Croatia beats France 2-0 in Nations League quarterfinals to spoil Mbappé's return

Croatia contained the attacking duo of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in a 2-0 victory over France in the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals Thursday.

Ante Budimir headed Croatia ahead in the 26th minute off a cross from Ivan Perišić with France goalkeeper Mike Maignan partially blocking the ball before it crossed the line.

Perišić doubled the advantage in first-half stoppage time in Split to spoil Mbappé's return after a six-month absence from the national team.

Andrej Kramarić's penalty in the eighth minute was saved by Maignan, who dived to the right but used his feet to make the stop.

Mbappé tested Dominik Livaković with several shots in the first half but the Croatia goalkeeper produced some decent saves to deny him. Both Mbappé and Dembélé, the French league’s top scorer for Paris Saint-Germain, have already reached the 30-goal mark overall this season.

Mbappé, the Real Madrid star, captained Les Bleus in what was his first start for the national team since a 3-1 loss to Italy on Sept. 6.

The 26-year-old Mbappé is third on France’s all-time scoring list with 48 goals, but he has found the net in only two of his past 13 international games.

In other first-leg quarterfinal matches, Germany came from behind to beat Italy 2-1, defending champion Spain salvaged a 2-2 draw against the 10-man Netherlands, and Denmark beat Portugal 1-0.

The winners will qualify for the four-team final tournament on June 4-8.

The second-leg matches are scheduled for Sunday.

Germany captain Joshua Kimmich set up both German goals in a second-half comeback.

He provided a cross from the right shortly after the interval for Tim Kleindienst to head in an equalizer.

Kimmich provided the same service for Leon Goretzka from the corner in the 76th to score the winner in the 2-1 victory, the first win for Germany in Italy since 1986.

Italy opened the scoring from their first attacking effort in the game. Sandro Tonali connected with a deflected cross from Giacomo Raspadori to score past Germany goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.

“The first half was tough, we barely got into our stride," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said. "We adjusted a bit at halftime, and the players who came on did well.”

Without Serie A leading scorer Mateo Retegui, Italy coach Luciano Spalletti turned to Moise Kean, who is second on the Italian league’s scoring chart with 15 goals.

The winner of the tie will host the finals.

Substitute Mikel Merino scored in stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 for Spain in Rotterdam. Nine minutes before the end, defender Jorrel Hato received a red card when the Dutch were ahead 2-1. The game was played at the De Kuip stadium, where Spain beat Croatia in the 2023 final.

Spain led 1-0 in the ninth minute after Lamine Yamal seized the ball on the right, passed it to Pedri, who fed Nico Williams in the middle to score the opener.

In the 28th minute, Justin Kluivert set up Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo to equalize with a low shot from the left that went in at the near post.

Tijjani Reijnders put the Netherlands ahead 2-1 only 39 seconds into the second half. The AC Milan player exchanged the ball with Jeremie Frimpong before finding the back of the net with a precise finish from the edge of the area.

Manchester United players were at the forefront for Denmark.

Substitute Rasmus Højlund broke the deadlock in the 78th.

In the 24th, Christian Eriksen had a chance to put the Danes ahead from the penalty spot, but Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa dived to his right to save the attempt.

The Manchester United midfielder had converted 12 penalties for Denmark and hadn't missed one since 2016.

Ronaldo extended his record of the number of international appearances to 218 but didn’t add to his record scoring tally of 135 international goals.

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Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo speak during the UEFA Nations League playoff match, League A, between Denmark and Portugal, at Parken in Copenhagen, Denmark, Thursday, March 20, 2024. (Liselotte Sabroe/Scanpix 2025/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo lies on the pitch during the UEFA Nations League playoff match, League A, between Denmark and Portugal, at Parken in Copenhagen, Denmark, Thursday, March 20, 2024. (Liselotte Sabroe/Scanpix 2025/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, second from left, reacts during the UEFA Nations League playoff match, League A, between Denmark and Portugal, at Parken in Copenhagen, Denmark, Thursday, March 20, 2024. (Liselotte Sabroe/Scanpix 2025/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Spain's Pedri, center, fails to score during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal first leg match between the Netherlands and Spain at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Spain's Nico Williams celebrates after scoring his side first goal during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal first leg match between the Netherlands and Spain at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Netherlands' Cody Gakpo celebrates after scoring his side first goal during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal first leg match between the Netherlands and Spain at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, center, clears the ball during the soccer Nations League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Italy and Germany, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Italy's Sandro Tonali celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the soccer Nations League quarter final first leg soccer match between Italy and Germany in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Germany's David Raum, left, fights for the ball with Italy's Nicolo Barella during the soccer Nations League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Italy and Germany, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Croatia's players celebrate their side's first goal, scored by Ante Budimir during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and France, at the Poljud stadium in Split, Croatia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

France's Kylian Mbappe falls during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and France, at the Poljud stadium in Split, Croatia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

France's goalkeeper Mike Maignan fails to stop a header by Croatia's Ante Budimir during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and France, at the Poljud stadium in Split, Croatia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

France's Jules Kounde, top, fouls Croatia's Josko Gvardiol during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and France, at the Poljud stadium in Split, Croatia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

France's Kylian Mbappe looks down during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and France, at the Poljud stadium in Split, Croatia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

ALDIE, Va. (AP) — The room where President James Monroe crafted part of his famed doctrine exudes a quiet, stately atmosphere.

Inside the enclosed west porch a few footsteps away, a quarried-stone floor marked by fossilized dinosaur tracks glimmers in the sunlight. Just around the corner, a portico built by enslaved African Americans looks out over rolling foothills stretching into the misty northern Virginia horizon, a captivating view untarnished by monied property developments bellying up nearby.

It’s an early morning at Oak Hill, where centuries of history are deeply rooted in Monroe’s Loudoun County estate. It’s the last home of a presidential Founding Father still in private hands, according to conservation experts.

That is, maybe, until now.

The DeLashmutt family, which has owned Oak Hill in the community of Aldie since 1948, hopes to convert its sprawling 1,240 acres (502 hectares) into a state park. A bill to that effect unanimously passed the House of Delegates last month but failed in the Senate.

The DeLashmutts, along with a nonprofit corporation, The Conservation Fund, hope Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will revive the multimillion-dollar project by including it in his proposed amendment to the budget bill ahead of the General Assembly’s veto session. The governor has until Monday to submit his revisions.

“We’ve taken good care of it,” family matriarch Gayle DeLashmutt said, gazing up at trees in the garden during a recent tour of the grounds. “And I think it’s time to let somebody else do it.”

The DeLashmutt family, which is unrelated to the Monroes, is part of a long line of Virginians who have lived in Oak Hill. Other Founding Fathers’ homes in the state — Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, George Washington's Mount Vernon and Monroe's Highland estate — are owned by educational and historical institutions that open the estates' doors to the public.

The residence at Oak Hill has a complex heritage: At the top of a split staircase leading to the entrance sits a gifted bell from the decommissioned USS Oak Hill. Inside, elegant parlors feature fireplace mantelpieces made of decadent marble, a gift from Monroe's longtime friend, the Marquis de LaFayette, to thank first lady Elizabeth Kortright Monroe for saving his wife from the guillotine. On an interior windowpane, a young man with the last name of Fairfax, a family that previously owned the house, scratched his name and the date of his graduation from the Virginia Military Institute.

Gayle DeLashmutt’s daughter, India DeLashmutt, grew up on the estate, charging about on go-carts and sledding down steep hills in the same place that Monroe hosted first lady Dolley Madison more than 100 years earlier. Her father used to tell her stories about finding arrowheads in Little River, a tributary that streams through the property.

“There’s just this span of time, and this place can really represent it,” she said.

The estate also embodies the histories of the enslaved African Americans who built and cared for the property.

There is George Williams, an enslaved carpenter who constructed the main house in Oak Hill, according to independent researcher Emily Stanfill. And Natus Berryman, who lived at Oak Hill before being forced to move to the South, said Lori Kimball, another researcher.

Opening the estate to the public full time would allow people to learn more about their stories, Kimball said.

Donna Bohanan, chair of the Black History Committee at a Loudon County genealogical library, said it would also educate the public about the Indigenous people and tenant farmers who lived on and worked the land.

“I advocate for not just focusing on the great men of history or military history because that leaves out a lot,” Bohanan said. “By telling our more inclusive stories, we can start to see the connections between all of us as members of the human race.”

Loudoun County has allocated $22 million toward the roughly $52 million needed to support the project, while The Conservation Fund and other groups have raised another nearly $25 million. The family is selling the property for $20 million. The Conservation Fund says the state won't have to pay a dime toward the project.

The legislation for such an acquisition, backed by Democratic Del. Alfonso Lopez, passed unanimously in the Virginia House last month but stalled in the state Senate. During the final days of the session, Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas told reporters that she thought the bill was an excellent idea but expressed concern about long-term commitments from the state, even if it has no upfront financial obligation.

“That’s a lot of park for somebody to take care of," she said. "Those are the kinds of things you have to consider when you’re working on these budgets.”

Youngkin said Wednesday he was initially resistant to the project because he was not sure the business plan was fully fleshed out. But he said he felt less uneasy after touring the estate with Republican Del. Geary Higgins, whose district includes Oak Hill.

“We had a good visit, and I’m still trying to decide what we do,” Youngkin said. “No promises, but I’m open-minded.”

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Gayle DeLashmutt poses for a portrait in the east parlor of the main house at Oak Hill in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gayle and India DeLashmutt pose for a portrait in the east parlor of the main house at Oak Hill in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A structure formerly used as a smokehouse at Oak Hill is seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Aldie, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The home where Joseph Jones, uncle of President James Monroe, resided at Oak Hill is seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Aldie, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A bench in the garden at Oak Hill is seen in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The garden at Oak Hill is seen in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The portico of the main house at Oak Hill is seen from the garden in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The garden at Oak Hill is seen through the wrought iron railing on the portico of the main house in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The lower dining room in the main house at Oak Hill, where the DeLashmutt family typically eat their meals, is seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Aldie, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A fossilized dinosaur track is seen in the quarried-stone floor in the west porch of the main house at Oak Hill in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A fossilized dinosaur track is seen in the quarried-stone floor in the west porch of the main house at Oak Hill in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The west porch of the main house at Oak Hill is seen in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The dining room in the main house at Oak Hill, where President James Monroe crafted part of his famed Monroe Doctrine, is seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Aldie, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The former bedroom of first lady Dolley Madison in the main house at Oak Hill is seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Aldie, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Etched writing is seen on a window of a bedroom in the main house at Oak Hill in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gayle DeLashmutt points to etching on a window that was scratched by a member of the family that previously owned Oak Hill in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Marble details on the fireplace mantelpiece in the east parlor of the main house at Oak Hill are seen Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Aldie, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The west parlor in the main house at Oak Hill is seen in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A historic chair upholstered with horse hair, a commonality for furniture during the 19th century, is seen in the east parlor of the main house at Oak Hill in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The east parlor in the main house at Oak Hill is seen in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

A bell from the decommissioned USS Oak Hill is seen at the front entrance of the main house at Oak Hill, the privately owned former estate of presidential Founding Father James Monroe in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The portico of the main house at Oak Hill is seen from the garden in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)