REIJNDERS SCORES AGAIN, MAIGNAN'S CONTRIBUTION NOT ENOUGH

Several Rossoneri players took to the pitch for their respective national teams on Thursday. Tijjani Reijnders took centre stage, with the AC Milan midfielder scoring in the Netherlands’ Nations League quarter-final first-leg clash against Spain. His finish gave the Dutch a 2-1 lead, but Merino scored a late equaliser for the visitors. Reijnders now has 16 goals this season between club and international football. Despite France’s 2-0 defeat to Croatia in Split, Mike Maignan also made an important contribution: the Rossoneri goalkeeper kept out an early Kramarić penalty with his feet. However, Budimir and Perišić then found the net to give the hosts a surprise victory. Theo Hernández remained on the bench. Portugal also lost, with Denmark running out 1-0 winners on home soil. Rafa Leão played 76 minutes, but João Félix didn’t feature. In another Nations League meeting, Serbia played out a 1-1 draw with Austria: Jović remained on the pitch for 68 minutes, while Strahinja Pavlović missed out through suspension after being sent off against Denmark in November.

There were differing fortunes in the Concacaf Nations League: a United States side containing Pulisic and Musah, both of whom played the entire match, were eliminated by Panama in the semi-finals following Waterman’s 94th-minute winner. As a result, the USMNT have failed to defend the title they won in 2024. However, Santi Gimenez’s Mexico will be in the final after defeating Canada thanks to a Raúl Jiménez brace. The Rossoneri striker was involved for 80 minutes. Finally, it was a good day for Torriani, Bartesaghi and Bakoune as Italy U20s beat Turkey 3-0 away from home in the Elite League. The Azzurrini currently sit second behind England in the table.

The AC Milan WhatsApp channel is available: follow us!