The draw for the second edition of the UEFA Nations League group stage was made on Tuesday night in Amsterdam, Netherland.
Portugal hosted and won the main edition of the tournament in 2019 when they beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the final thanks to a goal from Goncalo Guedes. While England beat Switzerland on penalties to finish third.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be leading Portugal to the competition to defend their title when they play Sweden, Croatia, and France in Group A3. The match between Cup holders Portugal and World Cup winners will be a thrilling one as it will parade stars like CR7, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, Bruno Fernades and other superstars.
The match will also see Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe trade tackle with his idol, Ronaldo. Also, the match between France and Croatia will bring back memories of the 2018 World Cup final.
Meanwhile, England manager Gareth Southgate will be hoping his team has a wonderful competition when they face Belgium, Denmark, and Iceland in Group A2. The match between England and Belgium will see Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Debruyne play against some of their friends and teammates in the Premier League.
Germany will trade tackle with Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine in Group A4, while the Netherlands will clash with Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Poland in Group A1.
The group phase will be played from September to November 2020, with the four group winners from League A qualifying for the finals tournament in the summer of 2021.
League A
Group A1: Netherlands, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Poland
Group A2: England, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland
Group A3: Portugal, France, Sweden, Croatia
Group A4: Switzerland, Spain, Ukraine, Germany
League B
Group B1: Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland, Romania
Group B2: Czech Republic, Scotland, Slovakia, Israel
Group B3: Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary
Group B4: Wales, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria
League C
Group C1: Montenegro, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan
Group C2: Georgia, North Macedonia, Estonia, Armenia
Group C3: Greece, Kosovo, Slovenia, Moldova
Group C4: Albania, Belarus, Lithuania, Kazakhstan
League D
Group D1: Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra, Malta
Group D2: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino
MATCHDAY 1
Thursday 3 September
A4 Germany vs Spain (20:45)
A4 Ukraine vs Switzerland (20:45)
B3 Russia vs Serbia (20:45)
B3 Turkey vs Hungary (20:45)
B4 Bulgaria vs Republic of Ireland (20:45)
B4 Finland vs Wales (20:45)
C3 Moldova vs Kosovo (20:45)
C3 Slovenia vs Greece (20:45)
D1 Faroe Islands vs Malta (20:45)
D1 Latvia vs Andorra (20:45)
Friday 4 September
A1 Italy vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (20:45)
A1 Netherlands vs Poland (20:45)
B1 Norway vs Austria (20:45)
B1 Romania vs Northern Ireland (20:45)
B2 Scotland vs Israel (20:45)
B2 Slovakia vs Czech Republic (20:45)
C4 Belarus vs Albania (20:45)
C4 Lithuania vs Kazakhstan (20:45)
Saturday 5 September
C2 North Macedonia vs Armenia (15:00)
D2 Gibraltar vs San Marino (15:00)
A2 Iceland vs England (18:00)
C1 Azerbaijan vs Luxembourg (18:00)
C1 Cyprus vs Montenegro (18:00)
C2 Estonia vs Georgia (18:00)
A2 Denmark vs Belgium (20:45)
A3 Portugal vs Croatia (20:45)
A3 Sweden vs France (20:45)
MATCHDAY 2
Sunday 6 September
B4 Wales vs Bulgaria (15:00)
D1 Andorra vs Faroe Islands (15:00)
B3 Hungary vs Russia (18:00)
B4 Republic of Ireland vs Finland (18:00)
C3 Slovenia vs Moldova (18:00)
A4 Spain vs Ukraine (20:45)
A4 Switzerland vs Germany (20:45)
B3 Serbia vs Turkey (20:45)
C3 Kosovo vs Greece (20:45)
D1 Malta vs Latvia (20:45)
Monday 7 September
C4 Kazakhstan vs Belarus (16:00)
A1 Bosnia-Herzegovina v Poland (20:45)
A1 Netherlands vs Italy (20:45)
B1 Austria vs Romania (20:45)
B1 Northern Ireland vs Norway (20:45)
B2 Czech Republic vs Scotland (20:45)
B2 Israel vs Slovakia (20:45)
C4 Albania vs Lithuania (20:45)
Tuesday 8 September
C2 Armenia vs Estonia (18:00)
C2 Georgia vs North Macedonia (18:00)
A2 Belgium vs Iceland (20:45)
A2 Denmark vs England (20:45)
A3 France vs Croatia (20:45)
A3 Sweden vs Portugal (20:45)
C1 Cyprus vs Azerbaijan (20:45)
C1 Luxembourg vs Montenegro (20:45)
D2 San Marino vs Liechtenstein (20:45)
MATCHDAY 3
Thursday 8 October
C2 Armenia vs Georgia (18:00)
A1 Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Netherlands (20:45)
A1 Poland vs Italy (20:45)
B1 Northern Ireland vs Austria (20:45)
B1 Norway vs Romania (20:45)
B2 Israel vs Czech Republic (20:45)
B2 Scotland vs Slovakia (20:45)
C2 Estonia vs North Macedonia (20:45)
D2 Liechtenstein vs Gibraltar (20:45)
Friday 9 October
A2 England vs Belgium (20:45)
A2 Iceland vs Denmark (20:45)
A3 Croatia vs Sweden (20:45)
A3 France vs Portugal (20:45)
B3 Russia vs Turkey (20:45)
B3 Serbia vs Hungary (20:45)
C1 Luxembourg vs Cyprus (20:45)
C1 Montenegro vs Azerbaijan (20:45)
D1 Andorra vs Malta (20:45)
D1 Faroe Islands vs Latvia (20:45)
Saturday 10 October
B4 Republic of Ireland vs Wales (15:00)
C4 Kazakhstan vs Albania (15:00)
B4 Finland vs Bulgaria (18:00)
C4 Lithuania vs Belarus (18:00)
A4 Spain vs Switzerland (20:45)
A4 Ukraine vs Germany (20:45)
C3 Greece vs Moldova (20:45)
C3 Kosovo vs Slovenia (20:45)
MATCHDAY 4
Sunday 11 October
B2 Scotland vs Czech Republic (15:00)
B1 Norway vs Northern Ireland (18:00)
C2 Estonia vs Armenia (18:00)
C2 North Macedonia vs Georgia (18:00)
D2 Liechtenstein vs San Marino (18:00)
A1 Italy vs Netherlands (20:45)
A1 Poland vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (20:45)
B1 Romania vs Austria (20:45)
B2 Slovakia vs Israel (20:45)
Monday 12 October
C1 Azerbaijan vs Cyprus (18:00)
A2 England vs Denmark (20:45)
A2 Iceland vs Belgium (20:45)
A3 Croatia vs France (20:45)
A3 Portugal vs Sweden (20:45)
B3 Russia vs Hungary (20:45)
B3 Turkey vs Serbia (20:45)
C1 Montenegro vs Luxembourg (20:45)
D1 Faroe Islands vs Andorra (20:45)
D1 Latvia vs Malta (20:45)
Tuesday 13 October
A4 Germany vs Switzerland (20:45)
A4 Ukraine vs Spain (20:45)
B4 Bulgaria vs Wales (20:45)
B4 Finland vs Republic of Ireland (20:45)
C3 Greece vs Kosovo (20:45)
C3 Moldova vs Slovenia (20:45)
C4 Belarus vs Kazakhstan (20:45)
C4 Lithuania vs Albania (20:45)
MATCHDAY 5
Thursday 12 November
C1 Azerbaijan vs Montenegro (18:00)
C4 Belarus vs Lithuania (18:00)
A2 Belgium vs England (20:45)
A2 Denmark vs Iceland (20:45)
A3 Portugal vs France (20:45)
A3 Sweden vs Croatia (20:45)
C1 Cyprus vs Luxembourg (20:45)
C4 Albania vs Kazakhstan (20:45)
Friday 13 November
C2 Georgia vs Armenia (18:00)
A4 Germany vs Ukraine (20:45)
A4 Switzerland vs Spain (20:45)
B4 Bulgaria vs Finland (20:45)
B4 Wales v Republic of Ireland (20:45)
C2 North Macedonia vs Estonia (20:45)
C3 Moldova vs Greece (20:45)
C3 Slovenia vs Kosovo (20:45)
D2 San Marino vs Gibraltar (20:45)
Saturday 14 November
B2 Czech Republic vs Israel (15:00)
D1 Malta vs Andorra (15:00)
B1 Romania vs Norway (18:00)
B2 Slovakia vs Scotland (18:00)
B3 Turkey vs Russia (18:00)
D1 Latvia vs Faroe Islands (18:00)
A1 Italy vs Poland (20:45)
A1 Netherlands vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (20:45)
B1 Austria vs Northern Ireland (20:45)
B3 Hungary vs Serbia (20:45)
MATCHDAY 6
Sunday 15 November
C4 Albania vs Belarus (15:00)
C4 Kazakhstan vs Lithuania (15:00)
A2 Belgium vs Denmark (18:00)
A2 England vs Iceland (18:00)
A3 Croatia vs Portugal (20:45)
A3 France vs Sweden (20:45)
C1 Luxembourg vs Azerbaijan (20:45)
C1 Montenegro vs Cyprus (20:45)
Monday 16 November
C2 Armenia vs North Macedonia (18:00)
C2 Georgia vs Estonia (18:00)
A4 Spain vs Germany (20:45)
A4 Switzerland vs Ukraine (20:45)
B4 Republic of Ireland vs Bulgaria (20:45)
B4 Wales vs Finland (20:45)
C3 Greece vs Slovenia (20:45)
C3 Kosovo vs Moldova (20:45)
D2 Gibraltar vs Liechtenstein (20:45)
Tuesday 17 November
A1 Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Italy (20:45)
A1 Poland vs Netherlands (20:45)
B1 Austria vs Norway (20:45)
B1 Northern Ireland vs Romania (20:45)
B2 Czech Republic vs Slovakia (20:45)
B2 Israel vs Scotland (20:45)
B3 Hungary vs Turkey (20:45)
B3 Serbia vs Russia (20:45)
D1 Andorra vs Latvia (20:45)
D1 Malta vs Faroe Islands (20:45)
Speaking about the draw, England boss Southgate said: “I think we’ve been trying to take steps towards doing that (laying ghosts) with our general performances since then anyway.
“Now there’s a game that – I’ve just seen Gudni Bergsson (Iceland FA president) and they’re looking forward to it – which is a different sort of test.
“Iceland have had a difficult 12 months in terms of where their team are at but it’s a game we’ve obviously got to be extremely well prepared for because we know the risk involved.”
Als reacting to the draw, Belgium manager Roberto Martinez said: “It’s a great group. The teams know each other very well. Going to Wembley is always a very special occasion for all the fans and us as a team and we’ve improved since we played in the World Cup.”
