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Timo Werner (left) meets his Leipzig teammate Willi Orban in the Nations League
Photo:
ATTILA KISBENEDEK / AFP
The 2022 World Cup kicks off in less than two months with the game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador (November 20, 5 p.m. CET).
In the current international break, two Nations League match days are on the agenda in Europe.
Nations League - what kind of competition is that again?
Here are answers to the most important questions:
Who is the German national team playing against?
Two games are scheduled for the team of national coach Hansi Flick.
On Friday (8.45 p.m.) Germany will welcome the surprising leaders from Hungary in Leipzig, next Monday (8.45 p.m.) the Nations League group stage will end against England at Wembley Stadium.
54 of the 55 member associations of Uefa – Russia is excluded from all competitions of the European association because of the war of aggression in Ukraine – take part in four divisions of the European Nations League.
For many teams it is still a question of promotion or relegation, the DFB team has a good chance of taking part in the finals next summer for the first time.
Hungary are currently top of the table after two wins against England, but Germany can overtake them with a head-to-head win.
So far there has been a 5-2 home win against the Squadra Azzurra after three 1-1 draws against Italy, England and Hungary.
For the upcoming tasks, Flick has to do without captain Manuel Neuer and Leon Goretzka (both Corona) and the injured Marco Reus.
Who is broadcasting the two games on TV?
The home game against Hungary will be broadcast on ZDF. In addition to presenter Jochen Breyer, Christoph Kramer (Borussia Mönchengladbach) will have his say as an expert.
Béla Réthy will comment on the game.
On Monday, the broadcasting rights will move to RTL, then Marco Hagemann and Steffen Freund will guide through the game as co-commentators.
Why is winning the group so important to the national coach?
The four group winners from Division A will qualify for the Final Four (June 14-18, 2023), the venue will be decided when the participants are determined.
In addition to Hungary, the other table leaders Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands have the best starting positions.
For the German national team, the year 2023 will be a kind of in-between year, because as the host of Euro 2024 there are no qualifying games on the program.
"It would be the only two competitive games we would have then," said Flick ahead of the game against Hungary.
"It would therefore be all the better, all the more important, to make it to the Final Four."
In the third Nations League edition, it would be the first participation in the finals for the DFB.
In 2018, relegation after two draws and two defeats against France and the Netherlands was only prevented because Uefa had increased the number of participants in Division A for the second edition and there was no sporting relegation.
Things went better in 2020, but the 0:6 in Spain prevented them from winning the group.
What does the Nations League have to do with the EM 2024?
The final tables of the Nations League are converted into an overall table by Uefa, which is decisive for the classification of the pots in the run-up to the European Championship qualification.
The ten qualifying groups will be drawn on October 9th and will be played from March to November 2023.
20 of the 24 European Championship starting places will be awarded in this way, the last three participants (Germany as host has already qualified) will be determined in a playoff tournament (March 21 to 26, 2024).
Twelve nations will take part, the respective group winners of the Nations League Divisions A, B and C are eligible to start.
Since it is to be expected that most of the top nations from Division A have already secured a place through their European Championship qualification groups, teams that are placed worse will move up.
This is how Hungary, Slovakia, Scotland and North Macedonia qualified for the EM 2021.
Which teams are threatened with relegation?
With France and England, two big nations could get caught in Division A.
The French (2 points) are still waiting for their first win after four games, the home game against Austria (4) in the evening could be decisive.
On the last day of the game, the Equipe Tricolore will play in Denmark, Austria has home advantage against Croatia.
England are under even more pressure in the German group and if coach Gareth Southgate's team lose in Italy, relegation is inevitable.
In the other two groups, Wales and Switzerland have the worst starting positions.
Why is Belarus allowed to continue participating in Uefa competitions?
A few days ago, the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser (SPD), called on the European association to exclude Belarus from all football competitions.
Faeser had informed Uefa President Aleksander Čeferin in a letter.
Belarus is a major supporter of Russia in the war against Ukraine.
In the Nations League, Belarus is threatened with relegation from Division C.
After the meeting of the executive committee last Tuesday, Uefa only announced that the suspension of the Russian association that had been decided since February is valid and 53 of the 55 member associations are taking part in qualifying for the 2024 European Championship.
Belarus was not explicitly mentioned, but Faeser's letter does not appear to have had any impact.
This is handled differently in handball and other sports, since Belarus is not only classified as a supporter there.
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