UEFA Nations League: What to look out for on Saturday

The third edition of the UEFA Nations League is under way, with five more matchdays to come ahead of the final tournament in June 2023. UEFA.com picks out the big fixtures of the opening days.

Wednesday 1 June
Group A4: Poland 2-1 Wales

Thursday 2 June
Group A2: Czech Republic 2-1 Switzerland, Spain 1-1 Portugal
Group B2: Albania vs Russia (suspended until further notice), Israel 2-2 Iceland
Group B4: Serbia 0-1 Norway, Slovenia 0-2 Sweden
Group C2: Cyprus 0-2 Kosovo, Northern Ireland 0-1 Greece
Group C4: Georgia 4-0 Gibraltar, Bulgaria 1-1 North Macedonia
Group D2: Estonia 2-0 San Marino 

Friday 3 June
Group A1: Croatia 0-3 Austria, France 1-2 Denmark
Group A4: Belgium 1-4 Netherlands
Group C3: Kazakhstan 2-0 Azerbaijan, Belarus 0-1 Slovakia
Group D1: Latvia 3-0 Andorra, Liechtenstein 0-2 Moldova

Saturday 4 June
Group A3: Hungary vs England (18:00), Italy vs Germany
Group B1: Armenia vs Republic of Ireland (15:00)
Group B3: Finland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (18:00), Montenegro vs Romania
Group C1: Lithuania vs Luxembourg (18:00), Turkey vs Faroe Islands

Wednesday 21 September
Group B1: Scotland vs Ukraine

All kick-off times 20:45 CET unless stated

Germany visit bogey team Italy

Group A3 rivals England may regard Germany as their most troublesome opponents (regardless of their win at UEFA EURO 2020), but as far as Die Mannschaft are concerned, Italy are the side that have caused them most problems. The current European champions have beaten Germany in the semi-finals of two FIFA World Cups and EURO 2012, and also in the final of the 1982 World Cup.

Germany beat Italy on penalties in the quarter-finals of EURO 2016 to redress the balance a little, but as they embark on their first Nations League campaign under new coach Hansi Flick, they will be eager to get their first away success against the Azzurri since a 2-1 friendly win in February 1986.

Further ahead?

• There is a 2018 World Cup final rematch on Matchday 2 as Croatia welcome France on Monday 6 June. Les Bleus' 4-2 win in Moscow helped them to maintain their unbeaten record against Croatia (W6 D2). "It will be a great pleasure to meet my colleague [Zlatko] Dalić again," said France boss Didier Deschamps. Dalić will hope to enjoy this meeting more.

• English minds will be flashing back to EURO 2020 in the coming matchdays. On 7 June, they will be taking on Germany, having overcome their old rivals 2-0 in the round of 16 last summer, but a more fraught encounter comes four days later when Italy return to Wembley, where they beat their hosts on penalties in the EURO final.

Key dates

Matchday 2: 5–8 June 2022
Matchdays 3 & 4: 9–14 June 2022
Matchdays 5 & 6: 22–27 September 2022
Finals draw: tbc
Semi-finals: 14 & 15 June 2023
Final & third-place match: 18 June 2023
Play-outs: 21–23 & 24–26 March 2024