The Nations League reaches its gripping conclusion over the coming days, with big fixtures taking place across Europe. The final four teams that will compete in the Nations League Finals next summer will be determined, while England face Germany looking to avoid relegation to the second-tier of the competition.
England vs Germany
Whenever England and Germany clash there is always fireworks. That will be no different at Wembley Stadium on Monday evening, as the Germans will be looking to fight for top spot in the group standings. However, the Three Lions may already be condemned to relegation from League A, which means that they will be playing for nothing more than pride.
Regardless, even if there weren’t any points on the line for this fixture, it would still be a huge occasion. The last meeting between the two great rivals came at EURO 2020 last summer, with England claiming a famous 2-0 success against Germany to progress through to the quarterfinals of the competition. That success at Wembley remains England’s only win in four previous meetings between the sides.
Germany looked much stronger when the rivals clashed earlier in the Nations League, as they were denied three points in the 88th minute by a Harry Kane penalty.
They were wasteful in that fixture, and likely should have been out of sight by the time the Three Lions equalised. We could see another draw being played out between the sides on Monday.
Pick: The Draw at 23/10 with BetXchange.
Portugal vs Spain
Two other great rivals also clash on Monday evening, as either Portugal or Spain will progress through to the Nations League finals. Both sides come into this fixture with just one point separating them, but Spain’s advantage means that Portugal will need to pick up maximum points.
The previous meeting between the nations came in June, as a 1-1 draw was played out in Spain. The home side in that fixture may have believed that they had done enough to take the points after Alvaro Morata opened the scoring after 25 minutes. They limited Portugal to just two shots on goal in the match, but the Portuguese eventually made their breakthrough with just eight minutes remaining as Ricardo Horta fired home to rescue a point. That goal could yet prove decisive when it comes to the nation that finishes at the top of the standings.
Spain boast a very strong record in the overall record between the two sides, as they have won on 17 previous occasions. Portugal has picked up just six victories, while 16 of the matches have ended in draws. Draws have been extremely common in the most recent meetings between the sides, with each of the previous five fixtures ending in ties after 90 minutes.
The most common result during this period has been 0-0. For that reason, we could see another draw being played out between Portugal and Spain on Monday to bring a close to Group A2.
