The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Croatia will battle it out later this week to claim the 2023 Nations League title with all four teams having something to prove.
The Netherlands, runners-up in 2019, are marginal 2/1 favourites to win the top prize after landing the rights to host the event, with the games set to be staged in Rotterdam and Enschede.
Nations League Winner Odds
Team | Odds |
Netherlands | 2/1 |
Spain | 5/2 |
Italy | 3/1 |
Croatia | 7/2 |
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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There will be a new name on the trophy this year, with previous winners Portugal and France failing to qualify, and 5/2 shots Spain will be hoping to go one better than their loss to the French in the final two years ago.
Italy finished third as hosts in the finals in 2021 and are 3/1 to claim the top prize, while debutants Croatia are the 7/2 outsiders to pick up their first-ever international honour.
Dutch Starved of Success
Croatia have been drawn against the Netherlands in the semi-finals and the pressure is on the host to deliver what would be only their second international title.
Euro 88 remains the Oranje’s sole honour, but they’ve gone close either side of that one success, reaching three World Cup finals, while they made the final of the inaugural Nations League in 2019, losing the decider 1-0 to Portugal.
Ronald Koeman was in charge of the Dutch team the last time they reached the Nations League final and after a brief stint as Barcelona boss, he’s now back at the helm. He inherits a star-studded squad previously managed by Louis van Gaal that went out of the World Cup to Argentina at the quarter–final stage.
Van Gaal’s men had previously made light work of their Nations League group, winning five out of six matches to finish top of a section that also contained Poland, Belgium and Wales.
Memphis Depay was the Netherlands’ topscorer in the group stage but will miss the finals through injury.
Koeman is confident they can cope without Depay given the presence of Cody Gakpo, Donyell Malen, Xavi Simons and the like, but a 4-0 hammering by France in a recent Euro 2024 qualifier has dented faith in the Dutch.
Gvardiol Absense a Blow for Croats
A semi-final draw against Croatia is not ideal for the Netherlands either with the Vatreni proving to be a capable tournament side at the World Cup, finishing third in Qatar.
The Nations League finals could be 37-year-old Luka Modric’s international swansong, amongst others, and they impressed in the group stages, winning away in Denmark and France as they topped their section.
Croatia may prove overpriced at 7/2 to win the Nations League, but their chances of winning have been damaged by an injury to star defender Josko Gvardiol.
Without the RB Leipzig man marshalling the backline, the Croats look a little more vulnerable to the pace of Netherlands.
De la Fuente Keen to Start a New Chapter
The other semi-final throws together Italy and Spain, who met at the same stage of the 2021 Nations League finals.
La Roja would win that particular clash 2-1 and are 5/4 to get the better of the Azzurri once more in the last-four encounter.
Plenty has changed since the teams last met, not least the coaching staff. Luis Enrique was shown the door after a second consecutive round-of-16 exit from a World Cup with former Under 21 boss Luis de la Fuente named his successor.
De la Fuente is eager to put his stamp on the team and as a result, just six members of the squad that went to the 2021 Nations League finals have been selected for this year’s decider.
Spain are a work in progress, one still searching for a goalscoring number nine, and have produced a mixed bag in the early days of de la Fuente’s reign, beating Norway 3-0 but losing 2-0 to Scotland in March’s European Championship qualifiers.
Italy out to prove they are a force to be reckoned with
Spain will be missing midfield starlet Pedri for the finals and his absence is a big blow for a third successive semi-final showdown with Italy.
The Italians knocked out Spain in the last four of Euro 2020 on their way to winning the title before La Roja gained a measure of revenge in the Nations League months later.
The core of Italy’s squad remains from their successful Euro 2020 campaign with the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Jorginho, Marco Verratti and Ciro Immobile remaining heavily involved in Roberto Mancini’s plans.
Mancini is still in charge despite Italy failing to qualify for last winter’s World Cup and they responded well to that setback by winning a tough Nations League group that featured Germany, Hungary and England, before losing to the Three Lions in March in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Recent form makes Mancini’s men a little tough to trust, as does a collection of Inter Milan players arriving late after the Champions League final, but they have proven tournament credentials and can’t be dismissed.