Germany v Spain, Finland v Wales and more: Nations League – live!

Stephen Kenny has a quick chat about his decision to choose Matt Doherty over Seamus Coleman at right-back:

They’re two exceptional full-backs, two of the best full-backs in the Premier League, and Matt’s had an exceptional season and scored a great header against Denmark. He just gets the decision, a marginal decision really. I think we’ve got a pace in the team, that’s important for us.

Ryan Giggs explains why he’s given a chance to Welsh debutant Dylan Levitt:

Dylan gets his chance. I think in a Euro campaign, towards the end when every game was a huge game, it was too much of a gamble to pick him, but he impressed in training. He’s played a few games in pre-season so he’s fit, which was a big part of my selection tonight, trying to get as many players on the pitch who’s played minutes. He’s a good footballer, he gets the ball down, he’s got a good range of passing and I’m looking forward to seeing him play.

Warm-ups are in full flow in Stuttgart:

And this is what they say about the side Ryan Giggs has selected for Wales:

Manchester United midfielder Dylan Levitt was handed his Wales debut for the opening Nations League game against Finland in Helsinki.

The 19-year-old was one of three changes from Wales’ last match against Hungary 10 months ago, a 2-0 win which secured qualification for Euro 2020.

Ethan Ampadu and Jonny Williams also came in as Chris Mepham, Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey missed out through injury, but Real Madrid striker Gareth Bale started to lead Ryan Giggs’ side.

Here’s PA Media’s take on the Republic of Ireland line-up:

New Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny handed teenager Adam Idah a senior international debut in Bulgaria in his first match at the helm.

The 19-year-old Norwich striker and Brighton’s Aaron Connolly, 20, who both played under Kenny at Under-21 level, were included in the starting line-up for Ireland’s Nations League opener in Sofia, as was Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy, who won his first cap since October 2016.

Bulgaria coach Georgi Dermendzhiev made wholesale changes to the side which beat the Czech Republic in their last Euro 2020 qualifier with only keeper Georgi Georgiev, defenders Strahil Popov and Petar Zanev and midfielders Georgi Kostadinov and Kristiyan Malinov surviving.

Team news is starting to filter in. Here are the line-ups from Stuttgart:

Germany: Trapp; Kehrer, Gosens, Draxler, Kroos, Werner, Sule, Rudiger, Sane, Gundogan, Can. Subs from: Leno, Baumann, Ginter, Tah, Neuhaus, Brandt, Waldschmidt, Koch, Havertz, Serdar.
Spain: De Gea, Carvajal, Ramos, Pau Torres, Gaya; Thiago, Busquets, Fabian Ruiz; Jesus Navas, Ferran Torres; Rodrigo. Subs from: Kepa, Simon, Diego Llorente, Merino, Olmo, Moreno, Garcia, Rodri, Ansu Fati, Oscar, Reguilon.
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy).

Die Mannschaft
(@DFB_Team)

Unsere Startelf! 🇩🇪🇪🇸

1 Kevin Trapp 
2 Thilo Kehrer
3 Robin Gosens 
7 Julian Draxler
8 Toni Kroos (C)
9 Timo Werner
15 Niklas Süle 
16 Antonio Rüdiger 
19 Leroy Sané 
21 Ilkay Gündogan
23 Emre Can#GERESP #DieMannschaft pic.twitter.com/jXcz8Ohke1

September 3, 2020

Selección Española de Fútbol
(@SeFutbol)

⚠️ OFICIAL | ¡¡Ya tenemos el ONCE de España!!

📝 ¡Estos son los elegidos por Luis Enrique para el regreso de la @SeFutbol!#SomosEspaña 🇪🇸#SomosFederación pic.twitter.com/q8Dvww2QVh

September 3, 2020

Tonight’s first result: Andorra have drawn 0-0 with Latvia, who missed a penalty.

International football is back, back, baaaaack! Germany last played on 19 November 2019, thrashing Northern Ireland 6-1 the day after Spain’s beat Romania 5-0 in their most recent match. Back then both thought they would have played a European Championships by now, and perhaps have added another trophy to their crowded cabinets. As it happened history threw them a bit of a curveball, but today we take another step towards a vague simulacrum of normality as the 2020-21 Nations League gets under way with a Ibero-Germanic whopper.

Germany and Spain have played nine competitive matches, most recently in the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup. Germany have four wins and Spain three, but since the 1982 World Cup it’s 3-1 to the Spaniards, with a draw in 1994. In those five matches only one side, West Germany (as it was then) in 1988, scored more than one goal.

Jogi Low says that his players will be knackered and rubbish – “Some have been training for weeks but have no match practice, others have just finished playing, others are just back from holidays. I don’t think players will last over 90 minutes,” he says – but that won’t stop me looking forward to it. Big questions set to be answered include: who will click into form? Will Ansu Fati or Ferran Torres make their debuts? And has Sergio Ramos found a razor?

And if it disappoints, there are eight other evening games for us to keep an eye on as well. Today’s fun and games, or at the very least today’s games, look like these, with Wales (in Finland) and the Republic of Ireland (in Bulgaria) providing some anglophone interest (7.45pm BST kick-offs unless stated):

League A, Group 4

Germany v Spain
Ukraine v Switzerland

League B, Group 3

Russia v Serbia
Turkey v Hungary

League B, Group 4

Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland
Finland v Wales

League C, Group 3

Moldova v Kosovo
Slovenia v Greece

League D, Group 1

Faroe Islands v Malta
Latvia v Andorra (5pm BST)