MX23RW : Wednesday, February 5 14:17:08| >> :600:196668764:196668764:

5 things to look out for in the Nations League

Spain and France are among those who could seal their qualification.

The Nations League has reached its fifth round of matches and there are a handful of sides who can seal qualification and promotion with positive results in their next games.

Among those are World champions France, while there are also a number of lower-ranked nations who are impressing in the new competition.

Here, Press Association Sport details five things to look out for in the Nations League this weekend.

Qualification

Spain's Sergio Ramos during a Nations League match
Spain's Sergio Ramos during a Nations League match (Nick Potts/PA)

Spain, Portugal and France can all qualify for the finals in June if they win in the next set of group matches.

Spain visit Croatia, a team they beat 6-0 at home, while Portugal travel to Italy. France could qualify if they beat the Netherlands in Rotterdam but the World Cup winners will be without big-name players such as Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Alexandre Lacazette after their withdrawals from the squad.

Kosovo in with a chance

Having only joined UEFA in 2016, Kosovo could be promoted from Group 3 of the Nations League's League D.

Kosovo would need to beat Malta away and hope Azerbaijan fail to beat the Faroe Islands to secure their promotion.

Luxembourg surprises

Scotland against Luxembourg in UEFA European Under 21's Qualifying
Scotland against Luxembourg in UEFA European Under 21's Qualifying (Danny Lawson/PA)

Luxembourg are the joint top-scorers in the competition along with Spain, although Luxembourg have played more games.

A win at home against Belarus would also secure an unlikely promotion for Luxembourg in a group that also contains Moldova and San Marino.

Gibraltar in with a chance

One of the competition's newest nations, having only been accepted in 2016, Gibraltar remain in the mix for possible qualification from League D.

Gibraltar have beaten Liechtenstein and Armenia in their campaign so far and will be hoping for a similar result when they host the latter on Friday.

Welsh hopes

Wales head coach Ryan Giggs (right) with Ben Davies after playing the Republic of Ireland
Wales head coach Ryan Giggs (right) with Ben Davies after playing the Republic of Ireland (Liam McBurney/PA)

A win for Wales against Denmark on Friday would secure their promotion to the top division of the competition, League A, and will have Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey available, despite their club struggles.

Chris Mepham and Ethan Ampadu also return to boost Wales while Ireland will be looking for wins to move them off bottom spot in the group.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Sonia Twigg, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '9c298571-6cf0-48c3-b2b5-ee4ec05e5427');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': '5 things to look out for in the Nations League'});

ID:341408: cacheID:341408:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10386:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
James McFadden celebrates scoring for Birmingham City against Arsenal on February 23, 2008.
Read Next:
James McFadden tells Scotland to forget fear and seize chance
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool23175156213556
2Arsenal24148249222750
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest24145540271347
4Chelsea24127547311643
5Manchester CityMan City24125748351341
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle24125742291341
7Bournemouth24117641281340
8Aston Villa2410773437-337
9Fulham249963632436
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2481063538-334
11Brentford2494114242031
12Crystal Palace247982830-230
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd2485112834-629
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs24831348371127
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham2476112946-1727
16Everton236892328-526
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2454153452-1819
18Leicester CityLeicester2445152553-2817
19Ipswich TownIpswich2437142249-2716
20Southampton2423191854-369


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!