The first international break of the season and the final one before the World Cup in November has arrived and England have plenty of work to do over their next two games to avoid relegation in the UEFA Nations League.
The Three Lions face Italy and Germany in their final two group games but a defeat against the former would see them relegated to League B. Elsewhere, reigning champions France also face the prospect of relegation should they fall to defeat against Austria.
Mirror Football tells you all you need to know ahead of the final two rounds of Nations League group-stage fixtures, including who can advance to the finals and who could be relegated.
England
Gareth Southgate’s men endured a nightmare start to their Nations League A Group 3 campaign back in June with a shock 1-0 defeat by Hungary in Budapest, before Harry Kane’s 88th-minute penalty rescued a point against Germany in Munich in their following fixture.
That was followed up by a 0-0 stalemate with Italy four days later at Molineux, before they once again fell to defeat at the hands of Hungary in a embarrassing 4-0 home loss, leaving them rock bottom of the group and three points from safety with two games to go.
The Three Lions next travel to face Italy at San Siro on Friday, where a win is an absolute must in their bid to avoid relegation. A defeat would relegate them to League B, while a draw would just about keep things alive ahead of Monday’s clash with Germany, although they would need to achieve a big victory due to their inferior goal difference.
Can England turn their Nations League campaign around this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
France
World Cup and Nations League reigning champions France are also at huge risk of being relegated to League B this week having failed to win any of their first four games, leaving them bottom of Group 1 and two points from safety ahead of Thursday's clash with Austria.
Les Bleus began their campaign with a 2-1 home defeat by Denmark and a 1-1 draw away to Croatia. Kylian Mbappe rescued a point in another 1-1 draw with Austria four days later, before Croatia grabbed all three points at the Stade de France with a 1-0 victory.
A loss to Austria would condemn France to the drop to League B, while a draw would keep things alive ahead of their final game against Denmark on Sunday, where they would have to beat their hosts. However, a win would see them leapfrog their opponents into third and they would simply need to equal Austria’s result in their last game to stay in League A.
Who can qualify for the Nations League finals?
The four winners of Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 in League A will qualify for the Nations League finals in June 2023, although not a single team has confirmed their place ahead of the final two fixtures.
In Group 1, Denmark lead the way with nine points after three wins from four matches and can confirm their place at next year’s finals with a victory over Croatia on Thursday. In Group 2, Spain lead the way with eight points and can also qualify if they beat Switzerland on Saturday and Portugal lose to Czech Republic.
In Group 3, Hungary can book their place in the Nations League finals by beating Germany on Friday, should Italy fail to beat England on the same day, although things are very much wide open. In Group 4, Netherlands just need to better Belgium’s result against Wales when they face Poland on Thursday to be sure of their spot in the next phase.
