The 2024/2025 Euro Nations league is the best ever, the greatest so far, This fourth edition offers the best 4 teams in the semifinals which is regarded as the UEFA Nations league finals, a competition that seems to be replacing international friendlies with important and competitive duels and have somewhat given football the consistent quality matches fans yearn for, great rivalries with something to play for.
According to Manchester City great Kevin De Bruyne, the tournament is a glorified friendly which increases the number of matches and exposing players to unnecessary strain and injuries. He has a point, but match point leads to titles and is more important than his opinion, the health of players can be preserved without compromising this tournament, from the trends of victory at this tournament so far, the best European teams have emerged champions, the best teams are usually in the finals and Belgium especially his generation will be remembered as golden without a gold or trophy, the European nations league is a meaningful consolation and offers a trophy which is won by the best. History will be kind to them, they were ranked as the number one team in world football spending 1442 days at the top of the ranking the fourth longest in history Behind Brazil in first place and Argentina in third, the South American super powerhouses, along with Spain in second, Europe’s current top side this century, it was their first time reaching the top.
The four semifinalists in this edition are double defending Euro Nations League and European Championship champions Spain, inaugural winners Portugal, the penultimate champion France and based on pure stats, the current best team of the tournament Germany.
When you delve deeper, insights will provide this important fact, the four have a champion mentality , if you consider that all the groups are made up of high quality opponents of similar strength and their knockout opponents were also very competitive, for France they had Croatia (world cup finalist and bronze medal winner from the past two previous world cups and were European Nations League finalist) Spain prevailed over the Dutch(semi finalist at the European Championship, Euro Nations league and quarter finalist at the last world cup), Germany knocked out Italy(they won the previous European championship and are bronze medalist at the last Euro Nations league in fact back to back winners)Portugal defeated Denmark(semi finalist at the previous European Championship) it is clear that the eight quarter finalists were indeed formidable. What makes this tournament particularly difficult to win is the consistently high level of competition, with most opponents being exceptionally strong, The world cup, COPA America and European Championship usually provide such quality opposition for the winners at random, sometimes the winners play only about two strong teams on their way to the title,but this tournament offers resistance for the winners from the very first match. High quality duels from the very beginning.
If Portugal defeats Germany and faces either France or Spain in the final, the tournament will be guaranteed to have multiple past winners. Germany the most successful team from Europe are making their debut at this stage with the young and Innovative manager Julian Nagelsmann providing a young and exciting team, ruthless at best and very efficient when they need to, they dismantled Hungary 5-0 and Serbia and Herzegovina 7-0 in the group stage They also defeated Italy at the San Siro which turned the home match to almost a formality, Spain undefeated since 22nd march 2024 in a friendly against the then red hot Colombia have not lost competitively since 28th march 2023 in a 2-0 loss to Scotland in the Euro qualifier.they have marched on mercilessly, with a young and exciting team and are champions, winning two majors. France and Portugal have experience and tournament winning wherewithal, they are also multiple champions, This is one of the major reason this edition is the best. In the first edition Portugal won this tournament by defeating the Netherlands, they were Defending European Champions, France in winning the second edition in an exciting final win against Spain were world champions. Spain has followed this trend when they denied Croatia the title in a final that produced the first penalty shootout, they defeated a team renowned for winning on penalties and went on to add the European championship title reinforcing the theory that success attracts more success with the right foundation. These quartet have lived up to expectation and have raised the standard of this edition to another level.
A road to the finals
The four teams are indeed the best, topping their respective groups in this improvised edition which allowed two qualifiers to the knockout stage. Their pathway to the finals is very defined but difficult. Win against your next two opponents and the title is yours. Their chances are promising.
GERMANY
Die Mannschaft (The Team) as they are fondly called have been the best European side in international football winning four world cup trophies a joint record shared with Italy, three European Championship titles the second best record behind Spain`s four titles. Although they are yet to win this new tournament, they have never been relegated but have failed to reach the knockout stages until now, they are yet to taste defeat and are in ominous form. The assured performances against the top sides the Netherlands and Italy are a reflection of their capabilities, against Portugal, from 19 matches Germany has won 11, drawn 5 and lost 3 with the last defeat a 3-0 drubbing in the Euro championship 2000 played at the Feyenoord stadium since that defeat Germany have an edge winning five matches in succession starting from the 2006 world cup which was hosted by Germany, this encounter will be played in Allianz Arena, Munich, a stadium that will also host the champions league finals, a final appearance may not be far fetched, they have the best attack and it will take an outstanding performance to stop them
SPAIN
The reigning multiple-time European champions and the most successful team in this tournament, with three final appearances, also hold the record for the most successful team in the European Championship. Still unbeaten with an 18-match streak, they showcased their dominance last summer by dismantling Europe’s best teams with an exciting brand of attacking football—blending a direct and aggressive approach with tiki-taka, doubts such as what would have been if they were taken to penalties have been answered once more, their European Nations League title win was won on penalties against one of the best sides-Croatia and against the Dutch they also prevailed. Germany is the ultimate test of penalty shootout mastery, but that may not even be necessary. First, they must overcome France, while Germany must defeat Portugal. If neither side prevails within 90 minutes, a showdown against the best penalty-taking team in history will be needed to decide the final outcome. But this is not the only possibility Portugal can also prevent it from happening and France is a very strong force, they had stopped La Roja from winning this title four years ago although revenge was asserted in the European Championship semifinals last summer, this match up promises to be a clash of the titans with the winner capable of becoming multiple winners of this tournament. They have faced each other 37 times, with Spain winning 17, drawing 7, and losing 13, excluding 26 friendly matches. In competitive encounters, France holds the edge with 6 wins, 3 draws, and only 2 defeats. This second meeting in the tournament promises to be a classic.
PORTUGAL
This team has a winning mentality both at this level and with their players also tasting victory at club level, they have what it takes if they hit top form, they have a very strong squad, they also have Ronaldo the tournament top scorer, who is trying to add more milestone to his extra ordinary career. This is an opportunity to turn the tables against Germany, they have more experience over them in this tournament and as a team but pedigree and their head-to-head records does not favor them. It will be an intriguing game with more than two goals.they boast a truly formidable squad their bench a key in over turning the one goal deficit loss to Denmark in the knockout phase. the right selection and top form will be enough, anything less and they will pay the price
FRANCE
The Les Blues boast of a collection of outstanding players sufficient to fill up more than seven high level international sides, in recent times they have won every title available and went so close to retaining the world cup a feat that has not be achieved since 1962 they have in their trophy cabinet two world cup titles, two European Championship titles and are aiming for the second title in this tournament. Their match up against Spain is a rematch of the 2021 finals Both sides are the only members of the Big 5 to have won this title. The French are inconsistent, a 3-1 home loss to Italy in their first game and a 2-0 defeat to Croatia in their first knock out encounter are good examples but they over turned both matches, impressively defeating Croatia on penalties, in their stride nothing can stop them and their opponent is such that any room for complacency or error will not creep in because they know the consequences,If they reach their peak form, nothing can stop them not even Spain.
The Report card of the Four Teams
World ranking
The world ranking is indicative of their performance in the past ten years with Germany on a sharp decline since after their fourth world cup win in Brazil in 2014, Portugal has done relatively better than them in the major tournaments since then with Spain and France especially the dominant sides. France reached two world cup finals, one in both the European Championship and The Euro Nations League.
2025 European Nations League performance
Germany sits on top the current tournament table with their consistent performance, undefeated like Spain but with a more lethal attack and a better impression against teams that the other sides have played against.
Previous Records
The tournament history has shown that France have been able to edge over all the other finalists a 2-1 win against Spain in the finals, against Portugal an away win by a lone goal after a goalless home draw and for Germany, a goalless draw and a 2-1 home win in the group stages. it gives them a leverage. Spain collected four points from both after the first round of games ended in a1-1 draw with a 6-0 defeat of Germany to top their group in 2021 and a 1-0 away win against Portugal to beat them to the sole group ticket in 2023 en route to the title.
Conclusion
On current form Germany and Spain have the edge but France and Portugal have won before and the matches will be played in June, in three months time a lot can happen but the winner will more than deserve this title.
What we can Learn from the Four Teams
These four teams have adapted to this new tournament. we need to be very objective with new circumstances and make the most of it.
The best will always find a solution. always aim for the best.
Success will always have its reward.
Consistently gathering data on these teams can enable accurate winner predictions, provided no major unexpected events disrupt the established patterns. Sportumentary offers deep valuable insights in sports.
