NYON (SWITZERLAND) (ITALPRESS) – A great classic in the quarterfinals of the Nations League. After finishing the group behind France, Luciano Spalletti’s Italy met today in Nyon their rival in the quarterfinals to be played in March (on the 20th the first leg at the Azzurri’s home, on the 23rd away): Donnarumma and his teammates will face Germany led by Julian Nagelsmann, in what will be the 38th confrontation between the two national teams. From the legendary Mexico ’70 match at the Azteca that ended 4-3 for Italy and went down in history as the Match of the Century to the semifinal in Dortmund that opened the doors to the triumph in Berlin, passing through the Mundial ’82 final under the eyes of Pertini: those between the Azzurri and Germans are never trivial challenges. Overall, the balance sheet says 15 Italian victories, 13 draws and 9 defeats even if the last Azzurri success now dates back to the Euro2012 semifinal with Balotelli’s double. The last confrontation, on the other hand, on June 14, 2022 in the Nations League: heavy 5-2 in favor of the Mannschaft at Borussia-Park.In case of landing in the Final Four (semifinals on June 4 and 5, finals on June 8), Italy would then face the winner of the quarterfinal that will face Denmark and Portugal. On the other side of the scoreboard, however, Holland-Spain and Croatia-France will be played. Also drawn are the promotion/relegation playoffs among the four Leagues (A/B and B/C playoffs on the same dates as the quarters, C/D playoffs on March 26 and 31, 2026). One of the places in League A will be played for by two Italian coaches, Vincenzo Montella and Marco Rossi, on the benches of Turkey and Hungary, respectively. The other scheduled challenges – winner goes to League A, loser relegates or stays in League B – will be Ukraine-Belgium, Austria-Serbia and Greece-Scotland. Instead, these are the B/C playoffs: Kosovo-Iceland, Bulgaria-Ireland, Armenia-Georgia and Slovakia-Slovenia. Finally, Gibraltar and Paolo Nicolato’s Latvia will play for a place in League C while Malta will face Luxembourg.- photo Ipa Agency -(ITALPRESS).
