Germany reached the UEFA Nations League finals for the first time after a thrilling quarter-final decider in Dortmund, holding off an Italy side who recovered from 3-0 down at half-time in the second period.

Key moments

30′ Kimmich converts emphatic penalty

36′ Donnarumma brilliantly denies Kleindienst

36′ Musiala pounces from quickly taken corner

45′ Kleindienst powers in header

49′ Kean replies for Italy from outside box

69′ Azzurri forward fires in second

90+5′ Raspadori places penalty past Baumann

Match in brief: First-half flurry sends Germany through

Joshua Kimmich set up both of Germany’s goals in the first leg and, after an end-to-end start to the return game, the hosts’ captain increased his side’s advantage from the spot when Alessandro Buongiorno was adjudged to have impeded towering forward Tim Kleindienst.

A scorer with his first touch as a half-time substitute in Milan, Kleindienst was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma shortly after the opener, only for Kimmich’s quick thinking to find Jamal Musiala unmarked from the resulting corner, allowing the No10 to slot in at the near post.

Tim Kleindienst’s header put Germany 5-1 ahead on aggregate at half-time in the second legUEFA via Getty Images

Another brilliant save from Donnarumma was not enough to stop Kleindienst’s close-range header from then crossing the line for his second goal of the tie on the stroke of half-time, but Italy were in no mood to pass up the chance of a third consecutive appearance in the finals.

Moise Kean seized possession and the chance to reduce the arrears by blasting in four minutes after the restart, and the Fiorentina striker added a second as part of a spirited comeback attempt by the visitors, teasing Jonathan Tah inside the box before firing in.

After Kleindienst was penalised for handball, Giacomo Raspadori placed a 95th-minute penalty past Oliver Baumann to put Italy within sight of a remarkable recovery act.

There was still time for the Azzurri to force their hosts to defend successive crosses, but Julian Nagelsmann’s side saw out a classic, booking their place in the final four and ensuring they will host the showpiece.

As it happened: Germany 3-3 Italy

James Thorogood, match reporter

The contest became nervier than they would have liked in the second half but, for the first time, Germany will feature in the Nations League final four. The two performances against Italy underlined just how far this side have come under Nagelsmann. They’ll have a magnificent opportunity to win silverware on home soil in June.

Reaction

To follow.

Key stats

• Joshua Kimmich was directly involved in all five of his country’s goals in the tie (one goal and four assists). He made three of those in contributions in this game – only the second time he has done so in his 99 Germany appearances.
• Excluding penalty shoot-outs, Germany have not lost any of their last eight international matches against Italy (W4 D4).
• Die Mannschaft are unbeaten in their last nine games in this competition (W5 D4).
• They have scored in 20 of their last 22 Nations League matches, with only one of their last 12 at home ending in defeat (W5 D6).
• This was the first time in their last 11 Nations League matches that Italy did not score before half-time.
• The Azzurri have scored in 20 of their last 21 Nations League matches.

Line-ups

Germany: Baumann; Rüdiger (Bisseck 77), Tah, Schlotterbeck; Kimmich, Stiller (Gross 63), Goretzka (Amiri 63), Mittelstädt; Sané (Adeyemi 63), Musiala (Andrich 77); Kleindienst

Italy: Donnarumma; Gatti (Politano 46), Buongiorno, Bastoni; Di Lorenzo, Barella, Ricci (Zaccagni 85), Tonali (Raspadori 68), Udogie; Kean (Lucca 85), Maldini (Frattesi 46)

What’s next?

Germany will advance to the final four and face Portugal in the semi-finals.

The semi-finals will take place on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 June 2025 to decide who contests the final and the third-place match on Sunday 8 June.

The final tournament will be hosted by Germany.