The supporter fell from the second tier of the main stand into the lower seating area in the final minutes of the match, ESPN reported.

“There was a medical emergency at the Munich arena, and despite the best efforts of the medical team, the person sadly passed away at 00:06. Our thoughts are with their loved ones at this difficult time,” a UEFA spokesperson said in a statement.

Portugal defender Nuno Mendes said; “I would like to express my condolences to the family of the fan that died. It casts a pall on our victory today.”

-Reuters

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The European champions dazzled in the first half of the semi-final at the MHP Arena and raced into a 2-0 lead with fine goals by Nico Williams and Mikel Merino inside 25 minutes.

Spain’s 17-year-old starlet Yamal then got in on the act to coolly add a third from the penalty spot nine minutes into the second half before his Barcelona teammate Pedri clipped a sublime fourth into the net less than a minute later.

The goals continued to flow as France striker Kylian Mbappe also slotted home from the penalty spot near the hour mark before Yamal added Spain’s fifth after 67 minutes to cap an exhilarating individual performance.

Nations League – Semi Final – Spain v France – MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany – June 5, 2025 Spain’s Lamine Yamal celebrates after the match REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

France then mounted an extraordinary comeback as a stunning strike from Rayan Cherki, Dani Vivian’s own goal and a Randal Kolo Muani finish caused Spain some late jitters but they held on to book a clash with their Portuguese rivals on Sunday.

“I always say it to my mother, I try to give it all,” Yamal told Teledeporte. “It is what motivates me to play football, why I wake up in the mornings.

“France have world class players. The scoreline after 60 minutes was very big, but they have players who make you suffer.

“We (Spain and Portugal) are two very good teams with world-class players. The best will win. I hope to bring the cup to Spain.”

Spain have been nearly imperious under coach Luis de la Fuente, losing just once in over two years, a run that helped them take home the European Championship title last year with victory over England in the final.

Key to De la Fuente’s system is his lively wide men Nico Williams and Yamal, and after Mbappe had wasted a golden early chance in Stuttgart and Theo Hernandez crashed an effort against the crossbar, Williams’ emphatic finish edged Spain in front.

Another fine, flowing move three minutes later resulted in Merino slotting home the second having been picked out by a pinpoint Mikel Oyarzabal pass. It was only the second time France had conceded twice inside the opening half hour of a match during coach Didier Deschamps’ 13-year tenure.

France continued to create openings but could not make their moments count, with their profligacy proving costly as one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or award, Yamal, fired in from the penalty spot after the teenager had been fouled.

Yamal, who already has over 100 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions before he has even turned 18, was equally calm for his second, after Pedro’s fine fourth and Mbappe’s penalty, poking the ball past France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

The strike from Olympique Lyonnais’ Cherki deserved to be more meaningful, before Vivian’s intervention gave Spanish supporters some cause for concern.

Substitute Kolo Muani’s goal made extra time look a possibility, but it was too little, too late.

The striker, however, ensured the enthralling semi-final became the first-ever Nations League match to feature nine goals. It was also the first time France had conceded five times in a match since 1969.

“We had some bursts of play we haven’t had for a long time,” France skipper Mbappe said. “But in just 10 minutes of the first half, we conceded two goals — and the same thing happened in the second half.

“We weren’t consistent throughout the 90 minutes, but we did improve. When you don’t win, there are always negative points that come out. But it’s not all negative.”

-Reuters

After a turgid first half, Harry Kane’s penalty, Anthony Gordon’s volley and a tap-in by Conor Gallagher in the space of five minutes at the start of the second broke Ireland’s resolve.

Jarrod Bowen made it 4-0 with a crisp shot from the edge of the area, his first touch after coming off the bench, before debutant Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed England’s fifth.

Ireland played virtually the whole of the second half with 10 men after Liam Scales was sent off for a foul on Jude Bellingham that resulted in England’s penalty.

England finished top of Group B2 with 15 points from six games, the same as Greece but with a superior goal difference in the two games between the two nations.

Carsley will now hand over the reins to Thomas Tuchel having won five of his six games in charge and with some useful pointers for the German who takes charge in January.

While it was no surprise to see Kane on the scoresheet for his 69th England goal, England’s four other scorers all notched their first senior international goals.

Carsley also gave first starts to Newcastle United full backs Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall while Southampton’s Harwood-Bellis celebrated his first cap with a goal.

England gave a large Sunday evening crowd nothing to get excited about in a tedious first half in which neither side managed a single effort on target.

But the floodgates opened when Kane’s superb pass found Jude Bellingham in the area and as he tried to cut inside Scales, the Celtic defender hacked him down to concede a penalty and earn himself a second yellow card and Kane tucked away the spot kick.

Ireland then collapsed. Gordon steered in a volley to double the home side’s advantage and Gallagher prodded in after a corner was flicked on.

Bowen and Harwood-Bellis then put the icing on the cake

-Reuters

Rafael Leao broke the deadlock just before the hour with a header before Ronaldo doubled the lead from the spot in the 72nd minute with a confident strike down the middle of the goal.

The hosts then scored three goals in eight minutes through Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto and Ronaldo’s clever strike before Dominik Marczuk got a consolation for Poland in the 88th.

“The first half was very bad for what we wanted to do, we lost focus and got frustrated. But the second half was the best I’ve seen,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez.

“We’ve changed the mentality and increased the intensity and mutual support. We didn’t let Poland play.”

Unbeaten Portugal top the group with 13 points, six ahead of Croatia, who lost 1-0 away to a Scotland side who are still bottom but now level on four points with third-placed Poland.

Poland host Scotland on the final matchday on Monday when Portugal travel to Croatia.

Portugal, who snapped Poland’s two-year unbeaten home run when they won the reverse fixture in Warsaw 3-1 last month, had trouble taming the visitors in the first half.

Poland were without their all-time top scorer Robert Lewandowski, who is sidelined with a back injury, but were quick to create danger and had three attempts on target before the break compared to none by the hosts.

Bartosz Bereszynski was close to opening the scoring in the 12th minute but Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa was in the right spot to catch his header before he had to stretch to deny Krzysztof Zalewski’s powerful shot from the edge of the box.

Both Leao and Ronaldo sent good chances above the bar just before the break before the tables turned for Portugal after the restart.

Clearly fired up, the hosts dominated possession and Leao recovered the ball inside their own box before he raced through the pitch to find Nuno Mendes on the left flank who then set the forward up with a perfect lofted pass.

Portugal were then awarded a penalty for a handball, expertly converted by Ronaldo, as they continued growing in strength and Fernandes struck from a distance to make it 3-0 when the ball bounced in off the inside of the bar.

Neto added another one in the 83rd minute, scoring inside the near post, before Ronaldo netted his 135th goal for the national side with an acrobatic finish in the 87th.

Distraught Poland pulled a late goal back through halftime substitute Marczuk, who scored his first international goal.

The 2019 winners Portugal, who dropped their first points last time out when they were held to a goalless draw in Scotland on Oct. 15, secured a fourth successive top-two finish in the competition.

-Reuters

Former AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini earned 126 caps while Cesare Maldini, Daniel’s grandfather, played his last game for Italy 61 years ago.

Paolo Maldini attended the Nations League match in Udine and saw his son come on as a 74th-minute substitute.

“I’m happy that my parents came here, we’ll talk when I get home,” 23-year-old Monza forward Daniel Maldini said after the match.

“It was a strong, positive emotion, I am very happy to have played and that the match went well … I hope to bring some quality, even if there is already too much, I try to help as much as I can.”

Italy, who are top of their group with 10 points from four matches, visit Belgium and host France next month.

-Reuters

Saka was forced off in the 51st minute of England’s 2-1 loss to Greece at Wembley on Thursday. England interim manager Lee Carsley had said that Saka suffered a leg injury.

A 22-man squad will fly to Helsinki ahead of Sunday’s Nations League fixture as Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones has withdrawn due to personal reasons, the team statement added.

England are in second place in the GroupB2 standings, three points behind Greece after three games.

Saka’s injury is a blow for Arsenal with their captain Martin Odegaard also sidelined. Mikel Arteta’s side play Bournemouth away in the Premier League next Saturday

-Reuters

Greece beat England for the first time as Vangelis Pavlidis struck twice in a deserved 2-1 victory in Nations League Group B2 at Wembley on Thursday.

Pavlidis gave his side the lead early in the second half with a clinical finish and the visitors had three other goals ruled out against a disjointed England side.

Jude Bellingham looked to have rescued England when he fired in an 87th-minute equaliser through but there was another twist as the outstanding Pavlidis popped up in the fourth minute of stoppage time to shoot past Jordan Pickford from close range.

Victory put Greece top of the table with a maximum nine points while England’s first defeat under stand-in manager Lee Carsley left them second with six points.

-Reuters

Italy were held to a 2-2 draw by Belgium on Thursday after Lorenzo Pellegrini was sent off and they squandered a 2-0 lead but remained top of Nations League A Group 2.

Italy lead the standing on seven points, one ahead of France who beat Israel 4-1 with Belgium third on four.

Italy scored in the first minute when winger Federico Di Marco fired a low cross into the box and Belgium keeper Koen Casteels saved the first shot from Andrea Cambiaso who bundled in the rebound.

Italy doubled the lead in the 24th minute when Di Marco volleyed the ball across the field to Cambiaso who was denied a second by Casteels before striker Mateo Retegui knocked in the loose ball.

Coach Luciano Spalletti’s team were cruising until midfielder Pellegrini was sent off for hitting Belgium defender Arthur Theate at the end of the first half, following a VAR review.

The red card galvanised the Belgians and they immediately hit back through Maxim de Cuyper who halved the deficit with a curling shot from the edge of the box after a clever free kick routine.

“There are episodes that change the games,” Spalletti said, referring to the red card.

Belgium started the second half strongly and equalised in the 61th minute when Leandro Trossard poked home from close range following a header by Wout Faes.

“Too bad, we did the first 40 minutes until the expulsion great,” said Cambiaso.

Belgium, who faced Italy without injured captain Kevin De Bruyne and striker Romelu Lukaku, face a key clash with France on Monday, when Italy face Israel.

Theate said Belgium still had chances to finish in the top two and qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals.

“We should have won with 10 against 11, we didn’t do it but we have a (key) game with France now,” he said.

-Reuters

Ronaldo put his side 2-0 up at the Estadio da Luz in the 34th minute when he got on the end of a Nuno Mendes cross with a tap-in volley from close range, before falling to the ground looking emotional at reaching another milestone.

The 39-year-old has now netted 131 international goals, 450 for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, 101 for Juventus and 68 for his current club Al Nassr as well as five for his first club Sporting Lisbon.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi, second in the all-time scorer’s list, has bagged 859 career goals.

-Reuters

The knockout round will be played in March and create continuity between the group phase ending in November and the Finals in June.

League A group winners and runners-up will participate in home-and-away format quarter-finals, with the winners qualifying for the final four.

The third-ranked team in League A and the runners-up in League B, as well as the third-ranked League B side and the League C runners-up will play a home-and-away promotion and relegation playoff.

“By introducing the new knockout phase, teams will be given even more opportunities to progress while keeping the same number of games within the international match calendar,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

In another change, the European qualifiers for the European Championship and World Cup will be more consolidated, with teams being drawn in 12 groups of four and five teams.

“The predictability of the European qualifiers has also been addressed and tackled, with a fresh new format that will offer all the teams an equal chance to qualify for major tournaments,” Ceferin added.

The new formats for these competitions will come into effect in September, 2024, UEFA said in a statement.

Russia, which sent officials from its football union to Switzerland to meet UEFA a day ahead of the executive committee meeting, was barred from taking part in or hosting UEFA or FIFA competitions following its invasion of Ukraine last year.

UEFA decided that Russia, which hosted the 2018 men’s World Cup, could not participate in qualifying for Euro 2024, which beings in March.

This year’s UEFA Super Cup has been moved from Kazan, Russia to Athens, Greece.

-Reuters