Nations League holders France lost 2-0 to Denmark in their final Group A game but salvaged their place in the top tier at the end of a dismal campaign on Sunday.
Didier Deschamps’ side, who will face Denmark in the World Cup in November, finished third in the Nations League standings with five points from six games after Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen scored first-half goals for the hosts. Austria were relegated to League B after a 3-1 defeat at home to Croatia left them bottom of the group on four points.
Croatia qualified for the final four with 13 points, one ahead of Denmark, who burst into life against France after being dominated in the first 20 minutes.
World champions France, who had several first-choice players out injured including Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema and Hugo Lloris, were a far cry from their best and Deschamps will be crossing fingers that all have recovered for the tournament in Qatar. “We had a lot of chances, but we were not aggressive enough and made several technical mistakes,” Deschamps said. “We had a young team and they don’t have the experience of a high level.