Nations League outright and group predictions, betting odds and tips: La Roja can stay on the trophy trail

Best bets

Spain to win Nations League
1pt each-way 6-1 bet365

Netherlands to win Group A3
1pt 5-2 bet365

Norway to win Group B3
2pts 13-8 bet365

Nations League 2024-25 predictions

Spain followed their triumph in the 2022-2023 Nations League with a well-deserved success at Euro 2024 and also won the men's gold at the Paris Olympics. They can stay on the trophy trail by retaining their Nations League crown.

There is a different format in the 2024-25 edition of the Nations League, which will be contested over the next nine months, with the introduction of a quarter-final round to be contested by the teams finishing in the top two positions in each of League A's four groups.

Achieving a top-two finish in Group A4 should be a fairly simple task for Spain, who are the red-hot 1-5 favourites to win the section ahead of Denmark, Switzerland and Serbia.

Older generations will remember a time when the Spanish international team seemed to lack a winning mentality, but everything has changed over the last 16 years with the Iberians appearing in seven tournament finals and winning five of them.

Spain finished runners-up at the 2013 Confederations Cup and in the 2020-21 Nations League, but they are more used to winning on the big occasions and were worthy 2-1 victors over England in the Euro 2024 final despite the absence through injury of Pedri and a first-half injury to their captain, Rodri, who was replaced by Martin Zubimendi at half-time.

Pedri and Rodri are in the squad for Spain's Nations League Group A4 opener away to Serbia on Thursday but there is probably greater attention on Yamine Lamal, who was their breakthrough player this summer.

With Yamal and fellow attackers Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino towards the start of the playing careers, there is obvious potential for the Iberians to improve.

They should dominate their section and look overpriced 6-1 shots to stage a successful defence of the trophy.

Three other teams are available at single figures, with France the 9-2 favourites and Germany and Portugal chalked up at 6-1 at 7-1.

France are hard to trust after they never really got going at Euro 2024, while Germany fell short in the summer despite having the massive advantage of being the host nation.

Portugal have several key players moving towards their prime and should continue to progress, although they might be held back by all-time great Cristiano Ronaldo, who remains reluctant to pass on the baton to the next generation.

Germany should qualify for the quarter-finals but they may lose out to the Netherlands in the battle for Group A3 supremacy.

The Netherlands' run to the semi-finals at Euro 2024 has to be qualified by the knowledge that they benefited from dropping into the easier side of the draw.

But the Oranje topped their section in two of the last three Nations League campaigns and may be overpriced 5-2 shots to finish first once again at the expense of Germany, Hungary and Bosnia.

England's new era under interim manager Lee Carsley begins on Saturday with an away match against Ireland in the first of their Group B2 matches.

The Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 runners-up are the strongest team in a section completed by Finland and Greece and they are just 1-12 to finish top of the pile.

There are plenty of more competitive-looking groups including B3, which features Austria, Kazakhstan, Norway and Slovenia.

Austria and Slovenia will be hoping to kick on after their runs to the round of 16 at Euro 2024 but they could be denied first place by Norway, who have scope to improve and have included superstars Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland in their squad for Friday's opener away to Kazakhstan.

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