Nations League Matchday 1 highlights and round-up: High fives as Germany and Netherlands win

It fairly rained goals as Germany and the Netherlands both scored five in opening their League A campaigns in style while England were among the other teams to get points on the board early.

UEFA.com rounds up the Saturday night action as Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League drew to a close.

Germany 5-0 Hungary

A new-look Germany were emphatic winners against Hungary in Dusseldorf. Coach Julian Nagelsmann freshened up the team following several retirements, and they started superbly with Jamal Musiala teeing up Niclas Füllkrug's first-half goal. Musiala added a second on the counterattack on 58 minutes before Florian Wirtz sealed a repeat of the hosts' EURO group win against the Magyars.

Kai Havertz, who had hit the bar twice, rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot after Aleksandar Pavlovic had got the fourth for a German side targeting a first Nations League Finals appearance.

Netherlands 5-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina

There was no stopping the Netherlands as Joshua Zirkzee took centre stage – and centre-forward duties – with aplomb. Tasked with leading the line in Eindhoven, Zirkzee quickly repaid Ronald Koeman's trust with a header from a Xavi Simons cross, his first international goal. Bosnia and Herzegovina rallied with Ermedin Demirović's equaliser, but the Dutch came again.

The impressive Tijjani Reijnders scored from a Zirkzee assist just before half-time. Then Cody Gakpo, a star of the EURO, converted after fine work by Reijnders. Even if Edin Džeko's 66th international goal threatened a tense finish, the Oranje responded with further strikes from sub Wout Weghorst and Simons.

Republic of Ireland 0-2 England

England ran out comfortable winners against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, in a match notable for the new faces in both dug-outs. It was the visitors’ interim coach Lee Carsley who presided over victory thanks to fine first-half strikes by Declan Rice and Jack Grealish.

Sammie Szmodics had gone close for Ireland in what was new coach Heimir Hallgrímsson’s debut fixture, but Rice’s powerful shot broke the deadlock on 11 minutes and soon it was two courtesy of a precise Grealish finish.

Elsewhere on Saturday night

• The Georgia team that caught the eye at the EURO overcame Czechia 4-1 in Tbilisi with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze among the scorers.
• Albania came from behind to beat Ukraine with Jasir Asani's 66th-minute goal completing a second-half turnaround in Prague.
• Greece also made a strong start to their campaign, seeing off Finland 3-0 in Piraeus.

All Saturday's results

A3 Germany 5-0 Hungary, Netherlands 5-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
B1 Georgia 4-1 Czechia, Ukraine 1-2 Albania
B2 Greece 3-0 Finland, Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
C4 Armenia 4-1 Latvia, Faroe Islands 1-1 North Macedonia
D2 Moldova 2-0 Malta

Twenty-four hours earlier, Italy stunned hosts France by recovering from conceding a 13th-second goal to win in style while captain Kevin De Bruyne steered Belgium to victory and Romania also had a strong start to the campaign.

France 1-3 Italy

Bradley Barcola’s remarkable 13th-second goal for France could not deter Italy in the heavyweight contest at the Parc des Princes as the Azzurri recovered to claim an impressive 3-1 victory over the 2021 UEFA Nations League champions.

Barcola’s first goal for his country came in super-quick time, yet an Italian team seeking a reset after UEFA EURO 2024 bounced back with a fine Federico Dimarco volleyed equaliser on the half-hour. Luciano Spalletti’s men took charge after the restart as strikes by Davide Frattesi – earlier denied by the crossbar – and sub Giacomo Raspadori made it an evening to remember for the two-time semi-finalists of this competition. Italy's first win in Paris in 70 years!

Belgium 3-1 Israel

Also in this group, Belgium had the cool head of De Bruyne to thank for a 3-1 success against Israel in Debrecen. De Bruyne's 52nd-minute penalty ultimately sealed the victory for Domenico Tedesco’s team, although the 1-1 half-time scoreline had reflected well on Israel’s positive first competitive showing under new coach Ran Ben Simon.

Anan Khalaili’s deflected header off Timothy Castagne restored parity after De Bruyne's opener for the 2021 Nations League semi-finalists. But Belgium scored twice in five minutes after half-time, first through Youri Tielemans and then courtesy of the skipper's spot kick. De Bruyne then passed up the chance of a hat-trick to allow Loïs Openda to take Belgium's second penalty, which Yoav Gerafi saved.

Elsewhere on Friday night

• Erling Haaland's Norway were held to a goalless draw in Kazakhstan despite mustering 19 attempts on goal.
• There was also a stalemate between Wales and EURO 2024 quarter-finalists Türkiye in Craig Bellamy's debut as Wales coach.
• Two sides that impressed in Germany this summer, Slovenia and Austria drew as Konrad Laimer replied to Benjamin Šeško's goal .

All Friday's results

A2 Belgium 3-1 Israel, France 1-3 Italy
B3 Kazakhstan 0-0 Norway, Slovenia 1-1 Austria
B4 Iceland 2-0 Montenegro, Wales 0-0 Türkiye
C2 Kosovo 0-3 Romania, Lithuania 0-1 Cyprus

Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski were among the scorers on Thursday, meanwhile, when Portugal, Denmark and Poland made winning starts in League A – though perhaps the most eye-catching result of that evening came in San Marino.

Portugal 2-1 Croatia

Diogo Dalot scored at both ends as Cristiano Ronaldo's first goal in six international appearances proved decisive in Lisbon. Dalot gave Portugal a perfect start when he latched onto Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes' pass and applied a cool finish. Ronaldo soon got in on the act, meeting an exquisite Nuno Mendes cross with a convincing strike.

Croatia were offered hope when Borna Sosa's cut-back was deflected in by Dalot before half-time, ultimately setting up a tense finish as the visitors pushed for an equaliser. Substitute Igor Matanovic provided a presence in the box but was unable to beat Diogo Costa, while Andrej Kramarić sent his late effort into the side-netting.

Scotland 2-3 Poland

Nicola Zalewski's penalty six minutes into added time gave Poland victory in a thriller at Hampden Park. The hosts had much of the play in the first half but a long-range Sebastian Szymański effort then Robert Lewandowski's strike from the spot after Anthony Ralston's foul on Zalewski had Poland 2-0 up at the break.

Scotland's response was swift, Billy Gilmour pulling one back 22 seconds into the second half before Scott McTominay levelled. Poland had the final say, however, after Grant Hanley brought down Zalewski. The forward converted to seal a 3-2 win for the visitors.

Denmark 2-0 Switzerland

Patrick Dorgu scored within 45 seconds of coming on for his international debut as Denmark downed nine-man Switzerland. The Danes were on top even with ten men, and it took Gregor Kobel's strong left hand to deny Kasper Dolberg after the forward was sent through one-on-one.

A tough night for Switzerland got harder at the beginning of the second half when Nico Elvedi was sent off for bringing down Dolberg on the edge of the box, and Lecce's Dorgu eventually made them pay. A second booking spelled an early end for Granit Xhaka in the closing stages, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg marked his first game as Denmark's new captain with a goal to seal victory.

Serbia 0-0 Spain

European champions Spain began their Nations League trophy defence with a draw in Belgrade. La Roja enjoyed plenty of possession in the first half but found it difficult to break down a resolute Serbian defence. Indeed, it was the hosts who carved out the best chance before the break, the unmarked Luka Jović firing wide.

The second period followed a similar pattern, Lamine Yamal coming closest to breaking the deadlock as the home side gained a hard-earned point.

Elsewhere on Thursday night

• San Marino beat Liechtenstein to claim their first win in 20 years, the nation's first competitive victory.
• Alexander Isak struck the first two goals of the UEFA Nations League as Sweden won 3-1 in Azerbaijan in the early kick-off.
• Northern Ireland struck twice in the opening 16 minutes at home to Luxembourg as they claimed only their second win in 17 Nations League matches.

All Thursday's results

A1 Portugal 2-1 Croatia, Scotland 2-3 Poland
A4 Denmark 2-0 Switzerland, Serbia 0-0 Spain
C1 Azerbaijan 1-3 Sweden, Estonia 0-1 Slovakia
C3 Belarus 0-0 Bulgaria, Northern Ireland 2-0 Luxembourg
D1 San Marino 1-0 Liechtenstein