World Roundup: Praise be to the UEFA Nations League
Mexico win the CONCACAF version and New Zealand are World Cup bound; plus more matches to watch on the final two days
We only have two days of the March international window left! (**wipes tears**)
A lot has been going on around the world since my previous roundup on Friday, so let’s get right into it, starting with matters in Europe.
And at the end, I recommend three more matches to watch before the window ends on Tuesday night!
UEFA: Make mine a Nations League Quarter-Final
As most of my subscribers will know, I am a big fan of the UEFA Nations League (UNL). However, I must admit I was sceptical of the additions of the Quarter-finals and the extension of the Play-offs, especially as they overlapped with World Cup qualifiers.
As it turns out, I should never doubted the suits and powers that be at UEFA headquarters. Perhaps more significantly, I should never have doubted just how good international football is when the best teams are pitted together in knockout competition.
The second legs of the Quarter-finals played last night were all either outstanding, nervy, entertaining, crazy or a combination of all four. Moreover, the players and fans really did care about it — and that’s what makes any competition worthwhile.
After a 2-2 draw in the first leg, Spain and the Netherlands repeated that feat in Valencia after a penalty apiece for Mikel Oyarzabal and Memphis Depay, before Oyarzabal and Dutch debutant Donyell Malen added further goals in the second half.
Amsterdam-born Spaniard Dean Huijsen picked out Lamine Yamal in extra time who finished in style, but another penalty — this time from Xavi Simons — took the match to a shootout.
Malen turned from hero to villain in sudden death, as Pedri sent Spain to the UNL Finals.
Penalties were also needed to separate France and Croatia, as Les Bleus came from 2-0 down in the tie thanks to an inspired Michael Olise. His free-kick early in the second half gave France hope, then his cutback for Ousmane Dembélé to finish 10 minutes from time sent the sides to extra time, which was scoreless.
Despite conceding twice, Dominik Livaković put in a brilliant display for Croatia, but he could do nothing to stop Dayot Upamecano’s winning penalty finding the top corner.
One goal was enough for Denmark to take the lead to Lisbon, and a tense second leg looked on the cards when Cristiano Ronaldo had an early penalty saved by Kasper Schmeichel. Portugal did manage to level the tie before the break through a Joachim Andersen own goal.
However, the second half was the polar opposite of the first — and indeed, the first leg — as Rasmus Kristensen put Denmark back in front in the tie, before Ronaldo finally got his goal, only for Christian Eriksen to restore the Danes’ advantage.
Nine minutes from time, a rasping Francisco Trincão strike took the tie to extra time, before it was he who gave Portugal the lead in the tie for the first time. It was a lead they held onto, and victory was secured in the 115th minute by Gonçalo Ramos.
If Portugal vs Denmark was a “game of two halves”, then we need a new cliché to describe what happened in Dortmund.
Leading 2-1 from the first leg, Germany looked to have blown Italy away in the first half, beginning with a Joshua Kimmich penalty before perhaps the strangest goal of the March international window.
Germany had a corner, but Gianluigi Donnarumma came wandering out of his goalmouth to marshal his defence. Taking full advantage, Kimmich played the ball into Jamal Musiala, who tapped into an empty net from six yards.
It was 3-0 before the break as Donnarumma couldn’t keep out a Tim Kleindienst header, giving Germany a 5-1 aggregate lead. But Moise Kean hadn’t given up hope for Italy; he scored twice to put Italy two behind on aggregate, then, a Giacomo Raspadori penalty in added time made for a grandstand finish, but the Azzurri came up just short, going down 5-4 on aggregate.
Germany will host June’s UNL Finals — they play Portugal in Munich and Spain take on France in Stuttgart in the Semi-finals. 8th June sees the Third-place Play-off in Stuttgart, followed by the Final in Munich.
In the UNL Play-offs, 3-0 away wins saw Turkey and Greece land themselves promotion to League A at the expense of Hungary and Scotland, while Serbia and Belgium retained their top tier places by seeing off Austria and Ukraine.
Kosovo have been promoted to League B for the first time after a 5-2 aggregate win over Iceland, while Ireland, Slovenia and Georgia all retained their League B status — Georgia doing so with an emphatic 9-1 aggregate thrashing of neighbours Armenia.
OFC: New Zealand get their ticket to North America
After Japan earlier in this window, New Zealand have become the second team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, taking the first automatic place ever given to the OFC.
They were heavy favourites to do so, especially as they were hosting the Semi-finals and Final, and a 7-0 win over Fiji in the last four risked making a mockery of the competition.
But their opponents in the Final, New Caledonia, proved that there is more to the confederation than just the All Whites. The Kagus frustrated their hosts for the first hour, before Michael Boxall finally opened the scoring after 61 minutes.
A quick second from Kosta Barbarouses settled the nerves around Eden Park, and the ticket to a third World Cup for New Zealand was sealed by Elijah Just, 10 minutes from time.
CONCACAF: Mexico take Nations League title
On Sunday night, Will Smith performed at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and once the singing and dancing was done, a football match between Mexico and Panama broke out.
The United States were absent from their party — from its finale, at least — having been Mr Smith’s warm-up act, losing 2-1 to Canada in the Third-place Play-off.
The Mexican party started after just seven minutes when a deep cross was nodded home by Raúl Jiménez, but the champagne was put on ice in first-half stoppage time when Coco Carrasquilla equalised from the penalty spot.
With the match heading to extra time, Mexico won themselves a penalty, and with his 39th international goal, Jiménez dispatched the spot-kick to hand Mexico their first CONCACAF Nations League crown, ending the USA’s three-tournament run.
CONMEBOL & CAF: Argentina on the brink
Argentina need one more win to secure themselves a place at the World Cup after they earned a hard-fought 1-0 win away at Uruguay. While two Enner Valencia’s goals were enough to further dent Venezuela’s debut dreams, as Ecuador won 2-1.
Since Friday morning’s round-up, Egypt have further strengthened their place at the top of Group A in Africa by beating Ethiopia 2-0, with Mohamed Salah on target. Burkina Faso have moved second in the group by beating Djibouti 4-1.
Sudan are still clinging on to the top of Group B, gaining an impressive goalless draw with Senegal on Saturday. Senegal stay third, behind DR Congo. Two of the group’s supposed also-rans, Togo and Mauritania, drew 2-2.
Gabon have returned to the summit of Group F, overtaking Ivory Coast, with a 2-1 win over Kenya. At the bottom of Group D, Eswatini and Mauritius drew 3-3.
What to watch?
Before the international window began, I picked out half a dozen matches to watch:
But I know what you’re thinking, “Anthony, there’s two days of incredible football left and all six of those matches have been played!”
Never fear! Let me fix your schedule for today and tomorrow with three more to keep an eye on.
Guinea-Bissau vs Burkina Faso
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying (CAF) - Monday 24th March, 16:00 local time - Bissau
In Group A, Egypt sit five points clear at the top, but the battle for the Play-off place looks likely to go down to the wire.
Guinea-Bissau vs Burkina Faso is a real six-pointer in the race, with the away side on eight points, level with Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau are two points back.
A win for the hosts or a draw will only intensify the race, given that Sierra Leone face Egypt on Tuesday. A win for the Burkinabe, though, could completely change the dynamic.
Iran vs Uzbekistan
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying (AFC) - Tuesday 25th March, 19:30 local time - Tehran
The atmosphere at the Azadi Stadium is likely to hit boiling point when the top two meet in the AFC Third Round’s Group A.
A win for Iran will see them qualify for the World Cup once again. A draw or even a loss could be enough, but that would require unexpected slip-ups from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates against Kyrgyzstan and North Korea, respectively.
The likely wins for the chasing pack ramps the pressure up further on Uzbekistan, who will want to at least maintain the six-point lead over Qatar and the UAE as they look to finally reach the World Cup for the firs time.
An Uzbek win and neither Qatar nor the UAE winning will see both Iran and Uzbekistan qualify.
Argentina vs Brazil
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying (CONMEBOL) - Tuesday 25th March, 21:00 local time - Buenos Aires
Do I really need to explain this one? An Argentina win against their greatest rivals will see them qualify for the World Cup. It’s going to be worth staying up for!
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Anthony Tomas is a football writer and commentator, who has written for World Soccer Magazine, MUNDIAL and Flashscore.