International football returns this week as the UEFA Nations League gets underway, with five huge League A clashes spread across Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
There are new managers, major rivalries and some of world football’s biggest stars involved – while the weekend culminates in England vs Spain, a repeat of the EURO 2024 final.
Here are the five games you won’t want to miss.
Netherlands vs Germany – Thursday 24 September
The Nations League begins with a heavyweight European rivalry as the Netherlands host Germany, with Xavi Hernández and Jürgen Klopp both taking charge of their first games as national team managers.
Brian Brobbey arrives in excellent form after scoring a hat-trick for Sunderland against Manchester City on Sunday, while Germany have handed a first senior call-up to Eintracht Frankfurt striker Younes Ebnoutalib.
There is also plenty of history between the teams. Aside from the 1974 World Cup final, these rivals met twice in the previous Nations League campaign, drawing 2-2 in Amsterdam before Germany won the return fixture 1-0.
Norway vs Denmark – Thursday 24 September
Norway return to the top tier of the Nations League with Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard leading an exciting generation.
Haaland scored seven times as Norway earned promotion in the previous campaign and is already the Nations League’s all-time leading scorer with 19 goals. Odegaard, meanwhile, arrives after providing four assists during Norway’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals this summer.
Denmark provide a serious first test after reaching the quarter-finals of the previous Nations League, where they were eventually eliminated by Portugal.
Italy vs Belgium – Friday 25 September
Two European heavyweights meet on Friday as Italy host Belgium – and both begin new eras.
Roberto Mancini is back for a second spell in charge of Italy, while former Netherlands international Mark van Bommel takes charge of Belgium for the first time.
Their meeting in the previous Nations League produced a thriller, with Belgium fighting back from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 draw. With the likes of Nicolò Barella, Gianluigi Donnarumma and exciting young striker Pio Esposito in Italy’s ranks, another entertaining contest could be on the cards.
Türkiye vs France – Friday 25 September
Another managerial debut provides one of the biggest storylines on Friday as Zinédine Zidane takes charge of France for the first time.
He has plenty of attacking talent at his disposal, including Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, but Türkiye have threats of their own – particularly Real Madrid star Arda Güler.
Türkiye also have good memories of facing France at home, having beaten them 2-0 when they last hosted Les Bleus in 2019.
England vs Spain – Saturday 26 September
The headline game of the weekend – and a rematch of the EURO 2024 final.
Spain broke English hearts in Berlin two years ago, winning 2-1 after Mikel Oyarzabal struck a late winner following Cole Palmer’s equaliser.
Now they meet again with England back in League A following promotion from the second tier.
Harry Kane enters the international break after becoming the fastest player to reach 100 Bundesliga goals, while Jude Bellingham has started the season strongly at Real Madrid. Spain arrive with another squad packed with quality as they look to continue their recent dominance of this fixture.
England have won only three of the ten meetings between the countries since the turn of the millennium, with Spain winning six.
Can England finally get some revenge, or will World Champions Spain come out on top once again?
A Huge Nations League Weekend Awaits
From Klopp’s first Germany game and Zidane’s France debut to another chapter of England vs Spain, Matchday 1 has no shortage of major storylines.
There’s no better place to bet on the UEFA Nations League than Bet9ja. Check out the latest odds, markets and betting opportunities for all of this weekend’s biggest games below!
