The best and worst of this weekend’s UEFA Nations League schedule

We’re ready for the next slew of UEFA Nations League matches as Match Day 5 and 6 are upon us starting this weekend. This will wrap up the group stage and send the qualifying teams into the Nations League Finals, so there’s a lot on the line for many teams. Let’s look at some of the best and worst of the matches this time around.

Best of Match Day 5

Belgium v. England — Group A2

Sunday, November 15th, 2:45PM ET
King Power, Leuven
Watch on ESPN, TUDN

These two sides met in Match Day 3 as England hosted the Red Devils at Wembley Stadium, and the Three Lions emerged victorious thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount. Romelu Lukaku scored Belgium’s only goal to take the lead in the 16th minute off a penalty kick, but England scored two unanswered to take the full three points. This was relatively unexpected, as Belgium are the favorites of the tournament and are currently the #1-ranked team in the world. That was their only loss of the group stage thus far, and as they sit at the top of Group A2 currently, they’ll be poised to win the group and advance to the Finals if they can get past England this time around. England is currently in third place sitting behind Denmark on a slight goal differential deficit, but another win over Belgium would put them in a great spot to win the group and advance to the Finals themselves. That makes this match-up one of the best of the whole slate with so much on the line for both teams.

Portugal v. France — Group A3

Saturday, November 14th, 2:45PM ET
Estadio do SL Benfica, Lisbon
Watch on ESPN, TUDN

Another battle for the top spot in the group comes when Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will host Kylian Mbappe and the reigning FIFA World Cup Champions France. Both teams are tied at the top of the group table with 10 points, but Portugal is ahead on goal differential with 8 compared to France’s 4. The winner of this match will likely move on to win the group and advance to the Finals, so everything is on the line when two of Europe’s best teams clash. It sounds like every player should be available — including Ronaldo, who suffered a minor ankle injury last week in Juventus’ 1-1 draw with Lazio.

Worst of Match Day 5

San Marino v. Gibraltar — Group D2

Saturday, November 14th, 9:00AM ET
San Marino Stadium, Serravalle
Watch on ESPN, TUDN

This is quite literally the bottom of the barrel when it comes to this competition. San Marino, sitting in last place in Group D2 with a single point, will look for their first win of the tournament even though a group win is virtually impossible at this point. Gibraltar is sitting atop the group with 6 points, and a win over San Marino this weekend would solidify their first-place Group D2 finish and their promotion to Group D1 in the next Nations League installment. While there are promotion implications on the line, this game shouldn’t be anything amazing to watch as a neutral fan given that Gibraltar has only scored 2 goals — both in 1-0 victories — and San Marino has yet to even find the back of the net. Both teams have incentive to come out on top in this match-up, although we can expect Gibraltar to cruise to a relatively easy win.

Full TV Schedule for Match Day 5

All matches can be found in the United States on ESPN and TUDN. Check your local listings for further details.

All times listed are Eastern.

Saturday, November 14th

9:00AM - Malta v. Andorra - Group D1
9:00AM - San Marino v. Gibraltar - Group D2
12:00PM - Latvia v. Faroe Islands - Group D1
12:00PM - Cyprus v. Luxembourg - Group C1
12:00PM - Azerbaijan v. Montenegro - Group C1
2:45PM - Sweden v. Croatia - Group A3
2:45PM - Portugal v. France - Group A3
2:45PM - Switzerland v. Spain - Group A4
2:45PM - Germany v. Ukraine - Group A4

Sunday, November 15th

9:00AM - Slovakia v. Scotland - Group B2
9:00AM - North Macedonia v. Estonia - Group C2
12:00PM - Georgia v. Armenia - Group C2
12:00PM - Albania v. Kazakhstan - Group C4
12:00PM - Belarus v. Lithuania - Group C4
12:00PM - Turkey v. Russia - Group B3
12:00PM - Bulgaria v. Finland - Group B4
12:00PM - Wales v. Republic of Ireland - Group B4
12:00PM - Netherlands v. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Group A1
2:45PM - Moldova v. Greece - Group C3
2:45PM - Slovenia v. Kosovo - Group C3
2:45PM - Romania v. Norway - Group B1
2:45PM - Austria v. Northern Ireland - Group B1
2:45PM - Czech Republic v. Israel - Group B2
2:45PM - Hungary v. Serbia - Group B3
2:45PM - Italy v. Poland - Group A1
2:45PM - Denmark v. Iceland - Group A2
2:45PM - Belgium v. England - Group A2