Spain Faces a Colossal Challenge: Zidane, Klopp, Cristiano, Modric, Kane, and Haaland Are All in the Running for the Title
Por Carlos Rodríguez ·
The Spanish national team is the favorite in the 2026–27 Nations League, in which Zinedine Zidane’s France, Jürgen Klopp’s Germany, Xavi Hernández’s Netherlands, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, Harry Kane’s England, Luka Modrić’s Croatia, and Erling Haaland’s Norway will challenge the reigning world champion.
In the first round, Spain will face England, Croatia, and the Czech Republic, which has appointed Spanish coach Santi Denia—an Olympic champion with Spain at Paris 2024—as head coach of its national team; France, ushering in the Zidane era, competes in its group against Italy, Belgium, and Turkey; Portugal, still featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, takes on Norway, Denmark, and Wales; and Germany and the Netherlands face off against each other, as well as Serbia and Greece.
Spain Defends Its Title Against a Star-Studded Field
There are now four matchdays scheduled. The last two will all take place in November.
The team led by Luis de la Fuente—featuring Lamine Yamal, Rodrigo Hernández, and many other world-class players—is the team to beat.
Not only because it is the world and European champion, but also because it has reached each of the tournament’s last three finals—losing two (in 2020–21 to France and in 2024–25 to Portugal) and winning one, in 2022–23 against Croatia in a penalty shootout, with Luis de la Fuente already serving as Spain’s head coach.
His first success. Then came the European Championship and the World Cup. He isn’t content to rest on his laurels. Every tournament is a chance to prove himself all over again.
England is their most formidable opponent in the group.
Thomas Tuchel’s team—which managed to survive despite the semifinal fiasco against Argentina that unequivocally exposed its weaknesses—also marks the beginning of everything for Spain in this Nations League.
Harry Kane is their leading scorer, backed up by Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, and Anthony Gordon, while the team is dealing with the absences of Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Kobbie Mainoo, and Marcus Rashford.
Croatia, with Luka Modric once again serving as its symbol and star player, and the Czech Republic, which has entrusted its new project to Santi Denia, round out Group A3.
The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played in 2027 as a two-leg series to determine the exciting and decisive Final Four.
Each match is a single-elimination showdown to determine the champion (Filed under: Nations League—Spain Faces the Giants).
Portugal, the defending champion
The most recent winner was Portugal, which was more accurate in the penalty shootout than Spain, which, however, eliminated Portugal in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo is not retiring; he remains a mainstay of the Portuguese national team, still active at age 41 and named to the roster for the new era under Jorge Jesus, who has replaced Roberto Martínez.
Also on the list are Nuno Mendes (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid), João Félix (Al Nassr), Rafael Leão (Galatasaray)…
Their group rivals are Norway, with Erling Haaland and the credibility of his World Cup performances.
Denmark, hoping to regain its lost standing—even though it’s out of the World Cup—and Wales. Portugal is the favorite (Filed under: Nations League—Spain Faces the Giants).
[pullquote quote=”Spain is the team to beat” cite=”NuevaOnda.com”]
Zidane, Klopp, and Xavi Usher in a New Era Among Europe’s Giants
So is France in Group A1, as its new coach makes his debut: Zinedine Zidane, the most eagerly awaited and natural successor to the legendary Didier Deschamps, 14 years later.
Another “Bleu” legend set to take the helm of a fantastic group of great soccer players—especially on offense—led by:
Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Desiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé—as well as Eduardo Camavinga, who is returning to the team after missing the World Cup.
Their debut is this Friday against Turkey in Izmit.
Next, they will face Belgium in Brussels (they will also host Belgium on October 5 in Saint-Denis), with a coaching change as well—Mark Van Bommel has taken over for Rudi García—and without Thibaut Courtois, though both Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku remain on the team.
And, between those two matches, they’ll face Roberto Mancini’s new Italy—the man chosen by the federation amid recent conflicts and the need to reconnect with its most glorious past, which is light-years away from its present.
Jurgen Klopp and Xavi Hernández also face that challenge, leading Germany and the Netherlands, respectively, as they grapple with history and face off against each other in Group A2, which they share with both Greece and Serbia.
Anything less than a quarterfinal berth for the German and Dutch teams will be seen as a failure for their new head coaches.
The pressure is on. What’s more, the two teams will kick off with a head-to-head matchup on the “Oranje’s” home turf (Filed under: Nations League—Spain Faces the Giants).
With information from EFE
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