France overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France on Sunday.

Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain.

Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split on Thursday.

France had a total of 22 chances while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes.

It was a tense affair at a simmering Stade de France and Les Bleus were a side transformed after their catastrophic outing in the first leg.

Pressing high and playing with confidence, they pressured Croatia from the start and finally converted some of their chances in the second half with their attacking players combining well throughout.

In the shootout, Maignan, a penalty specialist, saved efforts from Martin Baturina and Josip Stanisic with Franjo Ivanovic skying his attempt over the bar.

Theo Hernandez and Jules Kounde missed the target for France but Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni, Randal Kolo Muani, Desire Doue and Upamecano converted.

Portugal through to Nations League semis after 5-3 aggregate win over Denmark

Portugal’s Francisco Trincao came off the bench to score twice and Cristiano Ronaldo also netted as they beat Denmark 5-2 after extra time on Sunday for a 5-3 aggregate win that set up a Nations League semi-final against Germany.

Ronaldo bounced back from missing an early penalty to play a crucial role in his team’s recovery, and though he had to watch extra time from the bench, he continued to drive the crowd on as Portugal finally found a way to end Denmark’s resistance.

With the Danes leading the tie 1-0 thanks to Rasmus Hojlund’s goal in Thursday’s first leg in Copenhagen and fullback Joakim Maehle having left the camp to attend the birth of his child, his replacement Patrick Dorgu handed Portugal an early gift, bundling over Ronaldo to concede a penalty in the third minute.

Ronaldo stepped up to take the spot kick himself, but Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel won the battle of nerves and got down smartly to his left to deny the Portuguese captain.

Ronaldo almost made amends in the 17th minute, ghosting in at the far post to head a ball from Nuno Mendes at goal but again Schmeichel got the better of him.

Portugal eventually took the lead on the night in the 38th minute thanks to an own goal from Danish defender Joachim Andersen, who headed a corner won by Ronaldo into his own net.

That goal was cancelled out by a Rasmus Kristensen header from a corner of their own in the 56th minute, and though Ronaldo gave the home side the lead again with a finish from a tight angle, Christian Eriksen put Denmark back in front on aggregate in the 76th minute.

Trincao then took over, scoring in the 86th minute to make it 3-3 on aggregate and force extra time before netting again with a superb clipped finish in the 91st minute to put his side in the driving seat.

Denmark defended heroically but they ran out of steam after Trincao’s second goal, and substitute Goncalo Ramos added the coup de grace with Portugal’s fifth to send them through to a final-four meeting with Germany, who beat Italy 5-4 on aggregate.

Spain edge Netherlands in penalty shootout

Spain claimed a 5-4 penalty shootout win over the Netherlands at home on Sunday to reach the Nations League semi-finals after the second leg of their thrilling contest ended 3-3 to leave the tie level 5-5 on aggregate.

Both sides missed their fourth penalties, but the decisive blow was landed in the sixth round when the Netherlands’ Donyell Malen saw his attempt saved by Spain keeper Unai Simon, allowing Pedri to convert and secure the win.

Germany waste three-goal lead but edge past Italy

Germany squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Italy on Sunday but still earned a nerve-racking 5-4 aggregate victory to set up a Nations League semi-final against Portugal in June.

The hosts scored three times, including one goal aided by a quick-thinking ballboy, in a dizzying first half where they dominated their continental rivals with a high-pressing and attacking game that left Italy no chance.

Not since their 2014 World Cup victory had Germany outclassed a major international side in such a way for an entire half, with 16 efforts towards goal. But they were nowhere to be seen after the break, taking their foot off the gas and conceding three goals before snatching a slim aggregate win.

“It was the best half, very impressive first half, incredibly aggressive and a deserved lead,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

“In the second half our lineup was a bit different. Then there are moments you concede a goal, then another and then the team that had not played together like that started feeling the pressure,” he added.

“But what we learned from these two matches is important for our development.”