Germany vs Portugal Nations League semi-final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups, expert views, form and coaches' thoughts

Germany and Portugal meet in the first UEFA Nations League semi-final on Wednesday 4 June.

Where to watch Germany vs Portugal on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

Germany and Portugal meet in Munich for a high-stakes UEFA Nations League semi-final – their first ever meeting in this competition. Hosts Germany are appearing in the semi-finals for the first time, while Portugal are aiming for a second title after lifting the inaugural trophy in 2018/19.

Julian Nagelsmann's side reached the last four with a 5-4 aggregate win over Italy in the quarter-finals. After a 2-1 away victory in Milan, a 3-3 thriller followed in Dortmund with Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala and Tim Kleindienst all on target as Die Mannschaft held off a late Azzurri rally.

Portugal also had to come from behind in their quarter-final tie, overturning a 1-0 first-leg loss in Copenhagen to claim a 5-2 extra-time win in Lisbon. In a dramatic comeback, substitute Francisco Trincão's 86th-minute strike forced extra time, before he netted again a minute after the restart. Gonçalo Ramos tucked in late to confirm Roberto Martínez's team's ticket to the last four.

The sides' last competitive meeting came in the UEFA EURO 2020 group stage, where Germany ran out 4-2 winners at Munich Football Arena – also the stage for this semi-final.

Possible line-ups

Germany: Ter Stegen; Kimmich, Tah, Koch, Gosens; Goretzka, Gross; Gnabry, Wirtz, Sané; Füllkrug
Out: Amiri, Bisseck, Havertz, Henrichs, Kleindienst, Musiala, Rüdiger, Schlotterbeck, Stiller

• Ter Stegen is set to reclaim the No1 role, but elsewhere Nagelsmann has questions to answer that start with whether he opts for a three-man or four-man back line in front of the Barcelona shot-stopper. With Musiala out injured, who will he combine with Wirtz's world class talents? And up front could it be one of Stuttgart’s German Cup winners, Undav or Woltemade, who lead the line in place of the more experienced Füllkrug?

Portugal: Diogo Costa; Dalot, Rúben Dias, Gonçalo Inácio, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, João Neves; Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo, Rafael Leão
Out: João Cancelo

• Roberto Martínez is likely to keep faith in Portugal's tried and tested, though he will have to do without João Cancelo, who is ruled out. The bench has depth, with Pedro Gonçalves back in the fold, and keep your eye out for the latest Portuguese prodigy, 18-year-old Rodrigo Mora. The Porto playmaker has been called up for the first time.

Reporters' views

James Thorogood, Germany reporter
The Nations League final four represents rare uncharted territory for debutants Germany, who of the teams remaining are the furthest removed from their last piece of major silverware. EURO 2024 didn’t produce the fairytale moment on home soil they had hoped for and the chance at redemption provides added motivation as Nagelsmann’s charges look to harness the power of the Munich crowd – first in the semi-final against Portugal and then, it is hoped, in the final four days later.

Carlos Machado, Portugal reporter
A meeting with the hosts will be a sizeable task, but the Seleção have the tools to blunt home optimism and dismantle Germany's attacking outlets. The bigger question is whether they can successfully deploy them. At the top of their game, they should have enough to go at least once step further.

View from the camps

Julian Nagelsmann, Germany coach: "It’s always good to have home games, it’s like a mini European Championship, like last summer. I think the Portuguese team prefers to have possession rather than defend, so we’ll try to force them to defend a bit more. Then it’s a big chance with our fans behind us to play a good game.

"I have nine out of 11 positions in mind. There are a few final decisions to be made. The players have yet to be informed, but if they paid attention in training they’ll have a feeling of whether they’re starting or not."

Leon Goretzka, Germany midfielder: "We’re excited. It’s a special situation for many of us, we just had a short break for about a week. We’ve already been pushing hard in training again, and we’re looking forward to getting started now.

"I think you can’t reduce Portugal down to just Cristiano Ronaldo. Sure, he’s one of the greatest players in our history, but it’s a team filled with world-class players, and we’re well prepared for that."

Roberto Martínez, Portugal coach: "It doesn't get any bigger than the challenge of facing Germany, just because of the team that they are. I think the coach is doing a very interesting job of bringing clear ideas that, whoever the player is, he executes to perfection, which is a big strength. And then probably the second challenge is to play away from home at their ground.

"We saw it in the quarter-finals; we saw that out of the eight games, only one home team lost. That’s something we need to overcome and make sure we use the support of over 10,000 Portuguese fans that we are going to have."

Bruno Fernandes, Portugal midfielder: "It's a very difficult game, obviously, against one of the best national teams in the world. But from our side, we’ll also be one of the best national teams there. So, I expect a very good game from both sides. But at the end, obviously, I expect Portugal to get into that final.

"Portugal are ready for anything. We have a good team that is prepared to play in any type of moment, in any type of style. We know what’s best for us, and we will try to put that into the game. But we are ready to face the intensity of Germany or whatever they want to bring on the pitch."

Form guide (most recent first)

Germany: DWDWWW

Portugal: WLDWDW