"We got up this morning with the idea it could be a great night."
Little did Kylian Mbappe know how prophetic those words would be. The France forward's statement barely captured the chaos that unfolded across Sunday's Nations League quarter-final second legs - a night of footballing drama that fans won't soon forget.
The numbers alone tell part of the story: 21 goals across four matches, three games going to extra time, two ending in penalty shootouts, and a staggering 131 attempts on goal. It was pure bedlam as France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain all secured their spots in June's semi-finals.
The night began with Cristiano Ronaldo facing an early opportunity to put Portugal ahead against Denmark from the penalty spot. Just five days after Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund had mimicked Ronaldo's famous 'siu' celebration, the 40-year-old Portuguese legend had a chance for redemption. Instead, Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel dived low to his left to save Ronaldo's tame effort - the 32nd penalty miss of his illustrious career (though he's scored 172, to be fair).
In Germany, the hosts took control against Italy with a breathtaking first-half display, scoring three times in 15 minutes. The highlight came when Joshua Kimmich capitalized on Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's protests to the referee, taking a quick corner that Jamal Musiala swept into an empty net. The moment echoed Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold's famous quick corner against Barcelona in 2019.
This clever play was made possible by 15-year-old ball boy Noel Urbaniack, who quickly returned the ball to Kimmich. "We had brief eye contact," Urbaniack later explained. "I saw he wanted the ball and I quickly threw it to him. It was my first time as a ball boy." His quick thinking earned him post-match interviews and a signed ball from the German team.
Meanwhile, France faced a steep challenge, having lost 2-0 to Croatia in the first leg. After a frustrating opening period, Michael Olise breathed life into their campaign with a delightful 25-yard free-kick. Around the same time, Memphis Depay equalized for the Netherlands against Spain, while Portugal had recovered from Ronaldo's penalty miss to level their tie with Denmark.
The momentum continued building. Italy, trailing 3-0 at halftime and 5-1 on aggregate to Germany, staged a remarkable second-half comeback. Former Everton striker Moise Kean, who had touched the ball just seven times in the first half, scored twice to give the Italians hope. They thought they had a penalty with 15 minutes remaining when Giovanni Di Lorenzo appeared to be fouled, but VAR overturned the decision. Although Italy would eventually get and convert a late penalty, it wasn't enough to complete what would have been a miraculous turnaround.
In Paris, the Stade de France erupted when Ousmane Dembele, in sensational form this season, equalized for France with just 10 minutes remaining, finishing first time from Olise's cutback to send their tie with Croatia to extra time. Portugal and the Netherlands also forced additional periods in their respective matches.
The drama intensified during extra time. Portugal, who had been heading out until Francisco Trincao's 85th-minute equalizer, scored twice more to secure their semi-final spot without needing penalties. Spain and the Netherlands, however, remained deadlocked after Spain's 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal scored with a brilliant finish in the 103rd minute, only for Xavi Simons to equalize six minutes later - the third time the Dutch had come from behind that night.
When the final whistles blew, both Spain-Netherlands and France-Croatia would be decided by penalty shootouts. Dutch forward Noa Lang and Spain's Yamal both missed in their shootout before Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon denied Donyell Malen, allowing Pedri to clinch victory for the 2023 Nations League winners.
The Netherlands' manager Ronald Koeman reflected on his team's penalty misfortune: "I think that both teams should have gone through but that's impossible. In part fortune decided that Spain won."
In France, goalkeeper Mike Maignan emerged as the hero, saving two spot kicks including Josip Stanisic's effort in sudden death, before Dayot Upamecano sealed progression for the hosts.
"We were convinced we were going to do it, we needed a game like this to get our fans back with us," Mbappe concluded after the match.
While the four semifinalists - France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain - might be the teams many expected to advance, the manner in which they did so made Sunday a truly special night in the Nations League. The tournament's final four will meet in June, with the semifinals split between Stuttgart and Munich in Germany.
