Dutch could be ones to watch at the World Cup following recent flourish

The Nations League summer campaign has come to an end after offering one of the last glimpses at the state of international football before the World Cup in November.

Playing four matches in ten days after a long season has added controversy to this year’s tournament, with many players openly questioning the scheduling.

Some teams seemed to thrive in the circumstances while some seriously struggled.

With Qatar just five months away, what did we learn from the Nations League?

Struggling Southgate under fire

England could hardly have had a worse Nations League campaign, with two draws against Italy and Germany sandwiched between defeats home and away to Hungary.

The second of those, a 4-0 defeat at Molineux, was their worst home loss since 1928.

Gareth Southgate’s side scored just once in the four games - only the world’s lowest ranked side San Marino scored fewer.

While Southgate has been criticised throughout his reign for playing too defensively, he played an attacking 4-3-3 with Kalvin Phillips, Conor Gallager and Jude Bellingham in central midfield.

England were overrun on the counter attack throughout the game and unfortunately for critics of the England manager, their performance seems more likely to reinforce his preferred style of play than persuade him to change.

Harry Kane was the only player to score for the Three Lions, adding to calls that England will need to add goals from across the team if they are to be successful in Qatar.

Defending champions to be relegated?

England weren’t the only big guns to struggle in these Nations League games. Reigning champions France now face the possibility of relegation from League A after taking just two points from their four matches.

Defeats to Croatia and Denmark and a pair of draws with Austria and Luka Modric and company have led to calls for Didier Deschamps to be replaced, with Zinedine Zidane thought to be a potential replacement.

However, just as with Gareth Southgate, the French manager is unlikely to be removed so soon before a major tournament, particularly after he led the team to victory in 2018.

Deschamps experimented with three different formations over the four matches and seems unable to land on his ideal tactical style to suit arguably the deepest and most talented squad in international football.

The defending champions are 6-1 second-favourites to retain their World Cup crown this year, but their manager will have to extract more from his side if they are to do so.

Injuries on the rise

Injuries and fatigue plagued teams throughout the summer’s Nations League campaign, with players such as Luka Modric and Kevin De Bruyne voicing their displeasure that four games were scheduled after the end of their club season.

Stars such as N’golo Kante, Diogo Jota and Raphael Varane all suffered injuries that cut short their Nations League campaigns and teams had to rotate heavily throughout to reduce the workload on their top players.

Injuries were up six per cent in the Premier League in the 2021-22 season and with a shortened pre-season and the World Cup in November, more issues lie ahead for teams and their medical departments.

Wales need to be more streetwise

Wales demonstrated that their World Cup qualifying victory over Ukraine was no fluke with a series of good performances in their four Nations League encounters, but Rob Page’s side will not want to make a habit of surrendering promising positions late on as they did in those matches.

A heavily rotated Red Dragons side led Poland 1-0 in their first Nations League clash before goals in the 72nd and 85th minute handed victory to their opponents.

Then following their win over Ukraine, Wales managed a 92nd-minute equaliser against the Netherlands before Wout Weghorst hit the winner with seconds to spare.

A 1-1 draw with Belgium preceded another late show against the Netherlands, as Gareth Bale equalised in the 92nd minute before Memphis Depay scored the goal to make it 3-2 to the Dutch just moments later.

Page’s men will need to hold out better in more important matches, but there are definite signs from their Nations League clashes that they could have a big say in Qatar.

Netherlands ones to watch

The Netherlands suffered a disappointing defeat to the Czech Republic in Euro 2020 and Louis van Gaal took over for his third stint as manager following that campaign.

If these Nations League games are anything to go by then the Dutch will be a force to be reckoned with at the World Cup.

Van Gaal’s side announced themselves with a 4-1 victory away to Belgium in the first game before a much-changed side drew 2-2 with Poland, and they twice produced late comebacks to get the better of Wales.

Those performances, coupled with their March 4-2 win over Denmark, one of the most in-form sides in international football, have shown that this Netherlands side are back at the top table.

Youngsters such as Jurrien Timber, Cody Gakpo and Noa Lang impressed and will add to a core of experienced operators such as Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum.

With Van Gaal back in the managerial hot seat, the Dutch could be a team to watch in Qatar.

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