Nations League: The 2022/23 draw has been made

-

The UEFA Nations League is still a fairly new idea. It is a biennial international football competition contested by the member associations of UEFA.

The last edition of the competition was won by France. You can read about it here. UEFA Nations League: Spain 1 - 2 France (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)

Ahead of a busy year of international football, nations are now preparing for the next edition of the competition.

Here are the UEFA Nations League groups in full. We have highlighted some of the more interesting groups.

Group A1: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, France.

Group A2: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain.

Group A3: Hungary, England, Germany, Italy.

England have faced all of these sides in recent times. They beat Germany in a memorable Euro 2020 last-16 match before eventually losing to Italy in the final of the same competition. More recently, they beat Hungary in a World Cup qualifier.

England manager Gareth Southgate believes that the tough Nations League group is ideal preparation for their bid to win next year’s World Cup: “To win tournaments, you have got to win the big matches against the biggest countries and we have now got to do that consistently. That is the missing piece,”

Group A4: Wales, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium.

Wales are playing in the top division of the Nations League for the first time after they were recently promoted. They face some potentially interesting matches these sides. It will be a good indication of where they're at.

Group B1: Ukraine, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Armenia

Ireland boss Steven Kenny was excited by this draw:"We're third seeds in the group so not many people would expect us to win the group but that will certainly be our ambition."

Group B2: Iceland, Russia, Israel, Albania

Group B3: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Romania, Montenegro

Group B4: Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia

Group C1: Turkey, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Faroe Islands

Group C2: Northern Ireland, Greece, Kosovo, Cyprus/Estonia

The Northern Ireland manager Ian Baraclough has recently signed a two-year contract extension with the Irish Football Association. He will therefore be in charge of their Nations League campaign. Baraclough told the Irish FA website:  “I am really happy to have signed this contract. We have a great mix of youth and experience and, coupled with my backroom team, I feel we can continue to grow and develop as a group.

Group C3: Slovakia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan/Moldova

Group C4: Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar

Group D1: Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan/Moldova, Andorra, Latvia

Group D2: Malta, Cyprus/Estonia, San Marino

Popular posts from this blog

Win for United in Ruud's last match as Interim Manager

-
Image
Manchester United 3 - 0 Leicester City Bruno Fernandes celebrated his 250th appearance for Manchester United by delivering an impressive performance as Ruud van Nistelrooy concluded his time as interim manager with a 3-0 victory over Leicester in the Premier League. Author - Olivia T Fernandes opened the scoring and later netted a second goal that was officially credited as an own goal by Victor Kristiansen. He also assisted Alejandro Garnacho for a brilliant third goal, helping United secure their third win in four matches since the departure of Erik ten Hag as manager. The home fans serenaded Van Nistelrooy at the final whistle . The Dutchman can be pleased with the return of three wins and a draw from four games, even if United remain in the bottom half of the table. He now leaves Old Trafford after it has been confirmed that he won't form a part of the new manager's coaching staff.  Super Reds News Post Match Review: United 3 - 0 Leicester Fernandes shines for Ruud
Read more

PL News: Ten Hag sacked by Man United

-
Image
There has been a managerial change at Old Trafford. Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag due to the club's disappointing start to the season. Author - Olivia T Ten Hag's last match ended in a 2-1 defeat against West Ham , leaving the club in 14th place in the Premier League with only three wins from their first nine matches. The Red Devils are also 21st of 36 teams in the Europa League league stage, having drawn their three opening matches. Club sources from the club have reportedly suggested that this was a difficult decision but a unanimous one among all the key decision makers.  The club exercised a one-year extension in Ten Hag's contract after their FA Cup final win against Manchester City in May . However, just over three months later, he has been dismissed. United currently sit on 11 points after nine games, marking their second-lowest tally in the Premier League at this stage (only slightly better than the 10 points they had in the 2019-20 season)
Read more

EFL Cup: United progress after difficult few days

-
Image
Manchester United 5 - 2 Leicester City  Ruud van Nistelrooy began his tenure as Manchester United’s interim manager on a high, with his team cruising past Leicester to secure a spot in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Author - Olivia T Just two days after stepping in following Erik ten Hag's dismissal , Van Nistelrooy’s call for an exciting performance was more than delivered by his players. Casemiro got the party started with a stunning long-range strike and went on to score again before half-time. After an initial header rattled off both posts, the Brazilian reacted quickly to slot the ball in from eight yards out. Alejandro Garnacho contributed his fifth goal of the season , and captain Bruno Fernandes had a bit of luck with his free-kick, which deflected off Leicester’s James Justin and into the net. Defensively, United weren’t flawless. Some familiar issues allowed Bilal El Khannouss and Conor Coady to pull goals back for Leicester before the break. Coady’s finish, a firs
Read more