UEFA Nations League preview - Sunday: France v Netherlands, Denmark v Wales
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Sunday 9 September 2018 19:34, UK
France will play their first home match since winning the World Cup when they host the Netherlands in UEFA Nations League Group A1 on Sunday.
Didier Deschamps' side returned to action on Thursday with a 0-0 draw against Germany.
France stuck with the same style of play that won them the World Cup in Russia, but were indebted to debutant goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for making several impressive saves.
"We wanted to come back with a win, but I think we are not ready, both physically and mentally," said midfielder Paul Pogba. "This is not easy following a World Cup like the one we did.
"We quickly got back to work, we would have needed more time to recover. But that's football, we need to move on to something else and find new challenges."
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Following the game against the Netherlands at the Stade de France there will be a ceremony where France players will be introduced one by one before a lap of honour with the World Cup trophy.
The Netherlands missed out on the World Cup after also failing to qualify for the 2016 European Championship. They beat Peru 2-1 in a friendly on Thursday, with Wesley Sneijder making his 134th and final appearance in the match.
Netherlands fell behind against Peru through a Pedro Aquino goal early on, but Lyon's Memphis Depay equalised on the hour mark before netting the winner seven minutes from time.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman plans to make "several changes" against France, and added: "When you want to improve, you have to play against nations of this level.
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"France are the world champions for a reason, without really playing great or beautiful football. The World Cup has proven that nothing is impossible - just look at [runners-up] Croatia - but we're certainly the underdogs."
The four winners of the League A groups qualify for the Final Four tournament in June 2019 while the sides that finish bottom are relegated to League B.
Germany play Peru in a friendly on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, while Wales travel to Denmark in Group B4 of the Nations League.
Ukraine will be looking to make it two wins from two when they host Slovakia in Group B1, while Bulgaria face Norway and Cyprus play Slovenia in Group C3.
Elsewhere, Georgia host Latvia, Macedonia play Armenia and Liechtenstein face Gibraltar.
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