UEFA Nations League Matchday 2: What to look out for

Spain and France, winners of the past two UEFA Nations League titles, have work to do following underwhelming starts, while there is also the tantalising prospect of the Netherlands vs Germany in Amsterdam.

UEFA.com takes a look at some of the biggest storylines ahead of the second round of fixtures.

League A Matchday 2 fixtures

Sunday 8 September
A1 Croatia vs Poland
A1 Portugal vs Scotland
A4 Denmark vs Serbia (18:00)
A4 Switzerland vs Spain

Monday 9 September
A2 France vs Belgium
A2 Israel vs Italy

Tuesday 10 September
A3 Hungary vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
A3 Netherlands vs Germany

All kick-off times 20:45 CET unless stated.

No resting on laurels for Spain

A slow start to the league phase can be unforgiving. European champions Spain will hope their opening-day draw in Serbia does not come back to bite them, though Switzerland will hardly be an easy place to get up and running, with the Swiss still smarting following Thursday's defeat by Denmark. "In the first half [against Serbia], we lacked a bit of finesse, said coach Luis de la Fuente. "In the second half, we created a lot." Switzerland be warned.

Can France get their attacking groove back?

"The light went out," was Didier Deschamps' verdict after watching France slip to Friday evening's 3-1 home defeat by Italy, despite scoring a remarkable opener after just 13 seconds. It isn't clicking for Les Bleus in front of goal, and though the FIFA World Cup runners-up reached the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-finals, they mustered a solitary goal from open play in Germany. A trip to Belgium presents a challenge, yet also an opportunity to find a way.

Netherlands and Germany meet again

A 3-0 home win over Germany was among the highlights of the Netherlands' run to the inaugural final in 2018/19, although the subsequent 2-2 draw in Gelsenkirchen proved no less memorable for the Oranje, two goals in the last five minutes ensuring top spot in the group. Ronald Koeman, also in charge for that campaign, oversaw a 5-2 win at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday, while Julian Nagelsmann's side also scored five, albeit without any reply from Hungary. The teams also traded dramatic away wins in EURO 2020 qualifying, so expectations are high for this one.

Elsewhere on Matchday 2

• Cristiano Ronaldo is set to line up against Scotland for the first time when Portugal host Steve Clarke's side on Sunday – can the veteran add another scalp to the 47 international teams has already registered against?
• How do you follow up victory away to France? With another three points against Israel is the hope for Italy, whose new-look outfit will be eager to build momentum in Budapest and take a firm grip on Group A2.
• England's bid for an immediate return to League A continues with a home game against Finland, opponents they last faced in 2001 when they were coached by Sven-Göran Eriksson. The Swede, who died last month, will be honoured before kick-off.