Date, venue, goal, recent winners… 6 questions about the last four League of Nations

After nine months of absence and the Winter World Cup, the League of Nations is back. Four teams qualified for the last four competition. This would be without the reigning champions France, who finished third in their group.

Where and when do you see the Nations League Final Four?

After the first edition in Portugal and the second in Italy, the final match of the 2022-2023 Nations League will be held, this time in the Netherlands. It’s also the host nation who will open the ball on Wednesday in the first semi-final match against Croatia (Rotterdam, 8:45 p.m. ET). The other match will be between Spain and Italy (Enschede, 8:45 p.m. ET). The third-place match will be held on Sunday (3pm). The final will be played at Stadion Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Sunday (8:45pm). The four meetings can be followed The team channel And live commented on our site.

What are the four eligible countries?

The Netherlands, Croatia, Spain and Italy qualified after finishing top of their Group A groups in the 2022-23 Nations League. The Netherlands, quarter-finalists in Qatar, finished first in a group composed of Poland, Belgium and Wales, without ever losing a match. Third-placed Croatia at the last World Cup, who picked up four of a possible six points against France, finished top of Group A1. Spain, who was eliminated in the round of 16 in the World Cup, was able to overcome a group completed by the Czech Republic, Portugal and Switzerland. Finally, Italy, absent from Qatar, qualified for this quadruple final after dominating a group made up of Germany, Hungary and England.

What stars are present and missing during this Final Four?

We will find some very nice people in the Dutch meadows during the middle of June. Led by Ronald Koeman’s selection history, the Netherlands must face the withdrawal of Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt. They are also without star striker Memphis Depay. After his injury, the former OL has only played one La Liga match since mid-March. The orange can count on Nathan Ake, winner of the Champions League with Manchester City, as well as Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij, unfortunate finalists with Inter Milan. Other stars in the selection such as Virgil van Dijk or Frenkie de Jong answer the call.

For their part, Croatia has to deal with a major withdrawal at the last minute. The third finals of the last World Cup in Qatar will travel to the Netherlands without its young defender, Josko Gvardiol (21 years). However, Vatreni will be able to count on veterans. Luka Modric (37) will lead this team. He will rely on Domagoj Vida (34), Ivan Perisic (34) or Andrej Kramaric (31). Marcelo Brozovic (31), who reached the Champions League final with Inter Milan, joined his teammates in the final hours.

For these two matches, Spain will not be able to count on David Garcia or Neco Williams, who were both called up at the start. These two players were replaced by Nacho and Ansu Fati respectively. La Roja can also count on reigning European champions and top scorer in the Champions League final, Rodri. Paris Saint-Germain players Juan Bernat and Fabian Ruiz have also been called up, as well as future capital player Marco Asensio. Luis de la Fuente, who still has to do without the injured Pedri, has opted for Barcelona’s other nugget Jaffe (18 years old) or the striker who has revealed himself in recent international matches, Joselo. Gravity remains on the Spanish side, Robin Le Norman. The French Real Sociedad defender obtained citizenship in the last hours, and thus knows his first rally. Aymeric Laporte, who already has 20 choices, could be linked as a joint.

Italy, absent from the recent World Cup in Qatar, presents a list between youth and experience. Stainless Leonardo Bonucci, 36, is back in the game again. Five Inter Milan players have been called up: Matteo Darmian, Federico DiMarco, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni and Niccolo Barella. We also find Nicolo Zaniolo, who left Rome to join Turkey in recent months after a crisis in the capital, or Matteo Retigui, of Argentine origin and called up for the first time last March. Missing in particular is Sandro Tonali, who was left at the disposal of the under-21 team, or even Riccardo Orsolini, Mattia Zaccanni, Alessio Romagnoli, Manuel Locatelli and Domenico Berardi.

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Who are the latest winners?

Whatever the outcome of the 2022-2023 Nations League, there will be an unprecedented winner. Portugal, the 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 defeated the Netherlands with a goal from Gonzalo Guedes (1-0), after beating Switzerland 3-1 in the semi-finals, thanks to a hat-trick from … Cristiano Ronaldo, who at the same time became the top scorer of the Final Four. Bernardo Silva was awarded the best player in the competition.

In 2021, Didier Deschamps’ Blues won their second Nations League in history. To do so, the French team knocked out Belgium (3-2) in the semi-finals before eliminating Spain (2-1) in Milan, to claim a new title. With two goals and two performances, Kylian Mbappe has been the most decisive player in these last four.

What is the schedule for these semi-finalists?

In recent years, this new competition has disrupted international calendars. This year, turned upside down by the World Cup in the winter, the situation is simple: there are no friendlies for the semi-finals. After their matches in June, against Gibraltar and Greece, the French national team will meet again in September, October and November. as he usually does. Except that the vice-world champion country will play two friendlies at the start of next season: in Germany on September 12 and against Scotland on October 17. Thus, the four countries that reached the semi-finals in the League of Nations cannot compete in the next Euro Championship qualifiers during the month of June. Therefore, they will play the last six qualifying matches at the start of the 2023-2024 season.

What is the impact of the League of Nations on the next euro?

The next European Championship will be held in Germany from June 14 to July 14, 2024. 24 countries will compete in this Euro. Only Germany, as the host country, is actually guaranteed to play this competition. 20 countries will qualify directly through the group stages – the top two from each group. The remaining three teams will be decided in the qualifiers, with the 12 teams selected based on their performance in the 2022/23 Nations League.