England host Spain and Croatia visit Czechia on Saturday 26 September as Matchday 1 of the UEFA Nations League closes out, giving the early Uefa Nations League standings their first real shape. The final set of fixtures across League A, League B and League C lands on the same day, and the table picture begins to matter in earnest once the opening round is complete.
That is why the search interest is there now: readers are not just checking who plays, but which results could set the tone for the standings from the start. In League B, Slovenia meet Scotland at 15:00 and North Macedonia face Switzerland, while League C brings San Marino against Finland, Faroe Islands against Kazakhstan, Bulgaria against Luxembourg, Iceland against Estonia, Albania against Belarus and Slovakia against Moldova, all listed for 18:00.
The headline tie in League A carries more than ordinary weight. England are back in a fixture framed by the memory of Spain's 2-1 win over them in the EURO 2024 final on 14/07/2024 in Berlin, when Nico Williams opened the scoring, Cole Palmer levelled midway through the second half and Mikel Oyarzabal struck late for Spain. That result still hangs over the meeting, which gives Saturday's match a sharper edge than a routine group game.
There is no shortage of individual form feeding into the build-up. England captain Harry Kane became the fastest player to 100 German Bundesliga goals on Friday. Jude Bellingham has three goals and three assists in seven league appearances under José Mourinho at Real Madrid. Spain have their own markers too: Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick in his first Champions League appearance for Paris Saint-Germain, and Fabián Ruiz remains unbeaten across 50 Spain appearances, with 35 wins and 15 draws excluding penalty shoot-outs.
Spain's squad picture also carries a fresh thread through Santi Denia's first selection. Roman Macek, Matěj Radosta and Lukáš Ambros were named among the newcomers, and Denia said Ambros is multi-functional and can play in several positions. That kind of flexibility matters in a tournament where the first matchday can quickly turn into a scramble for points, goal difference and control of a group before the table has settled.
Czechia's own fixture brings another layer of memory. They drew 2-2 with Croatia at EURO 2016 on 17/06/2016 after Milan Škoda and Tomáš Necid came off the bench to help rescue the result, and Croatia arrive with Luka Modrić still a familiar reference point after making 50 appearances during Slaven Bilić's first spell in charge. Martin Baturina also comes into view after being named Player of the Match in Como's Champions League debut, a 4-1 win over Leipzig.
What happens next is simple enough: the matches on Saturday 26 September will begin turning the Uefa Nations League standings from a schedule into a table. By the end of the day, the opening arguments in League A, League B and League C will have been made, and the first clues about who can keep pace will finally be visible.
