By Daily Sports on December 17, 2021

England were handed a tough draw for the 2022-23 Uefa Nations League after they were grouped alongside European champions Italy and Germany in the draw held on Thursday.

England beat Germany in the knockout stages of the Euros earlier this year but lost to Italy in the final in a penalty shootout at Wembley. England will also face Hungary, who they played twice in the World Cup qualifiers.

Nations League champions France were grouped with Denmark, Croatia and Austria, who gained promotion to League A in the last edition of the competition. Runners-up Spain will play their Iberian neighbours Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Belgium, the world’s top-ranked side, face the Netherlands, Poland and Wales. Belgium and Wales met twice in the World Cup qualifiers, while Wales also famously beat them at Euro 2016.

“The big one is Belgium. Off the back of a great performance against them last month, everyone will be talking about that,” Wales manager Robert Page was quoted as saying by the BBC. Wales drew 1-1 with Belgium last month but lost the reverse fixture.

“They’re an outstanding outfit but we’ve proved we’re prepared to go toe-to-toe with them,” added Page.

Scotland and Ukraine, who meet in the World Cup playoff semifinals in March, will play each other three times next year after also being drawn in the same Nations League group. Sweden, Ukraine, Iceland and Bosnia & Herzegovina were relegated to League B, while Wales, Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic were promoted as group winners in the last campaign.

The latest group stage will be wrapped up before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while the semis and final for the top-tier League A will be played in June 2023.

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE 2022-23 DRAW

Group A1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria

Group A2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic

Group A3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary

Group A4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

Group B1: Ukraine, Scotland, Ireland, Armenia

Group B2: Iceland, Russia, Israel, Albania

Group B3: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland, Romania, Montenegro

Group B4: Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia

Group C1: Turkey, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Faroe Islands

Group C2: Northern Ireland, Greece, Kosovo, Cyprus/Estonia

Group C3: Slovakia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan/Moldova

Group C4: Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar

Group D1: Latvia, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan/Moldova

Group D2: San Marino, Malta, Cyprus/Estonia

Matchdays 1-4: June 2-14, 2022

Matchdays 5-6: Sept. 22-27, 2022

Semifinals: June 14-15, 2023

Final and third-place match: June 18, 2023 (Reuters)

Source Daily Sports

Posted December 17, 2021

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