UEFA Nations League Matchday 1 preview: Italy vs Belgium, England vs Spain among marquee matches

Player spotlight

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Nicolò Barella, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Alessandro Bastoni were also part of the Roberto Mancini squad that triumphed at EURO 2020. Young Inter forward Pio Esposito has scored five goals in nine Italy appearances.

Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia can make his second Belgium appearance, his first coming back in March 2023. Mika Godts was the second-highest scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie last term and completed a summer transfer to Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain.

Memorable match: Italy 2-2 Belgium (Nations League, 10/10/2024)

These sides produced a thriller when they met in the league phase of the previous edition, goals from Maxim De Cuyper and Leandro Trossard bringing Belgium back from 2-0 down.

The backdrop

• Roberto Mancini begins his second spell with Italy and Mark van Bommel debuts as Belgium head coach.
• Italy reached the quarter-finals of the previous edition, losing 5-4 on aggregate against Germany.
• Belgium recovered a two-goal deficit against Ukraine to preserve their League A status in March's promotion/relegation play-offs.

Player spotlight

Türkiye's Arda Güler has three assists and one goal in six league appearances for Real Madrid this term. Fenerbahçe forward Kerem Aktürkoğlu was one of seven players to score a hat-trick in the 2024/25 Nations League.

Ousmane Dembélé had four goal involvements in Paris' opening win in the Champions League; Michael Olise three as Bayern München beat Bodø/Glimt. France captain Kylian Mbappé opened his account against Inter after finishing as top scorer last season.

Memorable match:  Türkiye 2-0 France (EURO 2020 qualifier, 08/07/2019)

Türkiye emerged victorious when they last hosted France, goals from Kaan Ayhan and Cengiz Ünder sending them to a home victory.

The backdrop

• Zinédine Zidane makes his debut as France coach. Zidane twice played Türkiye in his playing days and celebrated two 4-0 wins.
• Türkiye earned promotion to League A via an impressive play-off victory against Hungary.
• France finished third in the previous edition, winning the third-place match against Germany after falling to Spain in a 5-4 semi-final epic.

Player spotlight

Among the newcomers in Santi Denia's first squad are midfielders Roman Macek (Sparta Praha), Matěj Radosta (Teplice) and Lukáš Ambros (Anderlecht). Of Ambros, the head coach says: "He's so multi-functional, he can play in several positions."

Como midfielder Martin Baturina was named Player of the Match in the Italian side's Champions League debut – a 4-1 win over Leipzig. Luka Modrić made 50 appearances during Slaven Bilić's first spell in charge.

Memorable match: Czechia 2-2 Croatia (EURO 2016, 17/06/2016)

Czechia's chances of taking anything from this Group D meeting seemed slim after 75 minutes, but substitutes Milan Škoda and Tomáš Necid inspired them to a draw.

The backdrop

• Santi Denia and Slaven Bilić take charge of their first matches after their summer appointments. Bilić also served as Croatia's head coach between 2006 and 2012.
• These sides also met during the European Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, Croatia winning 5-1 at home before a goalless draw in Prague.
• The 2023 runners-up Croatia reached the quarter-finals in the previous edition, suffering a dramatic loss against France. Czechia won Group B1 to earn promotion to League A.

Player spotlight

England captain Harry Kane became the fastest player to 100 German Bundesliga goals on Friday while Jude Bellingham has started strongly under new Real Madrid coach José Mourinho, producing three goals and three assists in seven league appearances.

Spain's Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick in his first Champions League appearance for Paris Saint-Germain. New club-mate Fabián Ruiz is unbeaten across his 50 Spain appearances (W35 D15, excludes penalty shoot-outs).

Memorable match: Spain 2-1 England (EURO 2024 final, 14/07/2024)

Spain won a record-breaking fourth EURO thanks to Mikel Oyarzabal's late winner in Berlin. England had answered Nico Williams' opener through Cole Palmer midway through the second half.

The backdrop

• This pair have met ten times since the turn of the millennium. Spain lead the head-to-head with six wins to England's three.
• England return to League A after winning Group B2 in the previous edition.
• Spain were defeated finalists in 2025, losing a penalty shoot-out against Portugal in Munich.