Across a Sunday shaped by the early contours of the Nations League, Belgrade and Copenhagen take the first turn before the evening carries the competition west and north to Germany and Norway. The second matchday has begun with Lithuania and Azerbaijan drawing 1-1 in League D, while League A brings four fixtures that could quickly alter two tightly balanced groups.
Belgrade tests Xavi’s Netherlands
At 18:00, Serbia host the Netherlands at the Rajko Mitić Stadium, the ground often known as the Little Maracanã. It is the first away assignment for Xavi Hernández as Netherlands coach after his side opened with a 1-1 draw against Germany, a performance that suggested they might have deserved more than a point.
Netherlands begin with Bart Verbruggen in goal, behind Denzel Dumfries, Jan Paul van Hecke, Virgil van Dijk and Micky van de Ven. Ryan Gravenberch and Joey Veerman form the midfield base, with Tijjani Reijnders further forward, while Crysencio Summerville, Mexx Meerdink and Cody Gakpo make up the attack.
Serbia have selected Vanja Milinković-Savić; Kosta Nedeljković, Srđan Babić, Strahinja Pavlović and Aleksa Terzić; Nemanja Gudelj and Saša Lukić; Andrija Živković, Stankov and Sergej Milinković-Savić; with Dejan Joveljć leading the line.
Denmark meet Wales at the same time in Copenhagen. The Danish side start with Jørgensen; Kristensen, Andersen, Provstgaard and Mæhle; Hjulmand and Højbjerg; Isaksen, Damsgaard and Dorgu; and Højlund. Wales name Ward in goal, with Roberts, Mepham, Davies and Williams in defence; Ampadu and Savae in midfield; and Johnson, James, Thomas and Moore ahead of them.
The later League A programme, at 20:45, sends Germany to Greece and Portugal to Norway. After one round, Greece lead their section with three points, followed by Germany and the Netherlands on one each, while Serbia have none. Norway and Portugal both have three points in the other group; Denmark and Wales are still awaiting their first points.
- 18:00: Denmark v Wales — League A
- 18:00: Serbia v Netherlands — League A
- 18:00: Austria v Kosovo — League B
- 18:00: Gibraltar v Andorra — League D
- 20:45: Germany v Greece — League A
- 20:45: Norway v Portugal — League A
- 20:45: Israel v Ireland — League B
Madrid and Valladolid in Spain’s 2027 plan
Spain have also moved to bring a future Nations League finale to the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish federation has submitted its bid to UEFA to stage the final phase of the current competition’s edition from 9 to 13 June 2027.
Rafael Louzán, president of the federation, confirmed the application after Spain’s victory over England at Wembley. The proposal puts forward Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu and Valladolid’s Nuevo José Zorrilla as the venues for both semi-finals, the final and the third-place match.
For now, though, attention remains on the first Sunday of the new campaign: a Dutch project arriving in Belgrade, Portugal travelling to Norway, and a group table in which a single afternoon can still change nearly everything.
