England vs Spain at Wembley: A heavyweight showdown kicks off Nations League campaign
Two giants of the game are set for a royal rumble to kick off the UEFA Nations League as World Cup winners, Spain, take on England in the first match day.
If there is still an emptiness in the pit of your stomach knowing that we will have to wait four years for the next World Cup and two years for the next Euros, fret not. The UEFA Nations League is coming to give us our fix of international soccer.
Quick turnaround into next tournament
Is it a month and a half long, non-stop, action packed tournament that will encapsulate us for six straight weeks? No, it’s a stretched out tournament played throughout the course of the club season, but at least we don’t have to wait long to get a match that will feel like a World Cup or Euro final.
Spain and England will kick off the tournament with clash of the titans on the first match day of the 2026/2027 tournament. The third placed side in this summer’s World Cup will meet the World Cup winners to open up Group A3 action on September 27th from Wembley. It’s a battle of top four teams in the FIFA World Cup Rankings. Spain took the top spot in the rankings after beating Argentina in the final a couple Sundays ago.
England sit fourth, behind Argentina in second and France in third. England are still looking for their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup, and this could be their chance before co-hosting the Euros in two years time. The best they have finished in the Nations League is third back in 2019.
A rivalry renewed
England were close to winning a major trophy in the 2024 Euros. They reached the final after beating the Netherlands in the final, but lost to Spain after an 86th minute goal from Mikel Oyarzabal gave Spain a 2-1 lead and eventually the title. That was just another chapter in the long history of heartbreak for the English who are desperately trying to bring home a major title.
Whether the newest competition in European soccer is considered a major trophy could be debated. The tournament debuted in 2018, and is played every two years, after World Cup and Euros summers. Portugal won the first Nations League. Since then Spain has made it to every final, winning one in 2023 beating the Netherlands for their first Nations League. France beat Spain 2-1 in the 2021 final, and Portugal beat Spain in penalties in 2025.
England and Spain will kick off their quest to add to the trophy cabinet at the end of September. The first international break of the season will feature 54 European sides will be starting the first round of Nations League group stage matches on the weekend of September 24-27. There will be a two week break from club action stretching to October 6th, and UEFA have squeezed four Nations League match days into that time frame. We start with a banger between Spain and England on Sunday, September 27th.
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