2019 UEFA Nations League Finals facts for kids
| Fase Final da Liga das Nações da UEFA de 2019 ' | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Portugal |
| Dates | 5–9 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 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 | 43,199 (10,800 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Cristiano Ronaldo (3 goals) |
| Best player | Bernardo Silva |
| Best young player | Frenkie de Jong |
The 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals was a special football tournament. It was the very first time this competition was held! Four top teams from Nations League A played against each other. The tournament took place in Portugal from June 5 to June 9, 2019.
The event included two semi-final matches, a game for third place, and a grand final. The goal was to find the first-ever champion of the UEFA Nations League. In the end, Portugal won the final match 1–0 against the Netherlands. This made Portugal the first team to lift the UEFA Nations League trophy!
Contents
Teams That Played
Four teams earned their spot in the Nations League Finals. They were the winners of their groups in League A. Here are the teams that qualified:
| Group | Team | Date they qualified |
UNL Ranking (Nov 2018) |
FIFA Ranking (Apr 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 |
Where the Games Were Played
Portugal hosted the tournament in two cities. The matches were played in Porto and Guimarães. The stadiums were chosen by the Portuguese Football Federation.
| Porto | Guimarães | |
|---|---|---|
| Estádio do Dragão | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques | |
| Capacity: 50,033 | Capacity: 30,000 | |
Tournament Tree
This bracket shows how the teams played against each other. The winners moved on to the next round.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 5 June – Porto | ||||||
| Portugal |
3 | |||||
| 9 June – Porto | ||||||
| Switzerland |
1 | |||||
| Portugal |
1 | |||||
| 6 June – Guimarães | ||||||
| Netherlands |
0 | |||||
| Netherlands (aet) |
3 | |||||
| England |
1 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 9 June – Guimarães | ||||||
| Switzerland |
0 (5) | |||||
| England (p) |
0 (6) | |||||
All game times are local, WEST (UTC+1).
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were the first matches of the tournament. The winners went to the final. The losers played for third place.
Portugal vs Switzerland
This match was played in Porto. Portugal won with a great performance from Cristiano Ronaldo.
| 5 June 2019 19:45 |
Portugal |
3–1 | Switzerland |
Estádio do Dragão, Porto Attendance: 42,415 Referee: Felix Brych (Germany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ronaldo  25', 88', 90' |
Rodríguez 57' (pen.) |
          Portugal
|
 Switzerland
|
Man of the Match: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Netherlands vs England
This exciting match took place in Guimarães. The Netherlands won after extra time.
| 6 June 2019 19:45 |
Netherlands |
3–1 (a.e.t.) |
England |
Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães Attendance: 25,711 Referee: Clément Turpin (France) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Ligt 73' Walker 97' (o.g.)Promes 114' |
Rashford 32' (pen.) |
     Netherlands
|
    England
|
Man of the Match: Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands)
Third Place Play-off
This match was between Switzerland and England. They both lost their semi-final games. The game went to a penalty shootout.
| 9 June 2019 14:00 |
Switzerland |
0–0 (a.e.t.) |
England |
Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães Attendance: 15,742 Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||||
Zuber  Xhaka Akanji Mbabu Schär Drmić  |
5–6 | Maguire Barkley Sancho Sterling Pickford Dier |
   Switzerland
|
England
|
Man of the Match: Jordan Pickford (England)
Final
The big final match was played in Porto. Portugal faced the Netherlands to decide who would be the first champion.
| 9 June 2019 20:45 CEST |
Portugal |
1–0 | Netherlands |
Estádio do Dragão, Porto Attendance: 43,199 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guedes 60' |
|
Portugal
|
     Netherlands
|
Man of the Match: Rúben Dias (Portugal)
Match rules:
- The game lasts 90 minutes.
- If it's a tie, they play 30 minutes of extra time.
- If still tied, a penalty shoot-out decides the winner.
- Teams can have up to twelve substitute players.
- Teams can make three substitutions during the game. A fourth one is allowed in extra time.
Statistics
Here are some interesting facts and numbers from the tournament.
Goalscorers
These players scored goals during the finals. There were 9 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2.25 goals per match.
3 goals
1 goal
- Marcus Rashford
- Matthijs de Ligt
- Quincy Promes
- Gonçalo Guedes
Ricardo Rodríguez
1 own goal
- Kyle Walker (scored for Netherlands by mistake)
Source: UEFA
Assists
These players helped their teammates score goals.
2 assists
1 assist
Source: UEFA
Awards
Special awards were given to players after the tournament.
- Team of the Tournament
UEFA's experts chose the best players to form a "Team of the Tournament." At least one player from each of the four teams was included.
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford |
Daley Blind Virgil van Dijk Rúben Dias Nélson Semedo |
Frenkie de Jong Georginio Wijnaldum Bruno Fernandes |
Cristiano Ronaldo Bernardo Silva Xherdan Shaqiri |
Another "Team of the Tournament" was chosen based on player performance data.
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford |
Matthijs de Ligt Rúben Dias Raphaël Guerreiro Manuel Akanji Kevin Mbabu |
Frenkie de Jong Marten de Roon Bernardo Silva |
Memphis Depay Cristiano Ronaldo |
- Player of the Tournament
- Young Player of the Tournament
See also
In Spanish: Fase final de la Liga de Naciones de la UEFA 2018-19 para niños
