Nations League, Nations League C play Faroe Islands-Turkey, Luxembourg-Lithuania, Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan and Slovakia-Belarus: news and predictions
It is verdict time in the Nations League. The final day will define the picture of the promoted and relegated – as well, of course, as the qualifiers for next June’s Final Four – in the various leagues of the UEFA competition that opened its doors in 2018. In this post we will analyse the four League C challenges to be played on Sunday 25 September. In Group 1, Stefan Kuntz’s Turkey are already sure of promotion to League B: a walk in the park for Calhanoglu and his teammates, indispensable to quickly forget the failure to qualify for Qatar 2022. On Thursday, however, they were in danger of suffering their first defeat in four games at the hands of a surging Luxembourg side, who were only caught (3-3) in the final minutes.
Motivation will be in abundance against the Faroe Islands, who were already 4-0 winners in the first leg. Another wide victory is probable, in which the islanders could also find the way to the goal. The other challenge between Luxembourg and Lithuania, the latter relegated to League D, is also irrelevant to the classification. The Luxembourgers have confirmed their progress in this Nations League and could end on a high note by beating the Baltics.
Everything was also settled in Group 3, where Kazakhstan surprisingly won. It was a historic feat for Magomed Adiev’s men, who dominated their group by scoring 13 points. In the last round, however, they will be in danger of conceding something at home to Gianni De Biasi’s Azerbaijan, fresh from an important success over Slovakia. Skriniar and his team-mates will have no choice but to lick their wounds: once their promotion plans fail, they will try to save face by beating bottom-of-the-table Belarus.
Nations League: possible winners
- Luxembourg (in Luxembourg-Lithuania, 8.45pm)
- Azerbaijan or draw (in Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan, 18:00)
- Slovakia (in Slovakia-Belarus, 18:00)
The match with at least one goal per team
- Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan, 6pm
Nations League: matches with at least three goals in total
- Faroe Islands-Turkey, 20:45