NATIONS LEAGUE ROUND-UP

Sebastian Zucchet

The group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League has come to a close. In the middle of the campaign, I wrote an article talking about the studs and duds of the tournament so far, and since the tournament has finished, let's take a look at the winners and losers.

Winners

The Netherlands

The dutch went undefeated in their League A campaign and a win on the final matchday against rivals Belgium sealed their place in the semi finals of the tournament. This new-look dutch team under Louis Van Gaal only conceded six goals in six games and boasted the joint best record of all 54 teams in the Nations League. If they keep this positive form going into the World Cup, they could be a team to watch out for.

Hungary

Hungary were once again given no chance in the group of death, just like at Euro 2020, but they looked past the doubts and finished an impressive second in a group with 10 World Cups between the other three teams in the group.

They dominated England twice, beating them 1-0 in Budapest and then pumping them 4-0 in England. They also recorded a win and a draw against Germany but ultimately fell to Italy twice meaning they came second. They will be in pot 1 for Euro 2024 qualifying and showed the world that they are to never be doubted again.

Scotland

Scotland have been promoted to League A for the first time and they did it in a dominant style. The heartbreak of the World Cup playoff loss must’ve motivated them because they won four games, drawing one, and losing one. They beat Ukraine, Ireland, and Armenia at home and scored eleven goals while only conceding five.

They faced adversity as they had to deal with injuries for Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, and Scott McTominay being suspended for the final match. They are in the second pot for the Euro 2024 qualifying draw which is a huge step for Scottish football, and the future is looking promising.

Israel

A surprise promotion to league A is Israel. They were in a group of three teams that all had the capability of promotion but Israel stood out and showed the continuing progression and the Israeli national team. A team to look out for in 2024.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg were two points off of promotion to League B, and if they held on against Turkiye, we would have seen a country with only 632,275 people competing with the likes of England and Wales. The strides this team has made in the past three years has been nothing short of a miracle, and we were oh so close to seeing a fairytale come to life.

Kazakhstan

Probably the best story to come out of this edition of the Nations League is Kazakhstan winning promotion over the likes of Slovakia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus. They only lost one game but it was after promotion was confirmed.

Their home record was outstanding and the fact they came first through pure domination with a team where every player plays in the Kazakh Premier League is incredible and encouraging stuff. Will they qualify for Euro 2024 with a possible playoff spot in their back pocket?

Georgia

Georgia are promoted to the League B, are on an eleven match winning streak, and have one of the most exciting prospects in world football, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. What's not to be excited about for Georgia fans? Georgia posted the joint best record with The Netherlands, amassing 16 points from their six games. Kvaratskhelia is taking his nation to new heights.

Losers

England

An embarrassing campaign from England see’s them relegated to League B, and fans are calling for manager Gareth Southgate to be sacked. The “Three Lions” had zero wins, three draws, and three loses.

They only managed to score two goals from open play, and lost 4-0 to Hungary, one of their most embarrassing losses of all time. Not a good look going into the World Cup.

France

The reigning World Champions were merely relegated with England but a cagey win at home to Austria saved them from the ultimate embarrassment. That was their one and only win in what was a very mediocre campaign. Not helping their case in beating the “Champions Curse” at the upcoming World Cup where they look to defend their title.

Sweden

Sweden had a terrible campaign seeing back to back relegations as they now ended up in league C, losing to Serbia, Norway, and Slovenia. They are on a five game winless run, and have really struggled since losing to Poland in the World Cup playoff final. Sweden’s golden era is coming to an end.