Nations League draw: England will face Belgium, Iceland and Denmark

On Jun 18, 2020

England have dodged the proverbial ‘group of death’ at the next UEFA Nations League tournament after drawing Iceland, Denmark and Belgium in the group stages.

They faced Roberto Martinez’s Belgium side twice at the 2018 World Cup, once at the end of the group phase and again in the third-place play-off, losing on both occasions.

They are due to face the Danes in a friendly later this month, coronavirus-permitting, while they famously lost to Iceland in Nice at Euro 2016.

Luis Figo pulled England out of the bowl and they will face Belgium, Iceland and Denmark

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE GROUPS

LEAGUE A

Group 1: Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy, Holland

Group 2: Iceland, Denmark, Belgium, England

Group 3: Croatia, Sweden, France, Portugal

Group 4: Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Switzerland

LEAGUE B

Group 1: Romania, Northern Ireland, Norway, Austria

Group 2: Israel, Slovakia, Scotland, Czech Republic

Group 3: Hungary, Turkey, Serbia, Russia

Group 4: Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Finland, Wales

LEAGUE C

Group 1: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Montenegro

Group 2: Armenia, Estonia, North Macedonia, Georgia

Group 3: Moldova, Slovenia, Kosovo, Greece

Group 4: Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Belarus, Albania

LEAGUE D

Group 1: Malta, Andorra, Latvia, Faroe Islands

Group 2: San Marino, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar

Gareth Southgate reflected: ‘Some good matches, it’s nice to play different teams in competitive games. All of the groups are quite tough, and we have a really good game against Belgium.

‘Teams like Germany and Croatia in that other pot could have been tougher, but that’s the Nations League. In September, October, November period its important to have competitive matches. We got proficient against teams defending deep in Euro qualifying and these matches will be a much greater test of our all-round game.’

France and Croatia, who met in the 2018 World Cup final, were paired together in Group A3 while Spain and Germany go head to head in A4.

The group winners from League A will contest the Nations League finals in June 2021, with one of them being selected to host it.

Jadon Sancho, Tammy Abraham and Co cannot have too many complaints about the draw

The competition also provides a back door to qualification for the 2022 World Cup.

The two highest-ranked Nations League group winners who do not either win their World Cup qualifying group or finish as runners-up will enter a 12-team play-off to secure the final three European places at the finals in Qatar.

Serbia and Russia were drawn together in the same group in League B while Wales meet again in the tournament.

Ryan Giggs’ men will take on the Irish in Group 4 of League B in UEFA’s competition, which was a big success in its inaugural edition in 2018-19.

The sides met in that first competition too, with Wales winning both encounters.

England will go in as favourites against Denmark and Iceland but Belgium will be tough

The other sides in Group B4 are first-time Euro finalists…