The beast had to be apprehended. The approach was made timidly, with caution and reluctance. The headache of coupling it with the Euro qualifiers was enough to put people off. The legitimate criticisms of the overloaded calendar also regularly come up, which are posed beyond this single competition. Six years later, the Nations League is finally well established in the landscape and it rather appears that it was – for once – a good idea from UEFA.
“Better than friendly matches”
Cristiano Ronaldo will not spit on it, he who gave a little more depth to his international record by lifting the trophy in 2019. The same goes for Karim Benzema, who was able to (finally) win a title with the French team in 2021, or for the Bleues, who have never been so close to winning one. Spain was also very happy to be able to win the imposing trophy in 2023, with Luis de la Fuente laying the foundations for his victorious campaign the following summer at the Euro. Even outside the Final Fourthe League of Nations has rather succeeded in pimp International windows: we welcome with great pleasure the double confrontations between France, Italy and Belgium, Portugal-Croatia this Thursday or the upcoming clash between the Netherlands and Germany on Tuesday. A little more fun than the long qualifiers or the friendlies without real interest. “I think it’s better to play in the Nations League than in friendly matches, which are just tests.”Joshua Kimmich rightly confirmed.
A path for the little ones
In addition, this League of Nations has the advantage of introducing a bit of meritocracy at the international level. Are you bad? You’re out, even if you’re a big one. England didn’t escape it in 2022, beaten by Italy, the surprisingly promoted Hungarian team and Germany. France could also have gone through and been relegated to League B, by one point. We trembled, but that’s fine. In the opposite direction, Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Scotland were able to get on the elevator and earn the right to sit, at least for a few months, at the table of the best nations on the continent. Everyone will be able to try to imitate Hungary, which had shaken up the hierarchy and missed the train to the Final Four only on the last day.
The Nations League undoubtedly offers prospects to the “small” nations, much more than the traditional qualifiers, by granting them a share of the precious tickets for the play-offs. There is something for everyone, so North Macedonia seized the opportunity to snatch a ticket for Euro 2020, followed by Georgia in the 2024 edition, where Willy Sagnol’s men did not make a mark at all. This path also allowed Belarus, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan and Estonia to glimpse qualification for a major tournament in an unprecedented way. As it turns out, Aleksander Čeferin does not always do just anything.
France Italy Prediction: Analysis, Odds and Prediction of the Blues’ Nations League Match
