Austria look well placed to secure a fourth straight Nations League triumph over Northern Ireland when they meet in Vienna on Sunday night. These teams are at opposite ends of the Group B1 table, plus the visitors must pick themselves up from Thursday’s draining Euro 2020 play-off loss.
Germany are red-hot favourites to prevail in Saturday’s Nations League Group A4 clash with Ukraine and are hard to oppose in Leipzig. However, Die Mannschaft have found it tough to keep clean sheets in competitive matches, so the visitors may well have their moments at Red Bull Arena.
Croatia only need a point from their trip to Sweden to avoid being relegated from Nations League Group A3 and may settle for a share of the spoils in Solna. The Blazers looked the better team for long periods when beating the Swedes 2-1 in Zagreb last month but a change of venue can even things up.
Wales dropped points for the first time at the weekend but are top of their Nations League group ahead of the trip to Bulgaria. Ryan Giggs’ men had to settle for a goalless draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin but lead the way in Group H with seven points from their first three fixtures.
Norway thrashed Northern Ireland 5-1 in Belfast in the Nations League last month and are hard to oppose in the return fixture in Oslo. The hosts are fighting it out with Austria at the top of Group B1 on six points, while their visitors are rock bottom with just one draw from three matches.
Republic of Ireland have been rocked by withdrawals during the current international break but can still battle to a draw when visiting Finland. The Eagle-owls won 1-0 when these teams met in the Nations League in Dublin last month, but there was very little in it at Aviva Stadium.
Italy are leading the way in a very tight Nations League Group A1 and get the nod to edge out second-placed Netherlands in Bergamo. The Azzurri have faced Holland three times in as many years, securing two narrow victories and a draw, so the omens look good for another positive result.
Ukraine are missing 14 players due to injury and coronavirus issues and Spain are fancied to take advantage in Tuesday’s Nations League clash. La Roja cruised to a 4-0 victory when these teams met in Madrid last month and should again be able to dictate proceedings in the return fixture.
Germany are well placed to challenge for top spot in their Nations League group and that should inspire them to victory against Switzerland. The visitors are struggling at the bottom of the table, although they did create plenty of chances in a 1-1 Basel draw versus Die Mannschaft last month.
Nations League holders Portugal look fired up to try and retain their title and are taken to edge out a spirited but limited Sweden side in Stockholm. The Navigators kicked off their campaign with a convincing victory over Croatia, while their hosts were beaten by France at Friends Arena.
Belgium have won all 11 previous encounters with Iceland and are expected to continue that trend in Tuesday night’s Nations League clash. The Red Devils prevailed 2-0 and 3-0 when these teams met in the inaugural staging of this competition and remain in red-hot form for this renewal.
Edin Dzeko helped Bosnia and Herzegovina to draw in Italy on Friday and could prove the difference in Monday’s clash with Poland. The visitors are without Robert Lewandowski for their first two Nations League fixtures and missed the Bayern Munich hot-shot when losing away to Holland.
For most football fans, their favourite players’ first match of the new season will actually be for their countries rather than their clubs. The second iteration of the UEFA Nations League kicked off this week with a revised format, so we’ve broken it down to work out what’s likely to happen.
Italy beat Bosnia and Herzegovina twice in Euro 2020 qualifying and can confirm that superiority in Friday’s Nations League clash in Florence. Roberto Mancini has helped the Azzurri to rebuild after missing out on the last World Cup and seems keen to maintain a winning mentality.