England drawn in Nations League group with Spain

November 7, 2024 ndowd

England have been drawn in a Nations League group alongside holders and world champions Spain, with Belgium and Portugal making up the other two spots.

The last time England faced Spain was in the 2023 World Cup final, where La Furia Roja won 1-0 to be crowned world champions. They followed up their triumph in Australia by securing the inaugural Nations League title, when they beat France 2-0 in the final.

“It’s an exciting draw. We have Spain, a top, world-class team, which I think is exciting because it’s another opportunity to play at that level,” England manager Sarina Wiegman said.

England also face Belgium who were drawn into the reigning European Champions’ group in the previous Nations League campaign. There, Belgium secured a 3-2 win over the Lionesses in a surprise twist following England’s 1-0 win in their home leg.

“It’s really good that we play Belgium because in the last Nations League, we lost when we played them away and we really underperformed. We can prove to ourselves now that we can do much better than that in the two games. I’m happy with that one, they’re tough,” Wiegman said.

The last time England faced Portugal was during the World Cup warm-up friendly at Stadium MK, where the sides were locked level in a 0-0 draw. Wiegman called Portugal, who debuted in the 2023 World Cup, “talented” and is excited to face the side once again.

“We played them before we went to the World Cup, and we drew with them. We had a lot of the ball but we couldn’t score and they were very dangerous on the counter-attack. They have a lot of technical players,” Wiegman said.

“There are different opponents, and I’m really looking forward to it because we’ll be challenged in different areas of the game. And of course we’ll give them challenges too.”

The Nations League spans international camps in February, May and June before the start of the 2025 Euros in Switzerland in July, with two fixtures to be played each month. Spain and England have already earned a place in the summer tournament, with Belgium and Portugal set for the final round of playoffs at the end of November.

England failed to reach the finals in 2023, finishing second in their group behind Netherlands. Their showing in the tournament saw them miss out on a spot at this year’s Paris Olympics.

Also in League A, Germany are in a group with Netherlands, Austria and Scotland. France’s group features Iceland, Norway and Switzerland while Italy have been drawn with with Denmark, Sweden and Wales.

Nations League draw:

League A

Group A1: Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Scotland
Group A2: France, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland
Group A3: Spain, England, Belgium, Portugal
Group A4: Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Wales

League B

Group B1: Poland, Northern Ireland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Romania
Group B2: Republic of Ireland, Turkey, Slovenia, Greece
Group B3: Finland, Serbia, Hungary, Belarus
Group B4: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Croatia, Albania