UEFA Nations League’s semifinals will be great

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The UEFA defined the semifinals of the Nations League. Portugal against Switzerland and the Netherlands versus England 'will heat' Europe in the month of June

The UEFA Nations League has gone from paper to reality and its first tournament is going from strength to strength. In Dublin, Republic of Ireland, the keys of the Final Four semifinals were defined, which will give us the finalists and the first champion of the new European competition, according to ESPN. The duels will be between Portugal and Switzerland in the first semifinal, while the Netherlands and England will meet in the second semifinal in June.

Leer en español: Analizamos las semifinales de la UEFA Nations League: ¡habrá un partidazo!

Portugal will host the final tournament between the four countries, each semifinal will be defined in a single match, with extra and penal times if it is necessary. As announced by the UEFA Executive Committee, the first semi-final between the Portuguese and the Swiss will be played on June 5 at the Do Dragao stadium in the city of Oporto; For their part, the Dutch and English will play in the   Afonso Henriques from the city of Guimarães on June 6. The grand final will be played on June 9 in Porto and the match for third place in Guimarães, according to information from El Depor.

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Portugal vs. Switzerland

Although on paper the match might seem easy for the Portuguese, the reality is that the Swiss have shown their mettle and consistency in recent years. In Russia 2018 they had a good tournament, although they stayed in the second round. In the Nations League their history has been better, they won 3 of his 4 matches, two of them with thrashing at home, the most recent 5-2 over Belgium that sealed his pass to the Final Four. On the other side Portugal, the European champion in 2016, had a more discrete group stage in the Nations League, winning in only two matches, in which they won against Italy and Poland.

After the failure in the World Cup and without his star, Cristiano Ronaldo, due to his legal problems, Portugal hopes to reach 2019 with better perspective and with its reference back. Six months left for the game and everything can happen, the question is whether the Portuguese will come back and if the Swiss will remain compact and fit to make history. On the Swiss side, the confidence is in the multiculturalism that has given them good results: Kevin Mbabu, who has quoted better in the market and aims to make the jump to a big team, Haris Seferovic author of a triplet against the Belgians and the referent Xherdan Shaqiri. It paints to be a great encounter, where the Portuguese will have the shelter of their people, although 2004 may remind them that this is not a guarantee.

Holland vs England

Two powers that are reborn after years of failures, England had an acceptable world championship for a world champion, while the Dutch after the distant second place in 2010 have been renewed by the hand of Ronald Koeman. Both countries had a hard group stage, the English left out the Spaniards and the current runners-up in the world: the Croats, who are going to the B League. The Dutch were not left behind eliminating the world champion France and closing a year for the oblivion of the Germans who descended to the League B.

This game looks like the most closed and possibly the champion of the first UEFA Nations League, both have a renewing energy that has not yet reached Portugal and have had an excellent tournament. Depor puts the eye on Virgil van Dijk, Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong as elements to follow in the "mechanical orange" that although it was not to Russia looks a powerful and effective game. The Englishmen led by Gareth Southgate have the confidence of their new figures commanded by Harry Kane, it will be an interesting confrontation that can give warnings of what Qatar 2022 will have. Southgate sums it up clearly: "We are going to face a team from Holland that has a configuration similar to ours, with young passionate and in progression "according to the same newspaper.

LatinAmerican Post | Luis Ángel Hernández Liborio

Translated from "Analizamos las semifinales de la UEFA Nations League: ¡habrá un partidazo!"