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England play Spain, Croatia in maiden Nations League

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England face Spain and Croatia in maiden UEFA Nations League

England will face Spain and Croatia in League A of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.

Wales were drawn alongside the Republic of Ireland and Denmark in League B, while Northern Ireland were grouped with Austria and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

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Scotland, without a manager since Gordon Strachan left, were drawn in League C alongside Albania and Israel.

The first group games take place in September this year, with the finals scheduled for June 2019.

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Wednesday’s draw took place in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Gareth Southgate’s England last faced Spain in a friendly in November 2016, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Their last competitive meeting was at Euro 1996, which hosts England won on penalties to progress to the quarter-finals.

England beat Croatia in their past two meetings – in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup – but defeat in 2007 at Wembley meant Steve McClaren’s side failed to reach Euro 2008.

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Elsewhere, newly appointed Wales boss Ryan Giggs will come up against a Republic team his side faced during qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

The other team in the group, Denmark, thrashed the Republic in the play-offs to reach Russia this year.

Scotland, who are still looking for a new manager, have beaten Israel in all three previous meetings and will face Albania for the first time.

What is the Nations League?

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The basic structure of the competition – that it will be played in the “empty” seasons without a European Championship or World Cup – is relatively straightforward.

The 55 European nations have been arranged into four tiers based on their ranking – the top 12, the next 12 etc – with each tier split into four leagues of three or four teams.

England are in the top tier – League A. Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are in the second tier and Scotland in the third.

The sides in each group will play home and away in a 10-week period between September and November of this year, with the team finishing top of each section being promoted to a higher tier and the nation finishing bottom dropping down one.

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In a final flourish, the four nations who win the groups in the top tier will advance to a knockout finals next June to decide the Nations League winner.

UEFA Nations League Group B


UEFA Nations League Group C


UEFA Nations League Group D

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