UEFA Nations League: Four takeaways from matchday three

The UEFA Nations League is halfway through the group stage and a lot has happened. Here are some takeaways from the past three days.

Holland is back (sort of)

League A matches were okay in matchday three. We started with a thrilling Portugal win over Poland and then got a SOTW (Snooze of the Week) type game between England and Croatia. Belgium beat Switzerland but the highlight from League A was the Netherlands 3-0 win over Germany in Amsterdam.

Holland got their first win against Germany in over 15 years with goals from Virgil van Dijk, Memphis Depay, and Georginio Wijnaldum to put the Dutch in second place in Group 1 behind France. After missing the last two major tournaments, this win is the biggest and best for the Netherlands since the 2014 World Cup and puts the Oranje back on the map.

The road to returning to a world powerhouse again is still a long journey with Ronald Koeman’s young squad still having a lot of work to do before getting back to being a top European team. But they have found a leader in defense with van Dijk and a confident Memphis Depay scoring goals for them. Staying in League A ahead of Germany is a real possibility now after this big victory.

Germany needs change

Die Mannschaft is at its lowest point as a team since 2004 with yet another loss in 2018. Toni Kroos’ dramatic free kick against Sweden was the last competitive goal Germany has scored. Joachim Low’s side hasn’t scored in their last three competitive matches and it is only going to get worse if a change isn’t made quickly.

Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer were underwhelming once again while Leroy Sane came off the bench for Emre Can and added a much needed attacking spark. The hole in this team is at striker with Schalke forward Mark Uth starting up top today, despite not scoring once in the Bundesliga this season. The entire system needs an overhaul with an injection of new players and probably a new manager cause right now, Germany could get relegated to League B with two games to play.

England’s midfield is dry

Gareth Southgate made a great decision bringing James Maddison and Jadon Sancho into the squad. The midfield trio against Croatia was Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, and Ross Barkley. England had six shots all game and Sancho played 12 minutes off the bench while Maddison sat all game.

These guys were put on the squad for a reason, they can create chances. Southgate should absolutely start them against Spain on Monday to keep England’s chances of making the final four alive and spicing up this midfield that is dry.

Leagues C & D are awesome

League A and B are lacking some drama in this inaugural Nations League season. A high majority of the drama is coming from the two lower divisions where the teams understand the stakes of this competition. Finishing first in your group not only guarantees promotion but gives the nation a second-chance for Euro 2020 qualification late in 2019 if needed.

The matches in these leagues were jammed packed with upsets, drama, and history. It started with Israel’s upset over Scotland as Serbia beat rivals Montenegro 2-0 in Podgorica on Thursday. League D had a crazy Saturday with Georgia getting their third straight win after beating Andorra 3-0 and Gibraltar getting their FIRST competitive win ever, beating Armenia 1-0.

The lower league teams are using every ounce of effort in these games and it’s making this whole competition so much better from the top to the very bottom. Matchday four will be full of heavyweight matches like Poland-Italy, Spain-England, and France-Germany. The better matches might be in Leagues C & D. Watch out for Israel-Albania, Romania-Serbia, Finland-Greece, and Faroe Islands-Kosovo.