The 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League quarter-final draw results put the Netherlands up against Spain, Germany against Italy, while Portugal and France avoid strong opponents.
Three of the four Nations League quarter-final ties this season were World Cup finals. Italy beat Germany in the 1982 final, the Netherlands lost to Spain in 2010, and France beat Croatia in 2018. The other quarter-final tie is between Portugal and Denmark.
This is the first timePortugal and Denmarkmet in the knockout round of an official tournament. The Nordic representative is also at a disadvantage in head-to-head matches in all competitions, having won only three, drawn two and lost 11 of 16 encounters with Portugal. Therefore, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates have a great chance of reaching the semi-finals, where they could meet Germany or Italy.
Germany and Italyhave a lot of fate, as the two teams have met 37 times, with 15 wins, 12 draws and 10 losses for the Southern European representative. In the last six confrontations, the advantage is on the side of Germany with three wins, three draws. Both teams are also in good form, under Julian Nagelsmann and Luciano Spalletti respectively.
In the remaining bracket, the highlight match will take place between the reigning European champions,Spain and the Netherlands. Luis de la Fuente's team is of course rated higher with 16 recent unbeaten matches. However, "The Orange Tornado" also has reason to be confident as they are unbeaten in the last three matches against this opponent.
The winner of this match will meetFrance or Croatiain the semi-finals. In 10 confrontations, Croatia has only won one match against France, and it was also the most recent match between the two teams in the group stage of the Nations League 2022-2023. France is rated higher but they are not in good form under Didier Deschamps.
The quarter-finals will be played over two legs, on 20 March and 23 March 2025. From the semi-finals onwards, the matches will be played over one leg, on neutral ground on 4 June and 5 June. The final will be played on 8 June.
This is the fourth edition of the Nations League, which divides European teams into four tiers. Portugal, France and Spain have won the first three editions, while of the eight quarter-finalists this season, only Germany and Denmark have never made it to the semi-finals.
VN (according to VnExpress)