The UEFA Nations League gets underway this weekend, with several interesting fixtures taking place. England begin their campaign with a match with Spain at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night, hoping to build on the momentum and good morale they built up during the World Cup.
Wales play Republic of Ireland in Cardiff on Thursday before making the trip to Aarhus to take on Denmark on Sunday. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland square off against Bosnia & Herzegovina, while Scotland host Albania. The Nations League should hopefully create some bigger friendly games on a more regular basis, whilst for the smaller nations the extra spots at Euro 2020 will be a huge target.
UEFA Nations League
| Date | Time | Match | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08/09/2018 | 14:00 | Northern Ireland v Bosnia & Herzegovina | 1-1 Draw |
| 08/09/2018 | 17:00 | Switzerland v Iceland | Switzerland Win & BTTS |
| 08/09/2018 | 19:45 | England v Spain | England Win |
| 09/09/2018 | 17:00 | Denmark v Wales | Wales to Win -1 |
| 09/09/2018 | 19:45 | France v Netherlands | France to Win 2-0 |
| 10/09/2018 | 19:45 | Scotland v Albania | Scotland Win |
| 10/09/2018 | 19:45 | Portugal v Italy | Draw & BTTS |
The Nations League is a new UEFA competition which will run from September to November. The Nations League Finals will then take place in June 2019, involving all the countries who qualified through from the league phase. The tournament has been put in place to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and improve the quality and interest in international football across Europe. How successful it will be remains to be seen but for now there seems to be a decent buzz about things.
Northern Ireland v Bosnia & Herzegovina
Saturday, 8th September, 14:00, Sky Sports
Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland begin their Nations League campaign with a League B, Group 3 fixture against Robert Prosinecki’s Bosnia & Herzegovina on Saturday afternoon. Norn Iron will fancy their chances at Windsor Park, where they are normally so strong.
O’Neill has taken this Northern Ireland side to another level in recent years, turning the Green and White Army into an accomplished outfit. However, Bosnia have several top quality players at their disposal, and this will be a tough match in Belfast.
A draw would not be a disastrous result for either side on Saturday. We fancy the pair to cancel each other out at Windsor Park, with the 1-1 stalemate (5/1 at bet365) catching our eye.
1-1 Draw – 5/1 at bet365
Switzerland v Iceland
Saturday 8th September, 17:00, Sky Sports
Switzerland and Iceland lock horns in a League A, Group 2 fixture at Kybunpark, St. Gallen on Saturday. As expected, Vladimir Petkovic’s Swiss are the clear favourites in this one against the tiny Nordic nation.
Switzerland are a strong outfit these days, losing just two matches since May 2016. Iceland have enjoyed a sensational last few years, qualifying for UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, although they didn’t do quite as well in the latter as they did in the former. Can the Icelanders cause a few more upsets in the Nations League?
Erik Hamren’s men will make themselves hard to break down in Switzerland, but the home team’s qualities should get them over the line in this one. Back the Swiss to win and both teams to score at nice looking odds of 4/1 with Betfair.
Switzerland Win & BTTS – 4/1 at Betfair
England v Spain
Saturday 8th September, 19:45, Sky Sports
Gareth Southgate’s England play their first match since their valiant effort at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On Saturday night, Luis Enrique’s Spain visit Wembley Stadium for a League A, Group 4 match.
The Three Lions will be hoping to build on their memorable World Cup campaign. The English went all the way to the semi-finals in Russia, eventually losing out to Croatia in the final four. The Spanish, meanwhile, will be starting a new era under Enrique after a poor tournament where they didn’t quite click.
Despite this effectively being a friendly fixture, this is a game that neither side will want to lose. Southgate’s boys will back themselves to pick up a positive result on home soil, and there’s good value in BetVictor’s 17/10 for an England win. England’s record in friendly games is pretty strong and at the odds they are definitely worth a punt.
England Win – 17/10 at BetVictor
Denmark v Wales
Sunday 9th September, 17:00, Sky Sports / S4C
Ryan Giggs’ Wales continue their Nations League campaign with a trip to Aarhus to face Denmark on Sunday. The Danes are set to field a team made up of inexperienced players after a dispute over the players’ commercial rights.
The Dragons failed to qualify for the World Cup after a heroic Euro 2016 campaign, so they will be hoping for a solid Nations League tournament under their new boss. The Welsh should take advantage of a second string Danish side at the weekend.
This could turn out to be a comfortable afternoon in Denmark for Giggs’ Wales. Have a punt on the visitors to win -1, although note that due to the uncertainty over the Danish side the odds for this may change dramatically.
Wales to Win -1 (price to be confirmed)
France v Netherlands
Sunday 9th September, 19:45, Sky Sports
Didier Deschamps’ France entertain Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands at the Stade de France on Sunday night. The world champions go into this mouth-watering contest on home turf as the strong favourites.
France kick off the Nations League with a tough match against Joachim Low’s Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Thursday. As for Holland, this will be their first match since drawing 1-1 with Italy in a friendly back in June.
Despite failing to qualify for the World Cup, the Dutch head to France in pretty decent form. However, Les Bleus should be too strong for Koeman’s men in Saint-Denis. Put some money on the 2-0 French win at 8/1 with Betfair.
France to Win 2-0 – 8/1 at Betfair
Scotland v Albania
Monday 10th September, 19:45, Sky Sports
Alex McLeish’s Scotland welcome Christian Panucci’s Albania to Hampden Park for a Nations League C, Group 1 match on Monday night. The Scots will be targeting all three points from this one, knowing this competition could give them an extra bite at the qualification cherry.
After hosting the Albanians on Monday, Scotland’s next Nations League game will be against Israel in Haifa in October. Before Monday’s match, McLeish’s men face Belgium in a friendly on Friday.
Scotland have lost four of their last five internationals, but they have to be winning games like this. Albania will be on the hunt for a draw, but Scotland should come out on top and offer reasonable value, even at odds-on.
Scotland Win – 4/5 at Coral
Portugal v Italy
Monday 10th September, 19:45, Sky Sports
Also on Monday night, Fernando Santos’ Portugal go head-to-head with Roberto Mancini’s Italy at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. These two and Poland are the three countries competing in Nations League A, Group 3 and we should see some fascinating contests between reasonably well-matched outfits.
Portugal’s defence of their European crown doesn’t start for some time but on Monday Santos will still want his side to get their Nations League campaign off to a perfect start. Having missed out on the World Cup, this Italian team has a lot of making up to do and they may well take this game very seriously.
This could be a close matchup in the Portuguese capital, with both nations looking for a win. However, we can see the pair playing out an entertaining draw, so back the stalemate. At longer odds you could also throw in both teams to score as well, with 2-2 worth a small wager at longer odds still.
Draw – 11/5 at Betfred