A significant advantage for 'Les Bleus'

Will I "get" to meet Denmark?

Spain, France, Germany, and Portugal are the top teams in their respective groups from Stage 1, and are therefore seeded teams. The remaining group consists of the second-placed teams from Stage 1: Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, and Croatia. According to the rules, teams from the same group in Stage 1 do not meet again in the quarter-finals. Therefore, Spain will not face Denmark – arguably the weakest team, in theory.

The French team (left) will not face Italy again in the quarter-finals.

According to the betting odds, all four top-ranked teams are contenders for the Nations League title this season, with virtually no difference: 7/2 (bet 2, win 7) for Spain; 4/1 for Germany and France; 9/2 for Portugal. Among the four second-placed teams, Italy is rated highest and Denmark lowest. While Spain cannot face Denmark again in the quarter-finals, France is similarly in the best position before the draw as they are guaranteed not to meet Italy again in the upcoming match. The seeded teams will have priority to play the second leg of the quarter-finals at home. UEFA will also conduct a draw to determine the predetermined draw numbers for the semi-finals.

The draw for the quarter-finals will take place last. Before that, UEFA will draw for the promotion/relegation play-offs. The two play-off matches for League C/D will be drawn first, followed by the four play-off matches for League B/C and the four play-off matches for League A/B. In the play-off matches, the higher-ranked team is seeded and will only face the lower-ranked team, with the second leg played at home. All play-off matches and the quarter-finals of League A will take place in March 2025 (the Nations League title race is only at the League A level).

WILL GERMANY BE CROWNED CROWNED THIS SEASON ?

This is the fourth season of the Nations League. The champions of the previous three seasons were Portugal (2018-2019), France (2020-2021), and Spain (2022-2023). The Netherlands, Spain, and Croatia were runners-up in those seasons. Interestingly, this is the first time Germany has advanced beyond the group stage of the Nations League (the other first time being Denmark).

There are also opinions suggesting that Germany will be particularly enthusiastic and highly motivated in the race for the championship, due to the aforementioned "first time" detail. Young coach Julian Nagelsmann is eager to revive the Mannschaft after a long period of rapid decline. He has gained considerable experience in his first time coaching in a major tournament (EURO 2024, with a not-so-bad record: only unfairly eliminated by Spain in the quarter-finals).

With true stars like Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, and dozens of new faces introduced by Nagelsmann, the Mannschaft is considered by observers to have "depth." Finally, once they reach the knockout stage, Germany consistently ranks as the world's number one team in terms of their outstanding ability: penalty shootouts. The strong teams in this season's Nations League are very evenly matched. In this situation, the Mannschaft's number one weapon becomes even more crucial.

If neither Germany nor Italy claim their first Nations League title, then this year's tournament will likely feature the first team to win the Nations League twice (though Croatia or Denmark are unlikely to achieve such a feat). Of course, Spain has the best hopes, but let's not forget Cristiano Ronaldo, who is always "addicted" to glory with the Portuguese national team.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nations-league-loi-the-khong-nho-cua-les-bleus-185241121151258739.htm