Nations League matchday 5 preview: Italy host France, Netherlands meet Greece, and England face Croatia

The Nations League returns for its penultimate round, 26 matches from Thursday to Saturday. The fixture to watch first is Italy v France at San Siro on Thursday: France lead League A, Group 1 by three points, and a win in Milan would make them group winners. On Friday the Netherlands and Greece, level on eight points, meet in Amsterdam, and Switzerland need a point in Maribor to go up to League A. England host Croatia at Wembley after winning 7–0 in Rijeka on 3 October.

Thursday

Türkiye v Belgium (17:00 UTC). League A, Group 1, in Izmir. Belgium have six points; Türkiye have lost all four, scoring two and conceding eleven. Belgium won 3–0 in Liège on 2 October, the only meeting on record.

Armenia v Cyprus (17:00 UTC). League C, Group 2, in Yerevan. Cyprus have seven points, Armenia four. Cyprus won 2–0 in Nicosia on 2 October.

Italy v France (19:45 UTC). League A, Group 1, at San Siro. France have ten points, Italy seven, and the top two go to the quarter-finals in March. It was 1–1 in Paris on 2 October; France won 3–1 in Milan in November 2024. The FIGC says Italy are already sure of at least third place, and so of a seeded spot in the Euro qualifying draw on 6 December. AFP reports that Kylian Mbappé is back after the knee injury he suffered in Türkiye on 25 September, that Paris FC's Pablo Pagis has his first call-up, and that Ousmane Dembélé and William Saliba are missing.

Czechia v Spain (19:45 UTC). League A, Group 3, at Letná in Prague. Spain have won all four and are already in the quarter-finals; Czechia have lost all four. Spain won 3–1 in Oviedo on 3 October. According to EFE, first place is still open, Rodri is injured, and Luis de la Fuente said "we have a great deal at stake".

England v Croatia (19:45 UTC). The other Group 3 match. England have nine points, Croatia three, so a point would guarantee England a top-two finish. England won 7–0 in Rijeka on 3 October and 4–2 at the World Cup in June; Croatia's last win on record was the 2018 World Cup semi-final, 2–1 after extra time. The FA says Jobe Bellingham and Josh King have their first call-ups, that Marc Guéhi withdrew injured, with Dan Burn replacing him, and that James Hill was called up on Tuesday.

Albania v Finland (19:45 UTC). League C, Group 1, in Tirana. Albania lead on nine points; Belarus and Finland have seven. Finland won 2–1 in Helsinki on 3 October, the only meeting on record.

San Marino v Belarus (19:45 UTC). The other Group 1 match, in Serravalle. San Marino have lost all four. Belarus won 4–0 in Budapest on 3 October.

Montenegro v Latvia (19:45 UTC). League C, Group 2, in Podgorica. Montenegro lead on ten points, three ahead of Cyprus; Latvia have one. Montenegro won 2–1 in Riga on 2 October.

Friday

Moldova v Kazakhstan (17:00 UTC). League C, Group 3, in Chișinău. Moldova have four points, Kazakhstan two. Moldova won 2–1 in Astana on 2 October.

Serbia v Germany (19:45 UTC). League A, Group 2, in Belgrade. Germany have five points, three behind the leaders; Serbia have lost all four. Germany won 2–0 in Munich on 1 October. The DFB says Niclas Füllkrug is back, Wael Mohya has his first call-up, and Waldemar Anton is out injured.

Netherlands v Greece (19:45 UTC). The other Group 2 match, at the Johan Cruijff Arena. Both have eight points. It was 2–2 in Thessaloniki on 1 October; the Netherlands won both Euro 2024 qualifiers. NOS reports that Virgil van Dijk and Brian Brobbey have pulled out, not fit enough to play, and that Sepp van den Berg has been called up for Van Dijk.

Slovakia v Faroe Islands (19:45 UTC). League C, Group 3, in Košice. Slovakia lead on ten points; a point would make them group winners, and League C winners go up. The Faroe Islands have drawn all four, including a 1–1 against Slovakia in Tórshavn on 2 October, the only meeting on record.

Bulgaria v Iceland (19:45 UTC). League C, Group 4, in Plovdiv. Iceland lead on eight points, Bulgaria have four. Iceland won 3–0 in Reykjavík on 3 October, the only meeting on record.

Luxembourg v Estonia (19:45 UTC). The other Group 4 match. Estonia, unbeaten, have six points and Luxembourg three. Estonia won 1–0 in Tallinn on 3 October.

Liechtenstein v Azerbaijan (19:45 UTC). League D, Group 2, in Vaduz. Azerbaijan lead on five points, Liechtenstein have one. It was 0–0 in Baku on 1 October.

Andorra v Gibraltar (19:45 UTC). League D, Group 1. Gibraltar have two points from two draws, Andorra one. It was 0–0 in Gibraltar on 27 September.

Slovenia v Switzerland (19:45 UTC). League B, Group 1, in Maribor. Switzerland have won all four, scoring eleven and conceding one, and lead Slovenia by five points; a point would win them the group and promotion. Switzerland won 2–1 in Lucerne on 3 October. SRF reports that Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo return after missing the last camp following their convictions over forged Covid certificates.

Scotland v North Macedonia (19:45 UTC). The other Group 1 match, at Hampden. Scotland have four points; North Macedonia have lost all four without scoring. Scotland won 2–0 in Skopje on 3 October.

Saturday

Kosovo v Israel (14:00 UTC). League B, Group 3. Kosovo have five points, Israel two. It was 0–0 in Debrecen on 1 October.

Norway v Wales (17:00 UTC). League A, Group 4. Norway and Wales have three points each. Wales won 2–1 in Cardiff on 1 October, the only meeting on record.

Georgia v Hungary (17:00 UTC). League B, Group 2. Hungary have seven points, one behind the leaders; Georgia have two and have not scored. Hungary won 1–0 in Budapest on 2 October.

Portugal v Denmark (19:45 UTC). League A, Group 4, in Braga. Portugal have won all four, Denmark have six points, and a point would make Portugal group winners. Portugal won 4–2 in Copenhagen on 1 October. It is their first match since Cristiano Ronaldo announced he was leaving the national team; A Bola quotes Jorge Jesus as saying there was "no hurt at all".

Northern Ireland v Ukraine (19:45 UTC). League B, Group 2. Northern Ireland lead on eight points and have not conceded in four; Ukraine have four. Northern Ireland won 3–0 in Trnava on 2 October.

Austria v Republic of Ireland (19:45 UTC). League B, Group 3. Austria lead on eight points; the Republic of Ireland and Kosovo have five. It was 2–2 in Dublin on 1 October.

Romania v Poland (19:45 UTC). League B, Group 4. Poland have four points; Romania have lost all four, conceding thirteen. Poland won 6–0 in Warsaw on 2 October.

Sweden v Bosnia and Herzegovina (19:45 UTC). The other Group 4 match. Sweden have ten points, Bosnia and Herzegovina eight; a Swedish win would settle the group. It was 1–1 in Zenica on 2 October, the only meeting on record.

The groups before the round

• League A, Group 1: France 10 (+5); Italy 7 (+3); Belgium 6 (+1); Türkiye 0 (−9).
• League A, Group 2: Netherlands 8 (+2); Greece 8 (+2); Germany 5 (+1); Serbia 0 (−5).
• League A, Group 3: Spain 12 (+7); England 9 (+11); Croatia 3 (−10); Czechia 0 (−8).
• League A, Group 4: Portugal 12 (+5); Denmark 6 (0); Wales 3 (−3); Norway 3 (−2).
• League B: Switzerland 12, Northern Ireland 8, Austria 8 and Sweden 10 lead Groups 1 to 4.
• League C: Albania 9, Montenegro 10, Slovakia 10 and Iceland 8 lead Groups 1 to 4.
• League D: Malta lead Group 1 on seven, Azerbaijan Group 2 on five.

The top two in each League A group reach the quarter-finals; the League B and C group winners are promoted.

Numbers to know

• Twenty-six matches: eight on Thursday, ten on Friday, eight on Saturday. One kicks off at 14:00 UTC, five at 17:00 and twenty at 19:45.
• Fifty-two of the 54 teams play; Malta and Lithuania sit out.
• Spain, Portugal and Switzerland have won all four; Türkiye, Serbia, Czechia, North Macedonia, Romania and San Marino have lost all four.
• Ten of the 26 pairings have met only once, earlier in this campaign.
• Kane leads the scorers with six goals; Olise, Lamine Yamal, Walta, Gyökeres and Parrott have four.

Matchday 6, the last of the league phase, follows on 15–17 November. The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Nations League page.

Sources for the context: FIGC, The FA, DFB, AFP, EFE, NOS, SRF, A Bola.