Denmark's victory over France and the exit of Croatia and the Netherlands to the Final Four: how the 6th round of the League of Nations began

Modric's historic goal

In group 1 of the elite division, the fate of a ticket to the Final Four was decided in an absentee dispute between Croatia and Denmark.

At the same time, the current vice-champions of the world were ahead of the pursuer by one point, and it was enough for them to play no worse than their opponent.

However, the "checkers" did everything in their power not to depend on him, and on the road they defeated Austria - 3:1.

Already in the sixth minute the score was opened by the captain of the guests Luka Modric.

For the Real Madrid midfielder, this goal turned out to be the 23rd for the national team, and he entered the top 5 of its top scorers.

The leader in the list is Davor Shuker (45).

Moreover, the veteran, who distinguished himself at the age of 37 years and 16 days, became the oldest scorer in the history of "checkers".

However, the hosts did not think to give up, especially since they still had hope of maintaining a place in League A, and quickly restored the status quo.

Unfortunately for Zenit fans, Dejan Lovren, who played the first game for Croatia in almost a year, did not keep up with Christoph Baumgartner in his own penalty area.

But after the break, the defender rehabilitated himself, competently connecting to the attack and breaking his head in the fall into the bottom corner.

And shortly before that, the victorious goal was chalked up to Marco Livaya, who replaced him.

By the way, the latter is also directly related to the RPL, since he played for Rubin for a couple of years.

So the wards of Zlatko Dalic not only made it to the Final Four, but also took revenge from the opponent for a devastating defeat at the start.

And in general, they showed character, because after two rounds the team had only one point.

However, he won the remaining four meetings.

Amazing saves by Schmeichel

The Danish national team can only regret it, because there is nothing to complain about.

The current winners of the continental championship, hoping to climb to the first line, beat France for the second time in the League of Nations - 2: 0.

The tricolors, having lost their chances of getting into the Final Four, were not one hundred percent motivated and boldly experimented with the composition, but this does not detract from the merits of their opponent.

Moreover, the fate of the confrontation was decided in the first half, when the hosts scored twice within seven minutes.

First, Kasper Dolberg closed the chamber of Mikkel Damsgaard, and then Andreas Skov Olsen delivered an accurate blow from the penalty line after drawing a corner.

Wards of Didier Deschamps did not give up and in the second half staged a real assault on other people's gates.

However, they failed to upset Kasper Schmeichel.

The goalkeeper had an amazing match and made seven saves.

And I especially remember his salvation in the episode with the exit one on one with Kylian Mbappe.

In summary, the Danes had a good tournament, winning four out of six matches and scoring 12 points.

However, they were killed by two defeats from a direct competitor.

The French, on the contrary, beat the opponent only once and stopped within a point from relegation to League B. And three losses in a year in official meetings for them is a repeat of the worst result in history.

Van Dyck's fateful ball

But in Quartet 4, the fate of the first line was determined in the face-to-face meeting between the Netherlands and Belgium in Amsterdam.

However, the guests had minimal chances to get ahead of their neighbors.

In the first round, they were defeated with a score of 1:4, and therefore it was required to win by three goals.

The "Red Devils" rather moved forward by inertia, but did not often create chances at the gates of Remco Pasver.

The Oranges, on the other hand, gave their all just as much as was required to maintain a draw, and they were practically not affected by the absence of injured leaders Frankie De Jong and Memphis Depay.

However, the 38-year-old Pasver did make one impressive rescue.

In the middle of the second half of the match, he stretched out to his full height and parried Amadou Onana's blow point-blank into the far corner.

Thus, the veteran played the second game in a row for the national team and did not miss again.

The hosts also finally removed all questions about the outcome of the confrontation in the 73rd minute, when Virgil van Dijk sent the ball into the wrong goal after drawing a corner.

A small reason for joy at the end of the tournament appeared for Louis van Gaal.

He scored 37 victories at the head of the national team and repeated the record of Dick Advocaat.

And in his second entry into it, an experienced specialist did not suffer a single defeat in 15 meetings with only four peaceful outcomes.

Unexpected Misfire Kunz

As usual, the League of Nations is full of events.

In particular, the Turkish national team, having won a ticket to the second strongest division, unpleasantly surprises its own fans.

At first, with great difficulty, only in the end she escaped defeat in the home super-productive confrontation with Luxembourg - 3:3.

And a few days later, the team of Stefan Kunz completely lost on the road to the Faroe Islands, conceding twice in nine minutes at the start of the second half.

This time, the favorite failed to escape, limiting himself to a goal of prestige performed by Serdar Gurler in the end.

Obviously, he did not have enough motivation at the finish line, but this does not detract from the merits of the “dwarf” team, which, having made it to League C for the first time, scored eight points and finished in third position, avoiding relegation.

By the way, Luxembourg took second place with 11 points and three wins.

The seemingly stronger Lithuania closed the table in this quartet.

Magnificent shots by Styne

But the other two Baltic teams proceeded in the opposite direction.

Together with Estonia, Latvia will play in League C next season.

Wards of Dainis Kazakevich, in order to maintain leadership and not let Moldova go ahead, it was necessary not to lose to Andorra on the road.

And they calmly coped with the task, achieving a peaceful outcome and for the first time rising in the class in LN.

Even the incredible home victory over Liechtenstein did not help the Moldovans - 2:0.

Footballers representing a small principality successfully defended almost to the final whistle, but conceded twice in stoppage time by the referee.

Moreover, the double was designed by Viktor Styne, who had come out shortly before to replace him.

First, he threw the ball into the far corner from almost zero angle, and then beautifully twisted it into the target from outside the penalty area.

By the way, for the 24-year-old Panserraikos midfielder, the match was only the third for the national team.

Also, this meeting was notable for the fact that it was served by a woman - Stephanie Frappart.

For the French, this match is already the third in the current draw of the League of Nations.