International football returned in style this weekend as the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League got underway, delivering major results across Europe.
Spain came from behind to defeat England at Wembley, Greece produced a historic victory over Germany, Belgium stunned Italy in Rome and defending champions Portugal opened their campaign with back-to-back wins.
With Matchday 1 taking place from 24–26 September and Matchday 2 beginning on Sunday, the new Nations League campaign has wasted little time producing drama.
Spain come from behind at Wembley
One of the headline fixtures saw world champions Spain defeat England 3–2 at Wembley.
Lamine Yamal gave Spain a dream start after only two minutes, capitalising on an England defensive mistake.
England responded impressively.
Anthony Gordon equalised before captain Harry Kane completed the turnaround to send England into halftime 2–1 ahead.
Kane then had an opportunity to make it 3–1 from the penalty spot but struck the crossbar.
Spain punished the miss.
Álex Baena equalised on 60 minutes before Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner in the 74th minute, extending Spain’s unbeaten run to 39 matches.
Elsewhere in Group A3, Croatia defeated Czechia 2–1, with Luka Modrić among the standout performers.
Greece make history against Germany
Perhaps the biggest upset came on Sunday.
Greece defeated Germany 1–0, recording their first-ever victory over the four-time world champions.
Dimitris Kourbelis scored the decisive goal with a deflected strike as Greece followed their opening 2–1 victory away to Serbia with another huge result.
For Germany and new coach Jürgen Klopp, it was a frustrating start to the campaign. Germany had drawn 1–1 with the Netherlands in Amsterdam in their opening fixture before suffering defeat against Greece.
The Netherlands bounced back from that opening draw by beating Serbia 2–1 on Sunday.
Portugal make the perfect start
Defending Nations League champions Portugal have started strongly.
Portugal opened their campaign with a 1–0 victory over Wales before travelling to Oslo and beating Norway 2–1.
João Félix opened the scoring against Norway before Gonçalo Ramos struck the winner, giving Portugal six points from their opening two matches.
Wales endured another difficult outing on Sunday, losing 2–0 away to Denmark.
Norway, meanwhile, had started the competition with an entertaining 3–2 victory over Denmark before Portugal brought them back down to earth.
Belgium win in Rome
Another eye-catching result came in Italy, where Belgium secured an impressive 2–0 victory over the Azzurri.
It was an excellent away result for Belgium and an early setback for Italy in a difficult League A group that also contains France and Türkiye.
France began their own campaign with a narrow 1–0 victory away to Türkiye, with Kylian Mbappé providing the decisive moment.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland earned an impressive 1–0 away win over Georgia, while the Republic of Ireland suffered an opening 1–0 defeat in Kosovo before responding emphatically with a 3–0 victory away to Israel on Sunday.
Nations League off to a flying start
The opening weekend has already provided several major storylines.
Spain have immediately reminded everyone why they are world champions. Portugal have started their title defence with maximum points. Greece have emerged as one of the early surprise packages, while Germany and England already have work to do.
And there is little time to recover.
Unlike a traditional international break, this window combines multiple Nations League matchdays, with international fixtures continuing into early October.
If the opening weekend is anything to go by, there is plenty more drama still to come.
