The UEFA Nations League is starting its fourth season, and the first matchday of the 2024/25 season features some exciting games. On the schedule, we have Serbia playing against Spain, France facing Italy, and Germany up against Hungary.
UEFA highlights these key matchups and other interesting points to watch for in the opening round of games.
Table of Contents
League A Matchday 1 fixtures
Thursday 5 September
A1 Portugal vs Croatia
A1 Scotland vs Poland
A4 Denmark vs Switzerland
A4 Serbia vs Spain
Friday 6 September
A2 Belgium vs Israel
A2 France vs Italy
Saturday 7 September
A3 Germany vs Hungary
A3 Netherlands vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
European champions back to action
Just under two months after winning EURO 2024 with a 2-1 victory over England, Spain is back in action and faces a tough away game against Serbia. Spain, the defending Nations League champions, won all their matches in the last tournament and played impressively. They’re strong favorites to win again. However, Serbia, with their dangerous attack and fresh from their first EURO appearance as an independent nation, will be eager to challenge Spain and make for an exciting match in Belgrade.
Italy Meeting France
France and Italy will kick off their Nations League campaigns with a highly anticipated match in Group A2 at the Parc des Princes. Both teams had disappointing performances at EURO 2024 and will be eager to start winning again. Surprisingly, this is their first competitive game against each other in 16 years, with Italy having won their last encounter in EURO 2008. France has won all three friendly matches between the two since then. Italy’s coach, Luciano Spalletti, has acknowledged that this tough draw means they need to be prepared for a challenging game ahead.
Germany aims to win their first title
Germany, despite their impressive history with four World Cup wins and three EURO titles, have yet to win a Nations League or even get past the league phase in their three attempts. After being knocked out by Spain in the EURO 2024 quarter-finals, they are looking to build on their positive performances from that tournament. In their last meeting with Hungary during EURO 2024, Germany won 2-0 with goals from Jamal Musiala and İlkay Gündoğan. Hungary’s coach, Marco Rossi, felt his team was unlucky and had several good chances. They’ll hope for better luck when they face Germany again in Düsseldorf.
Erling Haaland, who was one of the top scorers in the 2022/23 Nations League, will aim to score in the new campaign as his Norway team plays against Kazakhstan in Group B3 on September 6. Georgia, who made it to the last 16 at EURO 2024, will look to start their Nations League campaign well with a home match against Czechia in Group B1 on September 7. On the same day, England, who were runners-up at EURO 2024, will begin their Group B2 campaign with a game against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. This match will be led by England’s new interim coach, Lee Carsley, who played 40 times for Ireland during his career.
