Nations League – Best Fixtures Pick

It is the final International break of the year which brings us the final set of Nations League fixtures for 2024. All of Europe’s top leagues will take a break for the next 10 days and players will join up with their national teams to try to help them get some more points on the board in their respective Nations League groups.

As always, the first round of matches starts on Thursday and the final fixtures will take place next Tuesday, which then gives players the time to head back to their clubs and prepare for their weekend matches. Here is our pick of the matches taking place over the next few days:

Belgium vs Italy

Belgium have had to endure a tough Nations League cycle this time round with their team seemingly in transition. Many of their so called ‘Golden Generation’ are no longer around and they are struggling to build a team with the right mentality.

Results have not gone their way and the best they can likely expect is a place in the relegation playoffs in League A. They need a win in this match to keep their slim hopes of progress alive but they face Italy, a team they have not beaten in a competitive match since 1972. They have beaten them in friendly matches but even that is a poor record of only four wins when compared to sixteen defeats.

Manager Domenico Tedesco needs some positive results as he has overseen only one win in their last six matches in any competition, so his future is certainly under pressure.

Italy will know that a draw is good enough to secure their place in the semifinals of the Nations League cycle and they will be optimistic about continuing their unbeaten run.

They have three wins from four matches so far but it was Belgium that was the only team so far to take any points off them, a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture. Italy have won both away matches in this Nations League, including an impressive win in France. As seems to be the case with International fixtures of late, both sides have seen a fair few players pull out through injury, meaning the chance opens up for some newcomers to make an impression.

Greece vs England

Greece are on the cusp of making history as they could be promoted to League A for the first time ever. All they need to achieve this is to avoid defeat against England and they will feel more than capable of doing so having beaten their opponents at Wembley not so long ago.

The 2-1 win was a big step for this Greek team and one which will have filled them with confidence as they attempt to break another record and beat England in Greece for the first time ever. England have won all four clashes played in Greece but the hosts have a 100% record in League B and they have eight wins from eleven home Nations League games overall.

England will know that the loss at home to Greece was a poor result and one which seriously dented their hopes of getting promoted back to League A. A win here for Lee Carsley’s men will repair the damage though, putting them level on points with their hosts.

Failure to make it out of League B would be a disappointing result for England and would also be a big negative mark on Carsley’s CV as he will be leaving the role of England head coach after this round of fixtures, to be replaced by German Thomas Tuchel. The new manager will certainly be hoping that he will come into the job with his team back in League A, but for the time being that is out of his hands.

Finishing second would mean they will head to a playoff, so the chance would still be there further down the line. Greece have kept a clean sheet in nine of their eleven home Nations League matches so England will need to find their scoring boots but they won’t be helped by the number of players pulling out of the squad due to small injuries, with a number of uncapped players called up to take their place.

Denmark vs Spain

This is the match everyone’s eyes are on as Denmark host Spain with the hosts very close to reaching the knockout stages of the Nations League for the first time. They have two wins and one defeat so far and if they manage to better Serbia’s result they will ensure a spot in the next phase of the competition.

Denmark will know that they are underdogs in this match but they have a formidable home record, all of their home Nations League matches have resulted in 2-0 wins. This is likely to be their toughest challenge yet as they have a very poor record against Spain, with no wins in the last eight meetings and only one draw out of that sequence.

Spain have already qualified for the next round with ten points from four matches. They are unbeaten in their last fourteen matches overall, winning twelve of those. Defence has been key to their success as they have conceded just one goal in their four Nations League matches so far.

Dani Olmo and Nico Williams both return for Spain, making their attacking options even more impressive. The last meeting between these two was a narrow 1-0 win for Spain but the Spanish have managed to score two or more goals in six out of seven matches either side of that win over Denmark. Spain do like to score late, they have managed five goals later than the 75th minute in their last five matches. As far as head to heads go, history is firmly in Spain’s favour as they have won eight of the last ten meetings although they have only met ten times since 1988.

Portugal vs Poland

Portugal go into this match in a very good position in Group 1 of League A as they find themselves three points clear of second placed Croatia with two matches to go. They will be hoping for another straightforward win over Poland, having won the first fixture between these two teams by a score of 3-1 five weeks ago.

These two teams are no strangers to each other, having played seven times since 2007 and Portugal have an excellent record, winning three and drawing three. They can count on an impressive home record, winning nineteen out of twenty one matches since September 2021 but they will be without a number of their first choice players such as Diogo Jota, Ruben Dias and Ruben Neves, all of whom are injured.

A point in this match will guarantee them a place in the top two but they will certainly be looking for all three points to guarantee themselves top spot. Portugal have yet to concede more than one goal across their ten home Nations League matches.

Poland are not in great form, having failed to win any of their last three matches. A further blow is the fact that captain and star striker Robert Lewandowski is missing through injury.

They are currently three points behind Croatia who occupy second spot so they still do have a chance of making it into the playoffs, but a point here would certainly go a long way to helping with that aim.

Defending has been an issue for Poland as they have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last nine games and they seem to be slow starters of late too, conceding five goals in the first half of their last two matches. Goal scoring is less of a problem at least, having scored an identical number of goals as Portugal and Croatia, seven so far. If they can somehow frustrate Portugal at the other end of the pitch, they will think they have a chance, although the odds don’t offer them much hope.