A new international break is upon us, just a few weeks after the previous one. So there will be no top-level European club football this weekend, but we will entertain ourselves with another round of international fixtures as European nations attempt to negotiate their way to the next major tournament. We take a look at some of the biggest matches over the next few days below.
Italy vs Belgium
Italy have had an excellent start to their Nations League campaign with two wins out of two, including an impressive victory against France. This is their first home match in the Nations League and they will go into it with confidence against another tough opponent, Belgium. Italy have a good overall record in this competition, having won five of their last six matches and will be optimistic of another appearance in the final. Italy have an excellent record against Belgium, winning five of the last six games, but it is also worth noting that they do not have the best defensive record recently as they have not kept a clean sheet in any of his last six matches. Davide Frattesi scored in both September matches and he was on the winning side in each of his six appearances for his national team.
Belgium have been poor defensively of late, keeping a clean sheet just twice in their last six international matches. They have only won two victories in the same period of time, so confidence is not high in the Belgian camp. They beat Israel last month, but then lost to France with questionable defending combined with a lack of finishing ability, resulting in a poor result. The Belgians will be missing both Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne for these matches, with both being a big loss although perhaps giving the opportunity for someone new to get their chance. Belgium have not beaten a team ranked in the top ten since June 2021 and it seems unlikely that they will break that record in this tricky encounter. Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard is likely to play a key attacking role, but we shouldn’t expect a high-scoring game here.
England v Greece
Interim manager Lee Carsley has done no harm to his chances of securing the full-time job as England recorded two 2-0 victories in the first round of Nations League matches. Their demotion to League B means that, realistically, England should win every game, but there is still a risk of slippage. The likelihood of an upset at Wembley is unlikely, so it should be a relatively straightforward victory against Greece. Carsley appears keen to instil a more attacking style of play, something which will appeal to England fans who have grown tired of the cautious approach taken by the previous regime. England are unbeaten in their last nine meetings against Greece and it will be interesting to see which team Carsley selects as one would expect many players to have dropped out due to ‘problems’ so the chance for some youngsters to impress is likely to be on the table. Players like Declan Rice and Cole Palmer are likely to start, but one player who will be unhappy to be overlooked again is Tottenham’s James Maddison, who must be wondering what he needs to do to be selected.
Greece will be aiming for their first ever victory against England, but the odds are not in their favor. The fact that they’ve failed to even score in seven of those matches doesn’t make for good reading, so they’ll be hoping to at least get on the scoresheet at Wembley. Greece have had an excellent start to their Nations League campaign, winning their first two matches, and they actually top the group ahead of England on goal difference. They have, however, failed to win any of their last six matches against teams ranked higher than them, so that is certainly a concern heading into this game.
Germany vs Netherlands
It remains one of the most interesting football rivalries in Europe and these two football-mad nations will face off again on Monday evening at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Both teams have four points from their first two matches, but it is Germany who top the table with a goal difference of plus five to plus three. Germany began their campaign by beating Hungary 5-0 before traveling to Amsterdam and drawing with the Netherlands in an entertaining clash last month. Germany are in very good form recently, they are undefeated in their last eleven matches in ninety minutes. Their only blemish came this summer, when they were controversially beaten by Spain in overtime. They have won four of the last ten meetings against the Dutch and will be hoping home advantage will allow them to take three more points and move them away from their opponents at the top of the League A table.
The Netherlands will be hoping they can win on the road against Hungary so they can advance to that level of play with Germany, giving them more incentive to beat their hosts and leapfrog them at the top of the table. They have six wins in their last ten matches and are looking to put behind them their semi-final elimination against England this summer. Scoring goals doesn’t seem to be a problem lately as they have scored two or more goals in nine of their last ten matches, but they may need to try to tighten up in defence. The Netherlands have only won twice against Germany in their last ten matches and will therefore be somewhat disappointed not to have managed to beat them in the previous match, knowing that this one will probably be the most difficult of the two. The home side will undoubtedly be relatively strong favorites to win, but the Dutch will certainly be hoping to get something out of the match.
The odds may have changed since this article was written and published.
Last update: 09.10.24
