Don't know if you have noticed, but it is an international break!
This week sees the climax of the first ever group stage of the Nations League. And what a tournament it has been. From the continued failure of Germany all the way down to competitive wins for Gibraltar and Kosovo, there has been a lot of good games and excitement for all.
So where are we with it?
LEAGUE A
Group 1 - France can seal their place in the finals by avoiding defeat to the Netherlands on Friday. A Dutch win will keep their hopes alive, while also relegating Germany.
Group 2 - Iceland have already been relegated. Belgium and Switzerland share top spot, with them meeting next week to decide the group. Belgium, though, play Iceland first, giving them the chance to establish a huge advantage.
Group 3 - Portugal are in a good position to win this group, ahead of Saturdays game with Italy. The Italians are 2 points behind, but having only Saturdays game left. Portugal face already relegated Poland next week in the groups final game.
Group 4 - Spain and Croatia play tonight, in a game that could see Spain win the group or Croatia throw it wide open. A draw opens the door for England to win the group, but will also be in danger of relegation regardless of tonights result. England and Croatia face off on Sunday in a relegation decider, that could also decide on group winners!
LEAGUE B
Group 1 - Ukraine have already won promotion and secured a finals place.
Group 2 - Sweden are bottom, but with 2 games left can still win the group. They face Turkey on Saturday, then Russia next week. Turkey cannot win the group.
Group 3 - Bosnia have a 6 point lead over Austria, with Austria having one fixture more remaining. Northern Ireland cannot win the group, so are fighting to avoid relegation.
Group 4 - Denmark face Wales tomorrow, with the winner taking the group. A draw would leave Denmark needing to beat Ireland, who themselves look like being relegated.
LEAGUE C
Group 1 - Israel (6pts), Scotland and Albania (3pts each) all have a chance of winning the group or being relegated. Scotland have the advantage of 2 games left.
The rest of the groups are 4 teams, so 2 games left for every team...
Group 2 - Finland just need a point to win this group. They face Greece and then Hungary. Hungary and Estonia cannot win the group, and Greece can still be relegated.
Group 3 - Norway and Bulgaria lead the group, while Cyprus can still win it. Slovenia are fighting against relegation.
Group 4 - Serbia, Montenegro and Romania all still have a good chance of winning the group. Lithuania will be relegated.
LEAGUE 4
Group 1 - Georgia have won this group.
Group 2 - Luxembourg lead the group, but all to play for for Belarus and Moldova. San Marino are pointless.
Group 3 - Kosovo lead the way, but Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands can still win it.
Group 4 - All 4 teams can still win the group, but Macedonia lead the way. Gibraltar are the surprise team, winning both their ties in October to give them a shot at promotion. Armenia and Lichtenstein are the others.
Romelu Lukaku and Aleksander Mitrovic head the goalscoring charts with 4 apiece.
Nations League...
posted on 15/11/18
comment by Cinciwolf---so glad I wasn't careful what I wished for!! (U11551)
posted 39 seconds ago
Been a big success in my opinion.
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Agreed, it makes the international break far less painful than it would have been otherwise.
posted on 15/11/18
comment by Cinciwolf---so glad I wasn't careful what... (U11551)
posted 1 minute ago
Been a big success in my opinion.
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I agree. Some good, competitive games at the top end. Some competitive football, and rare successes, at the bottom end.
posted on 15/11/18
As far as I can make out, if Croatia and Spain draw and England beat Croatia, then England win the group on away goals.
If Spain win tonight, then Croatia beat England, England are relegated on H2H.
Those seem to be the permutations if points are level in Englands group.
posted on 15/11/18
Been a success apart from every game being on Sky...
posted on 15/11/18
Going to ROI v NI this evening. Last game before we unite the clans
posted on 15/11/18
Good for the smaller teams to play competitive games against each other. Could help them long term to develop players and tactics that aren't just about damage limitation.
posted on 15/11/18
Been following the Luxembourg story with interest. Biggest game in their history tonight. Win and they qualify for the play-offs, pretty amazing for a country that didn't win for a decade not so long ago.
posted on 15/11/18
Don't really think the Luxembourg story is that much of a big deal or significant when compared to say Kosovo.
Luxembourg have improved greatly over the last decade and have beaten several mid level european sides in recent years including Greece, N Ireland, Hungary and Slovakia.
posted on 15/11/18
Kosovo are pretty decent tbf, and have a good pool of players.
Gibraltar winning twice is the real big shock for me, tbh.
posted on 15/11/18
Yeah Kosovo are obviously better than their first Qualifying campaign showed but the fact they have only been about for 4-5 years makes this pretty awesome for them.
And yeah Gibraltar beating Armenia in Armenia is quite an upset, many better sides have gone there and failed.