Germany ended their Nations League group stage campaign with a 1-1 draw at Hungary after Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute penalty rescued a point for the hosts, while the Netherlands were held to the same scoreline by Bosnia and Hercegovina. There wasn’t much to play for in Group A3 until the final day. The Germans had already secured top spot.
The Dutch were secure in second place and Hungary were four points ahead of already-relegated Bosnia. “With a win, we would have gone into the break with a better feeling, but we can still be very satisfied with what we have achieved in 2024 and looking forward to starting again in March,” German midfielder Robert Andrich said.
” In Group B4, Wales’ 4-1 win against Iceland ensured automatic promotion to the top division at the expense of Turkey, who lost 3-1 at Montenegro. The Czech Republic topped Group B1 with a 2-1 win over Georgia. Ukraine beat Albania to overtake Georgia and move into second place.
In Budapest, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann made changes after Germany beat Bosnia 7-0 last week to confirm top spot.
Felix Nmecha broke the goalless deadlock with a header from inside the six-yard box with 14 minutes remaining.
Until the seventh minute of injury time Germany looked set to record their fifth win in six games.
VAR ruled that Robin Koch had committed a handball in the box and Hungary captain Szoboszlai scored from 12 yards two minutes later.
“This year has been really full of ups and downs, but I believe that with this match we can go into 2025 in a good mood,” Szoboszlai said.
The Netherlands remained five points behind their historic rivals as they were held to a draw in Zenica.
Brian Brobbey headed in the opener for Ronald Koeman’s side midway through the first period but the Dutch were unable to double their lead despite dominating possession for the rest of the half.
The Oranje fell apart in the 67th minute when Hamburg-born Bosnian attacker Ermedin Demirovic adjusted his body superbly and headed the rebound over goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
“I’m not satisfied with one point. I think we had to win,” Koeman said.
‘Very happy’
Wales bounced back from Andri Gudjohnsen’s early goal in Cardiff to beat Iceland by four goals and move into first place in their group.
“It’s something we were prepared to do,” Wales’ Liam Cullen told Sgorio.
“We knew we couldn’t control what was happening in the Turkey game, but we really wanted to put our mark on this game and win, so we’re really pleased we did that.”
Cullen scored twice to put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time, before Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson sealed the match in the final half-hour.
Wales needed a win to secure automatic promotion to League A, but they needed Turkey to be beaten by Montenegro to claim that spot with a one-point buffer.
Nikolai Krstovic’s hat-trick in Niksic put Turkey into a play-off spot, as Montenegro picked up their first points of the campaign after five consecutive defeats.
Two 2-1 wins turned Group B1 around, as there was a three-point gap between the four teams on the final matchday.
Ukraine were fourth before travelling to Tirana, but two goals in the first 10 minutes by Oleksandr Zinchenko and Roman Yaremchuk got them off to a great start.
Zinchenko celebrated his first match by raising a shirt printed with “1000” to commemorate one thousand days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Nedim Bajrami’s penalty gave Albania hope in the last 15 minutes, but Ukraine held on to take second place. Czech Republic were top of the group with eight points and first-half goals from Pavel Sulk and Adam Holojek helped them to a 2-1 home win over Georgia.
In League C, Sweden showed off their striking prowess by beating Azerbaijan 6-0 to top their group. Much-loved 26-year-old striker Viktor Gyokeres scored four goals while Dejan Kulusevski scored twice.
