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Two rematches of recent World Cup finals were served up Friday in the draw for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Nations League.
Spain, the 2010 World Cup winner, was drawn against the Netherlands and 2018 world champion France was paired with Croatia in the two-leg quarterfinals in March.
Italy was drawn to face Germany and Portugal will play Denmark. The eight teams advanced to the quarterfinals by placing first or second in the four Nations League top-tier groups that finished this week.
Games will be played on March 20 and 23, and the winners advance to a Final Four mini-tournament scheduled for June 4-8. It will be hosted by one of the teams involved.
European champion Spain is also defending the Nations League title after winning the third edition of the biennial tournament last year.
“It’s a fantastic match,” Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman told The Associated Press. “Both teams like to play (attacking) football, and we have a big history.”
“We have a great respect for them and they have a great respect for Dutch football,” added Koeman, whose goal won Barcelona its first European Cup trophy in 1992 for a team coached by Dutch soccer icon Johan Cruyff.
France and Croatia are still coached as they were in 2018 by Didier Deschamps and Zlatko Dalić, who are now in their 13th and eighth seasons, respectively, as two of the most experienced coaches in world soccer.
France won that World Cup final 4-2 in Moscow and has met Croatia four times since in different editions of the Nations League.
“Obviously I’ve got a lot of affinity with Zlatko,” said Deschamps, who has won three of his five games against Croatia. “We’ve often had the chance to talk and he’s someone I appreciate very much.”
Dalić said of Deschamps that he was “happy to see him again. I have full respect for France.”
Croatia won 1-0 at Stade de France in June 2022 with a penalty from Luka Modrić, who is still captaining the team at age 39.
The quarterfinals stage is new to this Nations League edition and means the four semifinalists will not be available to start qualifying games for the 2026 World Cup until September.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann welcomed the more intense schedule in 2025, when previously the year between major tournaments could be taken up entirely by playing lower-ranked opponents in a qualifying group for the next tournament.
“I think such games are so important because the players stay focused,” Nagelsmann told the AP of the Nations League format.
“I’m also happy with Italy, it’s one of the best opponents we could get today,” he said. “That’s important for us now that we are on the right way, a better way than last year. It’s always important to face the best teams.”
The draw for the semifinals in June was also made, and Spain or the Netherlands will face the winner of France-Croatia. The winner between Italy and Germany will play Denmark or Portugal.
The Nations League also now has promotion-relegation playoffs involving teams who placed third in top-tier groups, or second and third in the lower tiers.
The pairings playing for a top-tier spot, also on March 20 and 23, were: Turkey vs. Hungary, Ukraine vs. Belgium, Austria vs. Serbia, and Greece vs. Scotland.
In playoffs for a second-tier group entry, it was: Kosovo vs. Iceland, Bulgaria vs. Ireland, Armenia vs. Georgia, Slovakia vs. Slovenia.
The World Cup qualifying groups for Europe will be drawn by FIFA in Zurich on Dec. 13.
Russia is still excluded for reasons of sporting integrity and security because of the military invasion of Ukraine.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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