When the UEFA Nations League was former two seasons ago, the aim was to replace pointless international friendlies with something meaningful – a competition with something palpable to play for. All European nations were divided into four leagues based on their rating to enable some competitive football to be played. And despite the scepticism from old-fashioned football fans – it worked. Of course, League A is the most interesting to the neutrals, with teams such as England, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Italy playing each other, showcasing the continent’s best players. But what about the rest? What is there to see in League B? Or C? Or D even?##EDITORS_CHOICE##These are the games that won’t be talked about in years to come. These are matches that no boy or girl dreams of playing in. There are precious few players there whose replica shirts you’d wear around the town. And yet, it wouldn’t be fair to dismiss any of them.In League B, there’s an intriguing match to be played in Belgrade. Fresh from signing for Manchester City, Erling Haaland and his Norwegian team travel to face ambitious Serbia, the team that finished top of their group ahead of Portugal to book their place in the World Cup finals. The home team, led by Dusan Tadic and Aleksandar Mitrovic plays in front of the home crowd for the first time since their famous win in Lisbon and will look to keep the feel-good factor on their side with the World Cup finals approaching quickly.International football on @ShowmaxKenya#UEFANationsLeague and #AFCONQualifiers will take center stage.Spain vs PortugalItaly Vs GermanyBelgium vs NetherlandsFrance vs DenmarkIvory Coast vs ZambiaMali vs CongoAlgeria vs Uganda 😂Senegal vs Benin#ShowmaxPro pic.twitter.com/40Y1qybgH4— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) June 2, 2022 The Norwegians have a powerful weapon in Haaland, but their lethal goalscorer won’t do them much good if their defence and midfield aren’t up to speed.League C offers the match between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, two very strange and complicated neighbours. Their languages are pretty much the same and there are also claims that they are in fact the same people who were forced to live in separate countries due to political decisions after World War II. On the pitch, however, their fortunes are very different lately. Bulgaria reached their peak in the 1994 World Cup when they boasted such talent as Hristo Stoichkov and Krasimir Balakov. Those days are long gone, however, and the Bulgarian national team hasn’t had a notable result in ages. Their opponents from North Macedonia, on the other hand, made it to their first big tournament in the last year’s European Championship. They knocked out Italy in the World Cup Qualifying play-off semis only to suffer heartbreak against Portugal. Their progress in recent years has been nothing short of amazing and they will try to prove that it wasn’t just a one-off when they meet the Bulgarians.League D features just one match today – the mouth-watering clash between Estonia and San Marino. Alright, we’ll admit it, it’s not really that exciting, that one. But hey, there should be a few goals in that one!UEFA NATIONS LEAGUELEAGUE C, ROUND 1Thursday19.00: (1.05) Georgia (13.0) Gibraltar (46.35)19.00: (3.80) Cyprus (3.10) Kosovo (2.21)19.00: (3.20) Bulgaria (2.95) Macedonia (2.55)21.45: (3.45) N.Ireland (2.90) Greece (2.45)Friday17.00: (2.60) Kazakhstan (2.95) Azerbaijan (3.00)21.45: (5.40) Belarus (3.60) Slovakia (1.70)Saturday19.00: (3.40) Lithuania (2.95) Luxembourg (2.40)21.45: (1.12) Turkey (9.00) Faroe I. (20.0)***odds are subject to change
