Uefa Nations League Matchday 4: What to look out for

Belgium are hoping to turn the tables on France, Netherlands face a trip to Germany without a key player, and Cristiano Ronaldo looks to keep scoring.

We are now halfway through the league phase of the 2024/25 Uefa Nations League and the 14 groups are beginning to take shape.

Here is a look at some of the biggest storylines in the fourth round of fixtures.

BELGIUM SEEK REVERSAL OF FORTUNES AGAINST FRANCE

Belgium kept themselves within touching distance of top spot thanks to their 2-2 draw away to Italy and can leapfrog Matchday 4 opponents France in Group A2 by beating Didier Deschamps' side in Brussels.

To do that, they will have to tick off the list of improvements that Domenico Tedesco outlined when they lost the reverse fixture 2-0 in September. "At the start we had intensity, and then we lost a bit of our edge," said the Belgium coach. "We didn’t defend on the front foot. We were not patient enough. We had them, but then we started to take too many risks."

France were handsome 4-1 winners in Israel last time out and Deschamps may well keep faith with his talented youngsters for this one. "Two players who came on, Mattéo Guendouzi and Bradley Barcola made the difference," he said. "I have a team that is a lot younger because of Antoine Griezmann's recent retirement and Kylian Mbappé not being there too. Through these kinds of matches, they can make progress."

NETHERLANDS FACE GERMANY WITHOUT VAN DIJK

Two European giants meet again on Monday as Germany and Netherlands look to go one better than the entertaining 2-2 draw they played out in Amsterdam in September. Stuttgart forward Deniz Undav scored for Germany that day and added a double in the 2-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Matchday 3 as Julian Nagelsmann's side moved onto seven points in the group.

"We have fun in the squad, everybody likes each other and there is a good vibe," Undav recently said, and Netherlands will have to be on top of their game to keep him and the rest of Germany's confident and dangerous attacking line quiet.

The Dutch will have to do so without talismanic centre-back Virgil van Dijk, who is suspended after being sent off for two yellow cards in their 1-1 draw with Hungary on Friday.

Fellow defender Denzel Dumfries, who scored his side's equaliser with a fine header, could be in line to take the captain's armband off Van Dijk in Munich, and the right-back was singled out for praise from his coach Ronald Koeman, who said: "Denzel is certainly a symbol of the tenacity of this team. He saves us tonight." Dumfries, who always seems to shine on the biggest stage, could have a huge role to play once again.

RONALDO LOOKS TO KEEP RUN GOING

There is not much new that can be said about Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo's phenomenal international scoring record, but remarkably the veteran still shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

The 39-year-old's goal in the 3-1 victory over Poland on Matchday 3 was his 133rd in total for his country, and he has now scored in each of the Seleção's 2024/25 Nations League games as they top Group A1.

"Cristiano is an asset; he's an incredible player," beamed coach Roberto Martínez. "In front of goal, he's very important and allows the team to have more chances because he's very clever at opening up spaces."

Attempting to stop Ronaldo will be a Scotland team who can consider themselves unfortunate to have lost all three of their matches in the section so far, despite scoring four times.

Following their latest 2-1 defeat to Croatia, coach Steve Clarke defiantly said: "The performance was good; we played well and we created chances, but I’m disappointed we didn’t get anything from it. I think we have to keep believing and keep pushing forward. Things will change." Will the Tartan Army's luck turn in Glasgow?

League A Matchday 4 fixtures

Monday 14 October

A2 Belgium v France

A2 Italy v Israel

A3 Bosnia and Herzegovina v Hungary

A3 Germany v Netherlands

Tuesday 15 October

A1 Poland v Croatia

A1 Scotland v Portugal

A4 Spain v Serbia

A4 Switzerland v Denmark

All kick-off times 8:45PM CAT (GMT+2)

ELSEWHERE

Wales' Brennan Johnson will attempt to score for an eighth game in a row for club and country when the Tottenham winger's side host Montenegro. Wales are looking to maintain their unbeaten run in Group B4 (W1 D2).

Andrej Kramarić, who scored in Croatia's 2-1 victory over Scotland on Saturday, will win his 100th cap for his country if he appears in Vatreni's game away to Poland.

FURTHER DATES

Knockout round play-off draw: 22 November 2024

Knockout round play-offs: 20-25 March 2025

League A quarterfinals: 20-25 March 2025

Final tournament: 4-8 June 2025

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