UEFA Nations League Semifinals and Final: Preview and Predictions

There is yet another international trophy to be won in Europe this weekend and several players from Manchester City and Inter Milan will take to the pitch again in the UEFA Nations League in the Netherlands.

Dutch defenders Nathan Aké and Denzel Dumfries will be teammates once again after meeting in City’s 1-0 win over Inter on Saturday in the Champions League final.

The host team will play the first semifinal on Wednesday in Rotterdam against a Croatia that has Marcelo Brozovic, Inter midfielder.

Spain will be able to field Rodri, whose goal catapulted City as European champions for the first time, to face Italy on Thursday. That match will be played in Enschede.

The final will be played in Rotterdam on Sunday, with a match for third place in Enschede on the same day.

Italy coach Roberto Mancini has called up five Inter players, including the entire block of centre-backs — Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni and Matteo Darmian — who neutralized striker Erling Haaland in Istanbul.

The very long European season was split in two by the World Cup in Qatar. Croatia placed third in that tournament, four years after reaching the final and losing to France.

“At the end of the season, the problem is fatigue,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said. “But we have a historic opportunity to win a first trophy.”

The desire to snatch that first international title is what persuaded Luka Modric to stick with the national team. At 37 years of age, Modric has made 164 appearances with the national team. After the victory against Morocco in the duel for third place in Qatar, the midfielder stated that he wanted to continue “at least until the League of Nations and then we’ll see.”

This is the third final phase of the League of Nations, a stage in which the teams qualify after winning their group in the highest division of the tournament. The prize of 10.5 million euros (11.3 million dollars) awarded by UEFA makes winning the title more appealing.

NETHERLANDS

The home side will be missing two key players as they try to clinch the country’s first title since the 1988 European Championship. The latest injury to Memphis Depay (calf) will mean they can’t count on their best striker. Depay averages a goal every two games in his 88 internationals.

Center back Matthijs de Ligt suffered a similar injury while training ahead of the game against Croatia. Daley Blind, his teammate at Bayern Munich, was called up at the last minute.

The Netherlands finished runners-up in the first edition, succumbing to Portugal in the 2019 final after eliminating England in the semi-finals.

CROATIA

The League of Nations gives Modric and company another, probably the last, opportunity to establish himself with the national team. Ivan Perisic (34 years old) and Brozovic (30) remain in force in the powerful midfield.

Croatia left France (last World Cup finalist) and Denmark on the road. A Modric penalty kick at the Stade de France last June gave Croatia its first win against France at the 10th attempt.

Josko Gvardiol, Leipzig’s centre-back, was ruled out due to a muscle injury.

ITALIA

Inter players will be able to get even for losing the Champions League final as part of the strong core of the team. Nicolò Barella and Federico Dimarco also joined the Azzurri squad on Monday.

It will be the third time in two years that Italy meets Spain in a semifinal. The Azzurri won on penalties after drawing 1-1 in the Euro 2020 semi-finals in London. Spain got revenge by winning 2-1 in Milan in the 2021 Nations League semifinals.

SPAIN

The coach of Spain Luis de la Fuente will seek to clear up doubts after a pale debut. He replaced Luis Enrique after the elimination of La Roja in the round of 16 of the World Cup. But the team continues dragging its old problems: a lot of possession, little punch.

In March, two late goals gave Spain a 3-0 win over Norway without Haaland to open Euro 2024 qualifying and then lost 2-0 on a visit to Scotland. All this puts the coach with the obligation to show signs of improvement in the ‘Final Four’, an instance in which Spain reached the 2021 final but lost to France.

“The past serves to learn, it doesn’t weigh us down,” said Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón. “We see the mistakes we have made so we don’t make them again.”

Spain accuses the casualties of Nico Williams, David García and Juan Bernat due to injuries. Ansu Fati, Nacho Fernández and Fran García were called as replacements.