Austria vs Haaland’s Norway

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On Thursday evening, the European (Site notre blog d’information) Union (UEFA) drew the Nations League groups for 2024 and 2025 in Paris. In Group 3 of League A, Germany will face old rivals Netherlands, Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina, European Championship group opponents. The theoretically very difficult draws expected, such as those of Group 2 with Italy, France, Belgium and the Israeli foreigner, did not materialize.

Austria are in League 2 in Group 3 as the top seed against Norway, star striker Erling Haaland, Slovenia and Kazakhstan. National coach Ralf Rangnick’s team will probably be the favorites there. Switzerland will face defending champions Spain, Denmark and Serbia in Group 4. Both the national team and the DFB team were in Group 3 of League A.

National coach Julian Nagelsmann and DFB sporting director Rudi Völler followed the draw on site at the Maison de la Mutualité. When the new season of the national competition begins in September, both will no longer be in office. Nagelsmann and Völler’s contracts expire after the European Championships at home this summer (June 14 to July 14).

News and history of the League of Nations

In the 2024/25 season, a quarter-final will be played for the first time in the Nations League, during which four of the 16 European starting places for the 2026 World Cup will be awarded. The four group winners of the A-League no longer automatically qualify for the top four nations finals this summer. The playoffs will take place with the group finalists in March 2025 and will be drawn in November.

But even this rule would have been enough for the national team to qualify for the first time in previous editions of the tournament. In the 2022/23 season, Nagelsmann’s predecessor Hansi Flick only finished third in the group. In 2020/21, with Joachim Löw, the DFB selection came second behind Spain, but what will be remembered above all is the 6-0 defeat against the Iberians in November 2020. In the first season 2018 /19, Germany came last and only in the even smaller group of three was saved from relegation by the subsequent increase.

Out of 16 matches so far, Germany have won just three, with four defeats and nine draws. The top scorer is Timo Werner, who joined Tottenham Hotspur this winter, with seven goals – in total, the national team conceded 29 more goals than they scored (24).

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