The UEFA Nations League campaign continues on Friday evening when another set of countries get their new season up and running with the intention of reaching the top of whichever group they are in and receive the rewards which go with it.
We have a competitive looking evening of football on show where the likes of France and Italy headline the action but where Wales will be competing to start a new era so there is much to enjoy over the course of the day.
League A
We only have one group on show in League A on Friday and that is Group 2 which it has to be said looks a fantastic one with three of the more established nations in Europe in it. Two of those meet in one of the matches when France look to put their Euro 2024 semi-final defeat behind them when they host an Italy side who had a terrible tournament in Germany. Belgium were another who let themselves down at the Euros and they will be out to show that they are better than that when they host an Israel side who compete in the top tier for the first time.
League B
We have two groups getting up and running in League B on Friday and the action actually begins in Group 3 where we have the early kick off between Kazakhstan and a Norway side for whom it is about time they start delivering the goods at this level. The other match in that group pits two sides who had positive Euro 2024 campaigns against each other when Slovenia host Austria. Group 4 is the other one to get started on Friday night and it does so with Craig Bellamy taking charge of Wales for the first time when Turkey are the visitors to Cardiff. Iceland go up against Montenegro in the other match in this group.
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League C
We are back to just the one group in League C on Friday with four sides getting their aim of being promoted to the second tier underway. We have an earlier kick off which sees the two minnows in the section meeting when Lithuania and Cyprus face each other in a game both will know they can’t really afford to lose if they are to be competitive in this group. The other match sees Kosovo hosting a Romania outfit who will be looking to kick on after reaching the knockout stages of Euro 2024.
Betting
I’ll take two over the course of the night and in the top flight it is hard to ignore France when they go up against an Italy side who looked dismal at Euro 2024 and who look to have binned a few off and are looking ahead to the future in this campaign, which many sides choose to do immediately after a tournament, especially one in which they have failed. France have one or two that they have decided not to go with but they haven’t touched a defence which looked tough as teak in Germany and they have freshened up the front line with the added class of Michael Olise in the ranks now. Italy looked an aging side at the Euros, especially in the centre of the park and the squad that they have picked looks a little gun shy here. I don’t see them getting a result out of a French side with a bit of a point to prove.
The other bet I like is for Turkey to beat Wales, although given that they are away from home I’ll play them without the draw in play. It will be interesting to see what Wales get from Craig Bellamy. He never struck anyone in his playing days as someone who could be coaching an international side not long after but he is a passionate Welshman and has been the assistant to Vincent Kompany for the last few years. He’ll do well to adopt that style with an average set of Wales players but generally the Welsh have prospered from passion from within and Bellamy will bring that. The absence of Daniel James due to injury will seriously hinder Bellamy though. Turkey looked a really good side at the Euros and while their defence was exposed, the fact that Caglar Soyuncu is fit now should help them real with the aerial threat of Kieffer Moore and if they can keep him quiet there is more than enough at the other end for Turkey to win the game.
Tips
Back France (-1AH) to beat Italy for a 3/10 stake at 2.12 with Unibet
Back Turkey (0AH) to beat Wales for a 3/10 stake at 1.86 with Bet365
