Italy are on the rebound with two straight wins, while Spain remain on the up as they go into the third Uefa Nations League matchweek.
Uefa.com takes a look at the most intriguing storylines ahead of the third round of fixtures.
LEAGUE A MATCHDAY 3 FIXTURES
Thursday 10 October
A2 Italy v Belgium
A2 Israel v France
Friday 11 October
A3 Bosnia and Herzegovina v Germany
A3 Hungary v Netherlands
Saturday 12 October
A1 Croatia v Scotland (18:00)
A1 Poland v Portugal
A4 Serbia v Switzerland
A4 Spain v Denmark
All kick-off times 20:45 CET unless stated.
Italy aiming for three wins from three
After a round of 16 elimination at Uefa EURO 2024, Luciano Spalletti's side have made a sparkling start in Group A2, and are looking for a third successive win as they meet Belgium in Rome.
Their best performance was a 3-1 win over France on Matchday 1, which had Spalletti feeling positive about the future of his side.
"We were able to show what we weren’t able to show in previous matches. Beyond the result, we want to continue in this way. This is the DNA of this group. This is a group that can give us fantastic results.”
Domenico Tedesco's Red Devils, meanwhile, are looking to end a long negative run against the Azzurri: they have not won a competitive game against Italy since May 1972 (D1 L4), most recently losing 2-1 in the 2021 Nations League third-place game.
GERMANY REBUILDING IN STYLE
Hosting EURO 2024 was the end of an era for Germany, the retirement of giants such as Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos meaning reconstruction work for coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Thus far, Group A3 has delivered encouragement: a 5-0 win against Hungary followed by a 2-2 draw in the Netherlands, in which Stuttgart's Deniz Undav marked his first start with a goal.
"A complicated finish but he did it brilliantly," said Nagelsmann.
The upcoming match in Zenica is the Germans' first competitive meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, for whom ex-Wolfsburg forward Edin Džeko remains a serious goal threat at age 38.
SPAIN WELCOME UPBEAT DENMARK
Speaking at Uefa's recent 14th Conference for National Team Coaches and Technical Directors, coach Luis de la Fuente put Spain's EURO 2024 triumph down to "work, work and more work", and his side continue to fight for each other in Group A4, having followed up a 0-0 draw in Serbia with a 4-1 win in Switzerland (despite being reduced to ten men after just 20 minutes).
On Matchday 3, they face another side not afraid of hard toil, with Denmark having won their first two games under new boss Lars Knudsen without conceding.
"We have an even more difficult game coming up," warned defender Rasmus Kristensen.
ELSEWHERE
Harry Kane marked his 100th England appearance with two goals on Matchday 2; can he find two more to take his international tally to 70 as Greece come to Wembley?
Georgia earned a huge amount of admirers at EURO 2024, and are riding high in Group B1, where they are aiming for a third straight win as they take on Ukraine in Poznań, Poland.
Sweden’s Viktor Gyökeres is one of four players on three Nations League goals so far ahead of a visit to Slovakia, but Benjamin Šeško tops the rankings having scored all four of Slovenia’s efforts so far. His side visit Erling Haaland-powered Norway on Matchday 3.
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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