GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — Netherlands scored twice in the last five minutes to recover from two goals down and earn a 2-2 draw against relegated Germany in the Nations League on Monday to secure a spot in next year's finals ahead of world champions France.

Virgil van Dijk struck a superb close-range volley in stoppage time to equalize for the visitors after Quincy Promes had cut the deficit in the 85th minute with the Germans having led through early goals from Timo Werner and Leroy Sane.

Switzerland, England and hosts Portugal had already qualified for the four-team finals in June.

The Dutch, on the road to recovery under new manager Ronald Koeman after failing to qualify for the last two major tournaments, topped League A Group 1 despite finishing level on seven points with France due to a better head-to-head record.

"This is the reward for our hard work," central defender Van Dijk told reporters. "It was good to get the equalizer and qualify. After a moderate first half we wanted to come out stronger after the break. We showed character tonight."

The Germans, who suffered a shock first-round exit at the World Cup in June and lost a German record six times this year, finished in last place with just two points after what has become a familiar lack of focus this year.

However, their quick young frontline, nicknamed 'the moped gang', looked promising and lived up to their tag as 22-year-olds Werner and Sane, plus Serge Gnabry, 23, frightened the Dutch defense with their speed, especially in the first half.

They had already shown their potential in a 3-0 friendly win over Russia on Thursday as coach Joachim Loew made changes after Germany's World Cup flop and Nations League relegation.

"I am a bit disappointed by the result but overall I saw more positives than negatives," Loew told reporters. "We played a very good first half and should have scored a third in the second half to finish the game. But this kind of thing seems to be the story of our entire year," he said.

The Germans took the lead after nine minutes when Werner controlled a pass with his head and then fired a precise low shot into the corner of the net from 20 meters. Sane finished an almost identical move in the 20th, latching onto a deep Toni Kroos pass and drilling in the second goal of the evening with a deflected shot from the edge of the box.

Gnabry almost got a third with a glancing header in the 40th and Werner outsprinted his marker only to fire wide on the hour as the Dutch struggled to contain their opponents and remained toothless up front until Promes got them back in the game. They then earned a last-gasp equalizer through Van Dijk to book their spot in the new competition's finals in Portugal.

Norway secured promotion to League B in the Nations League when Ola Kamara's double gave them a 2-0 win away to Cyprus on Monday while second-placed Bulgaria were held to a 1-1 draw by winless Slovenia in the other League C Group 3 match.

Lively Kamara scored once in either half, taking his tally to five goals in four internationals this year, to help Norway record their fourth victory in the group and finish top with 13 points. Both teams ended the match at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia with 10 men after Cyprus defender Valentinos Sielis and Norway striker Mohamed Elyounoussi were sent off in the dying minutes.

Cyprus, who had only one shot on target, can still be relegated if they end up as the lowest-ranked third-placed side in League C.

Substitute Galin Ivanov's first international goal gave Bulgaria, who went into their final game level on points with Norway, a deserved lead midway through the second half at the Vasil Levski stadium but Slovenia's Miha Zajc equalized seven minutes later.

Slovenia, who were already relegated, have gone six games without a win — their worst run since 2004.

Already-promoted Georgia ended their League D campaign on a high after second-half strikes by Giorgi Merebashvili and teenager Giorgi Chakvetadze, scoring his fifth international goal this year, helped them to beat second-placed Kazakhstan 2-1.

Oralkhan Omirtayev grabbed a late consolation for the visitors, who finished runners-up despite winning only once — a 4-0 drubbing of bottom team Andorra. The small Iberian country were held to a 0-0 draw by Latvia in a dour clash on Monday as they finished their campaign unbeaten at home. — Reuters