Updated / Thursday, 20 Mar 2025 23:15
Arsenal's Mikel Merino scored a stoppage-time equaliser as European champions **Spain** snatched a 2-2 draw against the **Netherlands** in their Nations League quarter-final first leg.
Spain struck early in Thursday’s encounter in Rotterdam through Nico Williams but the hosts quickly responded as Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo found the net.
Tijjani Reijnders then gave the Dutch the lead early in the second half but the 81st-minute sending-off of Jorrel Hato gave the Spanish hope and Merino had the final say.
**France** face a tough task to retrieve their last-eight tie after going down 2-0 to **Croatia** in Split.
Ante Budimir and Ivan Perisic both scored in the first half after Andrej Kramaric had missed an early penalty for the hosts.
**Germany** claimed the advantage against **Italy** after coming from behind to win 2-1 in Milan.
Sandro Tonali opened the scoring for the Italians after nine minutes but Tim Kleindienst headed Germany level four minutes after the break. A header from Leon Goretzka secured the win 14 minutes from time.
Rasmus Hojlund secured a narrow win for Denmark over Portugal
Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund came off the bench to earn **Denmark** a narrow 1-0 win over **Portugal** in the other quarter-final first leg and celebrated in front of Cristiano Ronaldo using his own signature "siu" move.
The winner of this tie will enter the Republic of Ireland's group for World Cup 2026 qualification.
In the play-off first legs, **Scotland** boosted their hopes of retaining a place in League A as Scott McTominay’s first-half penalty earned them a 1-0 win in **Greece.**
**Belgium** are facing the prospect of dropping into League B after conceding three times in the second half to lose 3-1 to **Ukraine** in Murcia.
**Turkey** beat **Hungary** 3-1, while **Austria** and **Serbia** drew 1-1.
**Kosovo** beat I**celand** 2-1 while **Georgia** ran out 3-0 winners in **Armenia**. **Slovakia** and **Slovenia** have everything still to play for after a goalless draw.
**Watch Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary on Radio 1 Extra.**