France Avoid UEFA Nations League Relegation Despite Losing To Denmark
Denmark 2-0 France
Reigning UEFA Nations League champions France escaped relegation from League A1 in the final round of group fixtures on Sunday, despite losing 2-0 to Denmark.
Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Olsen scored for Denmark inside the first half in Copenhagen and France failed to hit back, despite Kylian Mbappe attempting five shots.
Denmark's win saw them end their six-match campaign with 12 points, while France finished with just five.
Both teams needed a favorable result in the group's other game to achieve their respective goals - Denmark would top Group A1 as long as Croatia did not beat Austria, while France needed Austria to lose or draw in order to avoid relegation.
An action shot from Denmark's 2-0 win over France
IMAGO/Gonzales Photo
Austria 1-3 Croatia
It was France's lucky day. Luka Modric, Marko Livaja and Dejan Lovren were all on target as Croatia won 3-1 in Vienna, where Christoph Baumgartner scored what proved to be nothing more than a consolation goal for Austria.
Therefore, Croatia won Group A1 and will compete in the Nations League finals next summer.
Austria were relegated to League B, while France and Denmark retained their League A status ahead of the 2024/25 edition of the Nations League.
UEFA Nations League Group A1 Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Croatia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 13 |
2. Denmark | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 12 |
3. France | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 5 |
4. Austria | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 4 |
But France's disappointing campaign will see the world champions start Euro 2024 qualifying as second seeds.
Seeding for the qualifying tournament is based on rankings in the 2022/23 Nations League.