The Nations League: What is it?
The dreaded meaningless friendly has been consigned to the dustbin of history. Well, that’s the idea anyway.
The new Uefa Nations League is here, and it’s a bit confusing.
What is it?
The tournament was first conceived in 2011 and is designed to create more competitive games in international football. Here are some things to watch out for.
How does it work?
It involves all 55 European nations, split into four leagues A, B, C, D, which are then split into smaller groups to decide who you play.
You play home and away fixtures against the teams in your group, and there is promotion and relegation involved.
When is it?
The league kicks off on Thursday 6 September and will culminate with a group of finals in June.
Get to the teams I like
England, in group A4, will play Spain and their World Cup conquerers Croatia.
First game: England v Spain (19:45) Saturday
Wales and the Republic of Ireland are in the same group, B4, and are joined by Denmark.
First game: Wales v Republic of Ireland (19:45) Thursday
Wales second game against Denmark on 9 September might not be so competitive, as the Danes could be forced to field futsal players.
Check it out here
Scotland are in C1 with Albania and Israel.
First game: Scotland v Albania (19:45) Monday
Northern Ireland play in B3 against Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
First game: Northern Ireland v Bosnia and Herzegovina (14:00) Saturday
You’ll get the full list of fixtures here:
Where can I watch?
All the games are live on Sky Sports, and Welsh games will also be live on S4C.
Is it worth watching?
The structure means there are some very good fixtures out there because all the big nations are in the same groups.
Germany v France is the eye-catching game from the opening round.
For the smaller teams there is a definite prize to aim for. One of the 16 bottom ranked sides is guaranteed a place at the European Championships in 2020.
It is yet to be seen whether it will be any good, but it can only be better than what has come before.
If you still don’t understand don’t worry. England don’t either.
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