England face nightmare group in Nations League draw

England face nightmare group in Nations League draw

The draw was made in Nyon, Switzerland, today, Thursday, December 16, for the UEFA Nations League 2022-23. It made for some very interesting pairings in the resulting groups.

England have what is probably, on paper, the most difficult task, ending up in Group A3, along with Germany, Italy, and Hungary. This pitches Gareth Southgate‘s men against the Italians who defeated them in last July’s Euro 2020 final at Wembley. It also sees the renewal of the old rivalry with the Germans.

The Republic of Ireland and Scotland, unfortunately, ended up in Group B1 together, while Wales had a fight on their hands in Group A4, facing Holland, Belgium, and Poland.

In Group C2, Northern Ireland are paired up with Cyprus/Estonia, Kosovo, and Greece, a draw which manager Ian Baraclough must look upon as favourable, at least.

All 55 UEFA member associations were included in today’s draw. Leagues A, B and C all have 16 teams, which were each drawn into four groups of four for the league phase. The remaining seven teams, in League D, were split into two groups, one of four and the other of three.

Here is the full draw:

League A draw

• Group A1: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, France
• Group A2: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain
• Group A3: Hungary, England, Germany, Italy
• Group A4: Wales, Poland, Holland, Belgium

League B draw

• Group B1: Armenia, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Ukraine
• Group B2: Albania, Israel, Russia, Iceland
• Group B3: Montenegro, Romania, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Group B4: Slovenia, Serbia, Norway, Sweden

League C draw

• Group C1: Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Turkey
• Group C2: Cyprus/Estonia, Kosovo, Greece, Northern Ireland
• Group C3: Kazakhstan/Moldova, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Slovakia
• Group C4: Gibraltar, Georgia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria

League D draw

• Group D1: Latvia, Andorra, Kazakhstan/Moldova, Liechtenstein
• Group D2: San Marino, Cyprus/Estonia, Malta

Fixtures will be played as follows:

• Matchdays 1 and 2: June 2-8, 2022
• Matchdays 3 and 4: June 8-14, 2022
• Matchdays 5 and 6: September 22-27, 2022
• Semi-finals: June 14 and 15, 2023
• Final and third-place match: June 18, 2023, as reported by uefa.com.

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