France, the World Champion, lost the UEFA Nations League title after being defeated by their visitors and runners-up Croatia 0-1 on Monday, in the fourth round of Group A matches within League A. Croatia owes its victory to its captain Luka Modrić, who scored the only goal from a penalty in the 5th minute, bringing his country's points total to seven, placing them second, two points behind Denmark, which solidified its lead with a 2-0 win over Austria. France remains stuck at two points at the bottom of the group, having previously won the second edition of the tournament against Spain (2-1).
France, having drawn against Croatia and Austria 1-1 and lost to Denmark 1-2, has found itself in a precarious situation, needing to defend its chances of remaining in League A, as the last-placed team will be relegated to League B. Meanwhile, Croatia, led by Modrić, suffered a 0-3 loss against Austria before drawing 1-1 with France and winning 1-0 against Denmark. With their recent draw against France, Croatia ended a three-match losing streak against them, following a 2-4 defeat in the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow, and the same scoreline in a 2020 UEFA Nations League match at Stade de France, before losing 1-2 in the return match at home.
