After nine months of absence and a winter World Cup, the League of Nations is back. Four teams qualified for the last four of the competition. This will be without the French team, defending champion, who finished third in their pool.
After a first edition in Portugal and a second in Italy, the Final Four of the Nations League 2022-2023 will be played this time in the Netherlands. It is also the host country which will open the ball this Wednesday with a first semi-final against Croatia (Rotterdam, 8:45 p.m.). The other match will be between Spain and Italy (Enschede, 8:45 p.m.). The match for third place will take place on Sunday (3 p.m.). The final will be played at the Stadion Feijenoord in Rotterdam this Sunday (8:45 p.m.). The four matches can be followed on La Chaîne L’Equipe and live commented on our website.
The Netherlands, Croatia, Spain and Italy qualified after finishing top of their League A groups of this 2022-2023 Nations League. The Netherlands, quarter-finalists in Qatar, finished first in a group made up of Poland, Belgium and Wales, without ever losing a game. Croatia, third in the last World Cup, which took four points out of a possible six against France, finished top of group A1. Spain, eliminated in the round of 16 at the World Cup, managed to overcome a group completed by the Czech Republic, Portugal and Switzerland. Finally, Italy, absent in Qatar, qualified for this Final Four after dominating a group composed of Germany, Hungary and England.
We will find some very nice people on the Dutch lawns during this mid-June. The Netherlands, led by the history of the selection Ronald Koeman, must face the withdrawal of Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt. They are also without star striker Memphis Depay. Injured, the former OL player has only played one La Liga match since mid-March. The Oranje can count on Nathan Aké, winner of the Champions League with Manchester City, but also Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij, unfortunate finalists with Inter Milan. The other stars of the selection like Virgil van Dijk or Frenkie de Jong answer the call.
For their part, Croatia have to deal with a major last-minute withdrawal. The third of the last World Cup in Qatar will travel to the Netherlands without its young defender Josko Gvardiol (21 years old). The Vatreni will however be able to count on their veterans. Luka Modric (37) will lead this team. He will rely on Domagoj Vida (34), Ivan Perisic (34) or Andrej Kramaric (31). Finalist of the last Champions League with Inter Milan, Marcelo Brozovic (31) has joined his teammates in recent hours.
For these two matches, Spain will not be able to count on David Garcia or Nico Williams, initially summoned. These two players have been replaced by Nacho and Ansu Fati respectively. La Roja can also count on the reigning European champion and scorer in the Champions League final, Rodri. Paris Saint-Germain players Juan Bernat and Fabian Ruiz are also called up, as is the capital’s future player, Marco Asensio. Luis de la Fuente, who still has to do without Pedri, injured, selected the other nugget of Barça Gavi (18 years old) or the striker who had revealed himself in the last international matches, Joselu. The attraction on the Spanish side remains Robin Le Normand. The French defender of Real Sociedad obtained his naturalization in recent hours and thus knows his first rally. He could be associated with Aymeric Laporte, who already has 20 selections, as a hinge.
Italy, absent at the last World Cup in Qatar, displays a list between youth and experience. The stainless Leonardo Bonucci, 36, is once again in the game. Five Inter Milan players are called up: Matteo Darmian, Federico Dimarco, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella. We also find Nicolo Zaniolo, who left AS Roma to join Turkey in recent months after a crisis in the capital, or Mateo Retegui, of Argentine origin and called for the first time last March. Missing in particular are Sandro Tonali, left at the disposal of the U21s, or even Riccardo Orsolini, Mattia Zaccagni, Alessio Romagnoli, Manuel Locatelli or Domenico Berardi.
Whatever the outcome of this 2022-2023 Nations League, there will be an unprecedented winner. Portugal, host country for the Final Four of the competition, was the first country to put its name on the winners of this competition. On June 9, 2019, the Seleção beat the Netherlands with a goal from Gonçalo Guedes (1-0), after beating Switzerland 3-1 in the semi-finals, thanks to a hat-trick from… Cristiano Ronaldo, who became at the same time the top scorer of the Final Four. Bernardo Silva was voted best player in the competition.
In 2021, the Blues of Didier Deschamps won the second Nations League in history. To do this, the French team had overthrown Belgium (3-2) in the semi-final before disposing of Spain (2-1) in Milan, to afford a new title. With two goals and two offerings, Kylian Mbappé was the most decisive player in this last four.
In recent years, this new competition has upset the international calendars. This year, turned upside down by the World Cup in winter, the situation is simple: no friendlies for the semi-finalists. After its two matches in June, against Gibraltar and Greece, the French team will meet again in September, October and November. Like he usually does. Except that the vice-world champion nation will play two friendlies at the start of next season: in Germany on September 12 and against Scotland on October 17. The four semi-finalist countries of this League of Nations cannot therefore compete in the qualifications for the next Euro during this month of June. They will therefore play their last six qualifying matches at the start of the 2023-2024 season.
The next European Championship will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14, 2024. 24 countries will compete in this Euro. Only Germany, as host country, is already guaranteed to play this competition. 20 countries will qualify directly via the group stages – the top two from each group. The remaining three teams will be determined in the play-offs, with 12 teams selected based on their performance in the 2022/2023 Nations League.
