Nations League matchday 3 preview: France host Italy, Croatia meet England, and Germany look for a first win

Every side in Leagues A to C has now played twice, and matchday 3 runs from Thursday to Saturday, with matchday 4 straight after. The fixture to watch first is France v Italy on Friday at the Stade de France. France lead League A, Group 1 with six points and have not conceded, and the last two meetings, both in the 2024 edition of this competition, ended 3–1 to the away side. On Saturday Croatia meet England for the first time since England's 4–2 win at the World Cup in June, and Spain, top of Group 3 with six points, host Czechia, who have none. Germany have one point from two and play Serbia in Munich on Thursday.

Thursday

Azerbaijan v Liechtenstein (16:00 UTC). League D, Group 2, and the first match of the round. Azerbaijan drew 1–1 in Lithuania on Sunday; Liechtenstein lost 2–0 at home to Lithuania a week ago. No previous meeting on record.

Malta v Gibraltar (18:45 UTC). League D, Group 1. Malta won 2–1 in Andorra and lead the group; Gibraltar drew 0–0 with Andorra. Malta won both friendlies on record, 2–0 in October 2020 and 1–0 in September 2023.

Germany v Serbia (18:45 UTC). League A, Group 2, at the Allianz Arena. Germany drew 1–1 in Amsterdam and lost 1–0 to Greece in Augsburg; Serbia lost both, 2–1 each time. The last meeting was a 1–1 friendly in March 2019; Serbia won 1–0 at the 2010 World Cup. Joshua Kimmich is not in the squad, so Germany will have their 117th different captain, and with nine uncapped players called up the DFB notes the 1,000th Germany debut could come here.

Greece v Netherlands (18:45 UTC). The other Group 2 match, in Thessaloniki. Greece lead with six points after 2–1 in Belgrade and 1–0 in Germany; the Netherlands have four. The Dutch won both Euro 2024 qualifiers in 2023, 3–0 at home in September and 1–0 in Athens in October. NOS reports that Cody Gakpo has left the Dutch squad injured and that Xavi will not replace him.

Denmark v Portugal (18:45 UTC). League A, Group 4, at Parken. Portugal lead with six points; Denmark have three. They met in the quarter-finals of this competition in March 2025: Denmark won 1–0 in Copenhagen, then Portugal 5–2 after extra time in Lisbon three days later. Portugal also won 3–2 at Euro 2012.

Wales v Norway (18:45 UTC). The other Group 4 match, in Cardiff. Wales have lost both without scoring; Norway beat Denmark 3–2 and lost 2–1 to Portugal, and Erling Haaland has three goals, joint top of the competition's scorers. No previous meeting on record. Craig Bellamy told BBC Sport Wales his side belong in League A: "We've earned the right to be here."

Republic of Ireland v Austria (18:45 UTC). League B, Group 3, at the Aviva Stadium. Austria have six points from two 3–1 wins; the Republic of Ireland lost 1–0 in Kosovo and won 3–0 against Israel. In World Cup qualifying, Ireland won 1–0 in Vienna in November 2016 and it was 1–1 in Dublin in June 2017. The Irish Times reports that the FAI has moved hundreds of fans with pitchside seats amid concerns about protests.

Israel v Kosovo (18:45 UTC). The other Group 3 match. Israel play their home match at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, as they did against Ireland on Sunday. They have no points; Kosovo have three. In Euro 2024 qualifying it was 1–1 in Tel Aviv in March 2023 and 1–0 to Kosovo in Pristina that November.

Friday

Kazakhstan v Moldova (14:00 UTC). League C, Group 3, in Astana. Kazakhstan and Moldova have one point each. They met in this competition's relegation play-out in March 2022: Kazakhstan won 2–1 in Chișinău, Moldova 1–0 in Nur-Sultan five days later, and Kazakhstan went through 5–4 on penalties.

Cyprus v Armenia (16:00 UTC). League C, Group 2. Armenia have three points, Cyprus one. Two friendlies on record, both in Armenia: 3–2 to Armenia in November 2017 and 2–2 in March 2023.

Latvia v Montenegro (16:00 UTC). The other Group 2 match, in Riga. Montenegro have won both, and Nikola Krstović has two goals. In World Cup qualifying Montenegro won 2–1 in Latvia in March 2021 and it was 0–0 in September 2021. Latvia have one point and no goals.

France v Italy (18:45 UTC). League A, Group 1. France beat Türkiye and Belgium 1–0 away. Italy lost 2–0 at home to Belgium and won 4–1 in Türkiye. In the 2024 Nations League Italy won 3–1 at the Parc des Princes in September and France 3–1 at San Siro in November; before that, France won a 3–1 friendly in Nice in June 2018 and Italy 2–0 at Euro 2008. France are without Kylian Mbappé, who hurt his knee in Türkiye; "We don't want to take any risks," said Zinedine Zidane, and franceinfo reports he will miss this match and will not be replaced. Italy have lost Giacomo Raspadori, who the FIGC says is returning to Atalanta after scans.

Belgium v Türkiye (18:45 UTC). The other Group 1 match, at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liège. Belgium have three points, Türkiye none from two defeats with one goal scored and five conceded. No previous meeting on record.

Hungary v Georgia (18:45 UTC). League B, Group 2, at the Puskás Aréna. Hungary and Georgia have one point each and have not scored; the group's four matches so far have produced two goals. No previous meeting on record.

Ukraine v Northern Ireland (18:45 UTC). The other Group 2 match. Ukraine play at the Štadión Antona Malatinského in Trnava, Slovakia. Both sides have four points and one goal. Northern Ireland won 2–0 at Euro 2016; Ukraine won a 1–0 friendly in June 2021.

Poland v Romania (18:45 UTC). League B, Group 4, in Warsaw. Poland have one point, Romania none. Poland won both World Cup qualifiers, 3–0 in Bucharest in November 2016 and 3–1 at home in June 2017.

Bosnia and Herzegovina v Sweden (18:45 UTC). The other Group 4 match, at Bilino Polje in Zenica. Sweden have six points and Viktor Gyökeres two goals; Bosnia and Herzegovina have four after a 4–2 win in Bucharest. No previous meeting on record. Sweden are without Alexander Isak, who Reuters reports has gone back to Liverpool with what Graham Potter called a "small problem with his thigh".

Faroe Islands v Slovakia (18:45 UTC). League C, Group 3, in Tórshavn. Slovakia have won both; the Faroe Islands have drawn both. No previous meeting on record.

Saturday

Finland v Albania (13:00 UTC). League C, Group 1, the top two meeting. Albania have six points without conceding; Finland have four, with a 7–0 win in San Marino, and Joel Pohjanpalo has three goals. No previous meeting on record.

Croatia v England (16:00 UTC). League A, Group 3. England beat Croatia 4–2 in the World Cup group stage on 17 June this year, and 1–0 at Euro 2020. In the 2018 Nations League it was 0–0 in Rijeka and 2–1 to England at Wembley; Croatia won the 2018 World Cup semi-final 2–1 after extra time. Both sides have three points. The match is in Rijeka, and Reuters reports that England lost Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Tino Livramento and Kobbie Mainoo to injury before the window.

Belarus v San Marino (16:00 UTC). League C, Group 1. San Marino have conceded ten in two matches; Belarus have one point. Belarus won both meetings in the 2018 Nations League, 5–0 at home and 2–0 away.

Iceland v Bulgaria (16:00 UTC). League C, Group 4. Iceland lead the group on four points; Bulgaria have one. No previous meeting on record.

Estonia v Luxembourg (16:00 UTC). The other Group 4 match. Estonia have drawn both; Luxembourg have three points. No previous meeting on record.

Spain v Czechia (18:45 UTC). League A, Group 3. Spain beat England 3–2 at Wembley and Croatia 4–1 in Seville. Czechia have lost both. In the 2022 Nations League it was 2–2 in Prague and 2–0 to Spain in Málaga; Spain also won 1–0 at Euro 2016. The match is at the Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo; according to EFE, Iván Fresneda replaced the injured Pedro Porro in Spain's squad.

Switzerland v Slovenia (18:45 UTC). League B, Group 1, and the only two sides in the group yet to concede. Switzerland have six points, Slovenia four. In World Cup qualifying Switzerland won 3–0 in Basel in September 2025 and it was 0–0 in Ljubljana in October 2025. The match is in Lucerne. AP reports that Switzerland are without their captain, Granit Xhaka, and Breel Embolo over years-old cases of fake Covid-19 documents; SRF says Ardon Jashari takes Xhaka's holding role.

North Macedonia v Scotland (18:45 UTC). The other Group 1 match. North Macedonia have lost both without scoring; Scotland have one point and no goals. No previous meeting on record. Kenny McLean and Kieran Tierney withdrew from the Scotland squad injured, the Scottish FA said.

The groups before the round

• League A, Group 1: France 6 (+2); Belgium 3 (+1); Italy 3 (+1); Türkiye 0 (−4).
• League A, Group 2: Greece 6 (+2); Netherlands 4 (+1); Germany 1 (−1); Serbia 0 (−2).
• League A, Group 3: Spain 6 (+4); England 3 (+1); Croatia 3 (−2); Czechia 0 (−3).
• League A, Group 4: Portugal 6 (+2); Norway 3 (0); Denmark 3 (+1); Wales 0 (−3).
• League B: Switzerland, Austria and Sweden lead Groups 1, 3 and 4 on six points; Ukraine and Northern Ireland share the lead of Group 2 on four.
• League C: Albania, Montenegro and Slovakia on six points; Iceland top Group 4 on four.
• League D: Malta lead Group 1 on three, Lithuania Group 2 on four.

The format

Four tiers, A to D. Leagues A, B and C have four groups of four; League D has two groups of three. Each side plays the others in its group home and away over six matchdays: 24–26 September, 27–29 September, 1–3 October, 4–6 October, 12–14 November and 15–17 November.

Numbers to know

• Twenty-six matches: eight on Thursday, ten on Friday, eight on Saturday. One kicks off at 13:00 UTC, one at 14:00, seven at 16:00 and seventeen at 18:45.
• Fifty-two of the 54 teams play. Lithuania and Andorra, in the three-team League D groups, sit out.
• Ten sides have won both matches; three of them, France, Switzerland and Albania, have not conceded.
• Ten of the 26 pairings have no previous meeting on record.
• Haaland and Pohjanpalo lead the scorers with three goals each.

Matchday 4 follows on 4–6 October. The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Nations League page.

Sources for the context: DFB, FIGC, Scottish FA, Reuters, Reuters, AP, AFP, EFE, BBC Sport, SRF, NOS, franceinfo, The Irish Times.