| Fase Final da Liga das Nações da UEFA de 2019(in Portuguese) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Portugal |
| Dates | 5–9 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Portugal (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Netherlands |
| Third place |  England |
| Fourth place |  Switzerland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 9 (2.25 per match) |
| Attendance | 127,067 (31,767 per match) |
| Top scorer | Cristiano Ronaldo(3 goals) |
| Best player | Bernardo Silva |
| Best young player | Frenkie de Jong |
2021 → | |
The2019 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the2018–19 edition of theUEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the internationalfootball competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations ofUEFA.[1] The tournament was held in Portugal from 5 to 9 June 2019,[2] and was contested by the four group winners ofNations League A. The tournament consisted of two semi-finals, a third place play-off, and final to determine the inaugural champions of the UEFA Nations League.
Portugal won thefinal 1–0 against theNetherlands to become the inaugural champions of the UEFA Nations League.[3]
The Nations League Finals took place in June 2019 and was contested by the four group winners ofLeague A. The four teams were each drawn into a five-team group (rather than a six-team group) for theUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying group stage, thereby leaving the June 2019 window available for the Nations League Finals.[4]
The competition was played in a knockout format, consisting of two semi-finals, a third place play-off, and a final. The semi-final pairings, along with the administrative home teams for the third place play-off and final, were determined by means of an open draw on 3 December 2018.[5]
The tournament took place over five days, with the first semi-final (which featured the host team) on 5 June, the second semi-final on 6 June, and the third place play-off and final on 9 June.[6] The winners of the final were crowned as the inaugural champions of the UEFA Nations League.[7]
The Nations League Finals were played in single-leg knockout matches. If the scores were level at the end of normal time, 30 minutes ofextra time were played, where each team was allowed to make a fourthsubstitution.[8] If the score was still level, the winner was determined by apenalty shoot-out. All matches in the tournament utilised thegoal-line technology system.[9] On 3 December, UEFA confirmed that thevideo assistant referee (VAR) system would be used for the Nations League Finals.[10]
The four group winners ofLeague A qualified for the Nations League Finals.[11]
| Group | Winners | Date of qualification | UNL Rankings November 2018 | FIFA Rankings April 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Netherlands | 19 November 2018 | 3 | 16 |
| A2 | Switzerland | 18 November 2018 | 1 | 8 |
| A3 | Portugal(host) | 17 November 2018 | 2 | 7 |
| A4 | England | 18 November 2018 | 4 | 4 |
Portugal was confirmed as the host country by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 3 December 2018 inDublin, Ireland.[12][13] Only League A teams could bid for the Nations League Finals, and only one of the four participants was selected as hosts. The Nations League Finals was held in two stadiums, each with a seating capacity of at least 30,000. Ideally, the stadiums would have been located in the same host city or up to approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) apart.[14][15]
On 9 March 2018, UEFA announced that Italy, Poland, and Portugal expressed interest in bidding prior to the deadline. The deadline to submit their dossiers was 31 August 2018. As all three associations formedGroup A3, the group winner was in line to be appointed as the host, provided that the associations submitted bids that met UEFA's requirements.[16] Poland were relegated from Group A3 on 14 October 2018, leaving Italy and Portugal as potential hosts.[17] On 17 November 2018, Portugal won Group A3 and advanced to the Finals,[18] thereby automatically winning hosting rights, which were confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee on 3 December 2018, the same day as the Nations League Finals draw.[2]
In their bid dossier, thePortuguese Football Federation proposedEstádio do Dragão inPorto andEstádio D. Afonso Henriques inGuimarães as the venues. Both were previously used inUEFA Euro 2004.[2]
| Porto | |
|---|---|
| Estádio do Dragão | |
| Capacity:50,033 | |
.jpg) | |
| Guimarães | |
| Estádio D. Afonso Henriques | |
| Capacity:30,000 | |
 |
The draw took place on 3 December 2018, 14:30CET (13:30local time), at theShelbourne Hotel inDublin, Ireland.[19][20][21] No seeding was applied in the draw. The first two balls drawn were allocated as the administrative home teams for each semi-final pairing, with the next two balls drawn allocated as their opponents. For scheduling purposes, the semi-final pairing involving the host team was considered to be semi-final 1. The administrative home team for both the third place play-off and final were then jointly drawn between semi-final 1 and 2.[5]
Each national team had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers, at least ten days before the opening match of the tournament. If a player became injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation in the tournament before his team's first match, he was replaced by another player.[9]
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 5 June –Porto | ||||||
| Portugal | 3 | |||||
| 9 June –Porto | ||||||
| Switzerland | 1 | |||||
| Portugal | 1 | |||||
| 6 June –Guimarães | ||||||
| Netherlands | 0 | |||||
| Netherlands(a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||
| England | 1 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 9 June –Guimarães | ||||||
| Switzerland | 0 (5) | |||||
| England(p) | 0 (6) | |||||
All times are local,WEST (UTC+1).
| Portugal | 3–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
          Portugal[23] |  Switzerland[23] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[23] |
| Netherlands | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | England |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
     Netherlands[26] |     England[26] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[26] |
| Switzerland | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | England |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 5–6 | ||
   Switzerland[29] | England[29] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[29] |
| Portugal | 1–0 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Portugal[32] |      Netherlands[32] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[34] |
There were 9 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2.25 goals per match.
3 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
Kyle Walker (against Netherlands)Source: UEFA
2 assists
1 assist
Source: UEFA
The Team of the Tournament was selected by UEFA's technical observers, and includes at least one player from each of the four participants.[35]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford | Daley BlindVirgil van DijkRúben DiasNélson Semedo | Frenkie de JongGeorginio WijnaldumBruno Fernandes | Cristiano RonaldoBernardo SilvaXherdan Shaqiri |
UEFA also announced a team of the tournament based on theFedEx Performance Zone player rankings.[36]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford | Matthijs de LigtRúben DiasRaphaël GuerreiroManuel AkanjiKevin Mbabu | Frenkie de JongMarten de RoonBernardo Silva | Memphis DepayCristiano Ronaldo |
The Player of the Tournament award was given toBernardo Silva, who was chosen by UEFA's technical observers.
TheSOCAR Young Player of the Tournament award was open to players born on or after 1 January 1996. The award was given toFrenkie de Jong, as chosen by UEFA's technical observers.
The "Alipay Top Scorer Trophy", given to the top scorer in the Nations League Finals,[38] was awarded toCristiano Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick in the semi-final against Switzerland.[39][40] The ranking was determined using the following criteria: 1) goals in Nations League Finals, 2) assists in Nations League Finals, 3) fewest minutes played in Nations League Finals, 4) goals in league phase 5) fewest yellow and red cards in Nations League Finals, 6) fewest yellow and red cards in league phase.[41]
| Rank | Player | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 3 | 0 | 191 |
 | Gonçalo Guedes | 1 | 1 | 101 |
 | Marcus Rashford | 1 | 0 | 49 |
TheSOCAR Goal of the Tournament was decided by online voting. A total four goals were in the shortlist, chosen by UEFA's technical observers, from two players:Cristiano Ronaldo (all three goals against Switzerland) andMatthijs de Ligt (against England).[42][43] Ronaldo won the award for his second goal against Switzerland.[44]
| Rank | Goalscorer | Opponent | Score | Result | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Switzerland | 2–1 | 3–1 | Semi-finals |
| 3–1 | ||||
| 1–0 | ||||
| 4 | Matthijs de Ligt | England | 1–1 | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Semi-finals |
A player was automatically suspended for the next match for receiving a red card, which could be extended for serious offences. Yellow card suspensions did not apply in the Nations League Finals.[9]
The following suspensions were served during the tournament:[45]
| Player | Offence(s) | Suspension(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Danilo Pereira |  inleague phase vsPoland (20 November 2018) | Semi-finals vsSwitzerland (5 June 2019) |
The prize money to be distributed was announced in October 2018.[46] In addition to the €2.25 million solidarity fee for participating in the Nations League, the four participants received an additional €2.25 million for winning their groups and qualifying for the Nations League Finals.
In addition, the participants received payment based on performance:
This meant that the maximum amount of solidarity and bonus fees for the UEFA Nations League winners was €10.5 million.
