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Nations League fixtures & schedule: Club v country rows to escalate as Nations League returns just before Premier League
The return of the Nations League coming on the eve of the new Premier League season will cause more club v country rows than ever.
Club versus country rows are set to be ramped up to an all-time high this season, starting immediately with the first two Nations League matchdays taking place just a week before the return of the Premier League.
Euro 2020 has been put back until next summer, but by the time that comes around players would have crammed an entire Premier League season into a timespan five weeks shorter than usual.
That makes this week's Nations League an unwanted headache for every Premier League manager that has international players in their squad - and will make the likes of Gareth Southgate and Ryan Giggs unpopular figures this season.
England travel to Iceland on Saturday and Denmark next Tuesday, with that game on the evening of September 8 coming just four days before the new Premier League kick-off.
Wales start their Nations League campaign with a visit to Finland on Thursday before Bulgaria come to Cardiff three days later - and Giggs is prepared for a rought ride this season from club managers.
“I’m sure I will do things that will upset the club managers and vice-versa but that comes with the territory,” Giggs said.
“You try and just negate that as much as you can. If there’s any risk we have to take careful consideration in terms of how many games the players have played and what’s their injury record.
“We definitely do our best to look after the players’ welfare, we want players fit for the summer and we don’t take any chances that players are going to get injuries.
“But my job is to make sure Wales win games, so it’s always a bit of a balance.”
Nations League Matchday 1 fixtures
Thursday 3 September
- A4 Germany vs Spain (19:45)
- A4 Ukraine vs Switzerland (19:45)
- B3 Russia vs Serbia (19:45)
- B3 Turkey vs Hungary (19:45)
- B4 Bulgaria vs Republic of Ireland (19:45)
- B4 Finland vs Wales (19:45)
- C3 Moldova vs Kosovo (19:45)
- C3 Slovenia vs Greece (19:45)
- D1 Faroe Islands vs Malta (19:45)
- D1 Latvia vs Andorr (19:45)
Friday 4 September
- A1 Italy vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (19:45)
- A1 Netherlands vs Poland (19:45)
- B1 Norway vs Austria (19:45)
- B1 Romania vs Northern Ireland (19:45)
- B2 Scotland vs Israel (19:45)
- B2 Slovakia vs Czech Republic (19:45)
- C4 Belarus vs Albania (19:45)
- C4 Lithuania vs Kazakhstan (19:45)
Saturday 5 September
- C2 North Macedonia vs Armenia (14:00)
- D2 Gibraltar vs San Marino (14:00)
- A2 Iceland vs England (17:00)
- C1 Azerbaijan vs Luxembourg (17:00)
- C1 Cyprus vs Montenegro (17:00)
- C2 Estonia vs Georgia (17:00)
- A2 Denmark vs Belgium (19:45)
- A3 Portugal vs Croatia (19:45)
- A3 Sweden vs France (19:45)
Wales’ Nations League opener only got the go ahead this week after the Finland government eased Covid-19 travel restrictions for Giggs’ squad.
And Giggs is wary about what could happen next summer and whether Wales will be able to take their place in a Euro 2020 group featuring Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.
Asked whether he was confident the Euros would take place, Giggs said: “Who knows? We have to prepare that it is going to go ahead.
“But we have seen things can change pretty quickly.
“I hope so, but you just never know with this pandemic what is going to happen in the next few months, never mind the next seven, eight, nine months.
“I’ll prepare as if it is going ahead, just like I will prepare for the games going ahead next week and in October and November.”
Nations League Matchday 2 fixtures
Sunday 6 September
- B4 Wales vs Bulgaria (14:00)
- D1 Andorra vs Faroe Islands (14:00)
- B3 Hungary vs Russia (17:00)
- B4 Republic of Ireland vs Finland (17:00)
- C3 Slovenia vs Moldova (17:00)
- A4 Spain vs Ukraine (19:45)
- A4 Switzerland vs Germany (19:45)
- B3 Serbia vs Turkey (19:45)
- C3 Kosovo vs Greece (19:45)
- D1 Malta vs Latvia (19:45)
Monday 7 September
- C4 Kazakhstan vs Belarus (15:00)
- A1 Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Poland (19:45)
- A1 Netherlands vs Italy (19:45)
- B1 Austria vs Romania (19:45)
- B1 Northern Ireland vs Norway (19:45)
- B2 Czech Republic vs Scotland (19:45)
- B2 Israel vs Slovakia (19:45)
- C4 Albania vs Lithuania (19:45)
Tuesday 8 September
- C2 Armenia vs Estonia (17:00)
- C2 Georgia vs North Macedonia (17:00)
- A2 Belgium vs Iceland (19:45)
- A2 Denmark vs England (19:45)
- A3 France vs Croatia (19:45)
- A3 Sweden vs Portugal (19:45)
- C1 Cyprus vs Azerbaijan (19:45)
- C1 Luxembourg vs Montenegro (19:45)
- D2 San Marino vs Liechtenstein (19:45)