Croatia secured a 2-0 victory over France in the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals on Thursday, effectively neutralizing the attacking threat of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.
Ante Budimir put Croatia ahead in the 26th minute, heading in a cross from Ivan Perišić. Although French goalkeeper Mike Maignan managed to get a touch on the ball, it still crossed the line. Perišić extended Croatia’s lead during first-half stoppage time, overshadowing Mbappé’s much-anticipated return to international duty after six months.
Earlier in the match, Maignan denied Croatia a third goal by saving an eighth-minute penalty from Andrej Kramarić, using his feet to block the shot after diving to his right.
Mbappé, making his first national team start since France's 3-1 defeat to Italy on September 6, captained Les Bleus and attempted multiple shots on target. However, Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković made key saves to keep him at bay. Both Mbappé and Dembélé have been prolific this season, each surpassing 30 goals in all competitions.
Despite being third on France’s all-time scoring list with 48 goals, Mbappé has found the net in only two of his last 13 international appearances.
Germany, Spain, and Denmark in Action
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In other quarterfinal first-leg matches, Germany came from behind to defeat Italy 2-1, defending champions Spain salvaged a 2-2 draw against 10-man Netherlands, and Denmark edged past Portugal 1-0.
Germany ended a decades-long winless streak in Italy with a 2-1 victory at San Siro. Captain Joshua Kimmich played a pivotal role, delivering crosses that led to goals for Tim Kleindienst and Leon Goretzka. Italy initially took the lead through Sandro Tonali’s finish off a deflected pass from Giacomo Raspadori.
Spain, meanwhile, managed a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer against the Netherlands in Rotterdam. After trailing 2-1 and going up against a 10-man Dutch side following Jorrel Hato’s red card, Mikel Merino found the back of the net in the dying moments. Earlier, Lamine Yamal assisted Nico Williams for Spain’s opening goal, while Cody Gakpo and Tijjani Reijnders scored for the Netherlands.
Denmark secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Portugal, with substitute Rasmus Højlund breaking the deadlock in the 78th minute. Christian Eriksen missed a first-half penalty, marking his first miss from the spot since 2016. Cristiano Ronaldo, extending his international appearances record to 218, was unable to add to his tally of 135 goals.
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The winners of these ties will advance to the four-team final tournament, set to take place from June 4-8. The second-leg quarterfinal matches are scheduled for Sunday.
Source: With input from agency