Promotion, relegation, and a final four appearance

Vladimír Darida, Dodi Lukébakio and Dedryck Boyata had reason to celebrate on Wednesday night (18/11/20). Meanwhile, Peter Pekarík’s Slovakia and Krzysztof Piątek’s Poland has a less memorable night.

After Spain and France the night before, Belgium booked their place in the UEFA Nations League final four on Wednesday (18/11/20), which will take place next year. The Red Devils, who only needed a draw against Denmark to secure first place in League A, Group 2, defeated the Scandinavian outfit 4-2. Dodi Lukébakio was an unused substitute, while Dedryck Boyata came on shortly before full time. Poland were also looking to take top spot in their group as they faced the Netherlands. Krzysztof Piątek was introduced at half time, but his side were defeated 2-1. A small consolation for Piątek and Poland is that Italy’s victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina ensured that even if Poland had picked up three points in their game, it would not have been enough to secure qualification for the final tournament. Therefore, Italy made up the final four alongside Spain, France and Belgium.

Darida wins Hertha duel

The Czech Republic and Vladimír Darida were able to celebrate promotion to League A of the Nations League. Darida played 87 minutes as his side defeated Peter Pekarík and Slovakia. Pekarík played the whole game but, after the glory of EURO qualification last week, it was disappointment last night in the form of relegation to League C. The Dutch U21 team also had reason to celebrate after securing qualification to the EURO U21 Championship in Slovenia and Hungary. Despite a 2-1 defeat to Portugal, the Netherlands maintained first place in the group due to a better head-to-head record (4-2 victory in reverse fixture). Deyovaisio Zeefuik und Javairô Dilrosun each played 90 minutes in what was their side’s only defeat in their qualification campaign.
After the conclusion of the final international break of the year, full focus is now on Saturday evening (21/11/20), when Hertha host Borussia Dortmund under the floodlights at the Olympiastadion at 20:30 CET.