Germany rounded off their Nations League group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw in Hungary after a Dominik Szoboszlai penalty in the 99th minute rescued a point for the hosts
After a penalty kick by Dominik Szoboszlai in the 99th minute saved a point for the home team, Germany ended their Nations League group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw in Hungary. Meanwhile, Bosnia and Hercegovina held the Netherlands to the same score. Going into the last day, Group A3 had nothing to play for. Top rank was already secured by the Germans. Hungary was four points clear of the already-relegated Bosnia, and the Dutch were guaranteed a spot in second place.
“With a win, we would’ve gone into the break with a nicer feeling but we can still be very satisfied about what we achieved in 2024 and can kick things off again in March,” Robert Andrich, a German midfielder, said.
Wales defeated Iceland 4-1 in Group B4 to guarantee immediate promotion to the top flight, while Turkey lost 3-1 in Montenegro.
With a 2-1 victory over Georgia, the Czech Republic secured the top place in Group B1. Ukraine defeated Albania, moving up to second position ahead of the Georgians.
Julian Nagelsmann, the coach of Germany, made the necessary adjustments in Budapest after his team’s 7-0 beating of Bosnia last week secured the top place.
With 14 minutes left, Felix Nmecha poked home from within the six-yard box to end a goalless draw.
Up until the seventh minute of injury time, Germany appeared to be on track to finish their fifth victory in six games.
Two minutes after VAR ruled that Robin Koch had committed a handball in the box, Hungarian captain Szoboszlai onto the field and dinked home from 12 yards out.
“It’s been a real rollercoaster of a year, but I believe that with this match we can go into 2025 in good spirits,” Szoboszlai remarked.
Halfway through the first quarter, Brian Brobbey headed in the opening goal for Ronald Koeman’s team, but the Dutch couldn’t increase their lead even though they dominated the remainder of the half.
Ermedin Demirovic, a Bosnian forward from Hamburg, made the Oranje pay in the 67th minute by skillfully adjusting his body to nudge a rebound over goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
‘Really happy’
Wales overcame an early goal from Andri Gudjohnsen in Cardiff to surpass Iceland by four goals and take the lead in their group.
Liam Cullen, of Wales, told Sgorio, “It’s something we set out to do,”
“We knew we couldn’t control what was going on in the Turkey game, but we really wanted to put our stamp on this game and win convincingly, so really happy that we’ve done that.”
By halftime, Cullen had doubled to put the home team ahead, and in the last half-hour, Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson sealed the victory.
To have a chance of earning automatic promotion to League A, Wales needed to win, but they required Montenegro’s upset of Turkey to secure that position.
Following five straight losses, Montenegro earned their first points of the season, while Nikola Krstovic’s hat-trick in Niksic condemned Turkey to a play-off position.
Three points separated the four clubs heading into the last matchday, but two 2-1 victories turned Group B1 upside down.
Before their journey to Tirana, Ukraine was in fourth place, but Oleksandr Zinchenko and Roman Yaremchuk handed them the lead with two goals in the opening ten minutes.
Zinchenko held out a shirt that said “1000” to commemorate his opening remarks, which marked one thousand days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
In the final fifteen minutes, Albania had optimism thanks to a penalty kick by Nedim Bajrami, but the Ukrainians held on to take second place.
When the Czechs defeated Georgia 2-1 at home with to goals from Pavel Sulc and Adam Hlozek in the first half, they solidified their position at the top of the group with eight points.
Sweden dominated their group in League C, showcasing their attacking ability with a 6-0 hammering of Azerbaijan.
Viktor Gyokeres, a much-heralded 26-year-old striker, scored four goals in the thumping victory, while Dejan Kulusevski scored two.
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