arnautovic, who won an Austrian record 104th international cap and moved past Andreas Herzog at the top of the country's list of most appearances.

A second-half goal from striker Karol Swiderski gave Poland a 1-0 win over a courageous Wales team in Cardiff on Sunday, allowing the Poles to hold onto their place in League A of the Nations League but relegating their hosts to League B.

Poland finished third in Group Four on seven points and remain in the competition's top tier. Fourth-placed Wales, on one point, had needed a win to avoid relegation. Agencies

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