Nations League preview: Kane's record night as Mbappé misses Italy v France
Harry Kane wins his record 126th England cap against Croatia, Kylian Mbappé misses France's trip to San Siro with a hamstring injury, and Spain host England on Sunday with top spot in Group A3 at stake.
By the PrediSportsHQ editor · Preview, Thursday, 12 November 2026
The big games
Italy v France: Mancini's side need something at San Siro
France lead Group A1 on 10 points and a win in Milan puts them in the quarter-finals. Italy are second on seven, a point ahead of Belgium. Roberto Mancini's side are through tonight if they win and Turkey beat Belgium earlier in the evening; otherwise it goes to Brussels on Sunday.
France will be without Kylian Mbappé, who has a hamstring problem. Zinedine Zidane was blunt: "He is injured, so we will not risk him." Marcus Thuram, William Saliba, Ousmane Dembélé, Manu Koné, Pierre Kalulu, Maghnes Akliouche and Esteban Lepaul are also out, and Eli Junior Kroupi has his first call-up. Italy have lost Gianluca Mancini to a muscle injury, with Federico Gatti called up in his place, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Giacomo Raspadori and Moise Kean are missing too.
Zidane called this "always a tough match" against a side who "know how to defend well". Mancini wants to "play well and win against one of the strongest teams in the world" and admitted he was still undecided about his attack. Pio Esposito, who troubled Dayot Upamecano in the 1-1 draw in Paris, is the man to watch. Michael Olise leads France with four goals.
History is against the hosts. Italy have not beaten France at home since a 2-1 friendly in May 1962, and they have lost their last three games at San Siro. The AI calls it a 1-1 draw, which would keep Italy's fate in their own hands for Brussels.
England v Croatia: Kane's record night
Harry Kane will win his 126th cap tonight and pass Peter Shilton as England's most-capped men's player. Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he will start as captain. Asked whether Kane is England's greatest player, Tuchel said: "I don't know, but he is up there, of course." Kane scored twice in each of his last two England games, against Croatia and the Czech Republic.
A point is enough to send England to the quarter-finals. They will do it without Marc Guéhi, who went home with a hip injury, and Ezri Konsa, who is not fit for tonight. Bukayo Saka is injured and not in the squad, Myles Lewis-Skelly is suspended and Djed Spence missed Wednesday's training. Declan Rice is back after missing the last camp. Dan Burn and James Hill have come in, and Hill and Jobe Bellingham could both make their senior debuts.
Croatia lost 7-0 to England in Rijeka last month and have lost three games in a row. Ivan Perišić is suspended after his red card against Spain, Josip Šutalo has a hamstring injury, and Slaven Bilić is "99 percent" certain Luka Sučić will miss out with a fever. Bilić's priority is survival: "It's very important for us to stay in League A." Luka Modrić, now 41, keeps the armband and is in line for his 207th cap. The AI has England comfortable winners, 3-0, with Kane on the scoresheet.
Spain v England: the group decided in Madrid
Spain have already qualified with four wins from four, and they are unbeaten in their last 43 competitive matches. They beat England 3-2 at Wembley in September, and Tuchel has said he wants to finish top. The group will be settled at the Metropolitano on Sunday.
Lamine Yamal will miss the Czech Republic game with pain in his right knee. He is being treated in Barcelona and could rejoin the squad on Friday, with the aim of being fit for England. Mikel Oyarzabal missed the trip to Prague with flu, Aymeric Laporte has a virus and is a doubt, and Dani Olmo and Eric García are both out injured.
Luis de la Fuente pushed back at reports questioning how Spain handle Yamal: "Lamine has no special privileges." England hope Konsa will be back in training before the trip to Madrid. The AI has Spain finishing the job at home, 2-1, after a 2-0 win in Prague.
Netherlands v Greece: Xavi without his captain
The Netherlands and Greece are level on eight points at the top of Group A2, with Germany three behind. Only the top two reach the quarter-finals, and a home win in Amsterdam would put Xavi's side within touching distance. Greece are unbeaten in the group and drew 2-2 with the Dutch in Thessaloniki last month.
Virgil van Dijk and Brian Brobbey have both withdrawn, and the Dutch federation has not called anyone up, leaving Xavi with 23 players. Frenkie de Jong is back in the squad for the first time since the World Cup. Ivan Jovanović's Greece have reported no injury problems.
Both coaches speak to the press today. Vangelis Pavlidis is the Greek to watch against a Dutch defence without its leader. The AI goes with the Netherlands, 2-1.
Serbia v Germany: Jürgen Klopp needs two wins
Germany are third on five points and have won once in four games under Jürgen Klopp: 2-0 against Serbia in Munich in October. Anything less than a win in Belgrade on Friday leaves them relying on other results before the Netherlands come to Berlin on Monday.
Klopp is without Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Waldemar Anton, Assan Ouédraogo and Angelo Stiller, all injured. Nico Schlotterbeck is back from an ankle injury, and Niclas Füllkrug has been recalled after scoring nine Bundesliga goals. Serbia, bottom without a point, are missing Saša Lukić and Nemanja Maksimović through suspension and Strahinja Pavlović among four injured players. Aleksandar Mitrović returns and Dušan Tadić keeps the captaincy.
Veljko Paunović wants his side to show "resistance without the ball and idea with the ball". Klopp speaks to the press on Thursday evening. The AI sees Germany winning 2-0 in Belgrade, then a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in Berlin.
Portugal v Denmark: the first camp after Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from international football on 5 November, finishing with 146 goals in 234 games for Portugal. Jorge Jesus admitted he had not seen it coming: "I thought he would return. I certainly intended to call him up." Portugal have already qualified, and a draw against Denmark in Braga on Saturday would make sure of top spot in Group A4.
Rafael Leão, Nuno Tavares and Tomás Araújo were sent home unfit, Nuno Mendes is injured, Francisco Conceição is suspended and João Cancelo serves a ban against Denmark. Gonçalo Inácio is recalled and Monaco left-back Flávio Nazinho has his first call-up.
Denmark are second on six points and beat Wales twice, but Portugal won 4-2 in Copenhagen in October. Brian Riemer is without Andreas Christensen, whom he called "one of our absolutely most important players". Their home game with Norway on Tuesday matters more for second place. The AI has Portugal winning 3-1 in Braga.
Elsewhere
- Turkey, without a point in Group A1, host Mark van Bommel's Belgium in İzmir in the early game on Thursday. A Belgium defeat would help Italy.
- Erling Haaland is the Nations League's all-time top scorer with 22 goals in 20 games. Norway host Wales on Saturday, a month after Craig Bellamy's side beat them for Wales's first League A win.
- Santi Denia's Czech Republic, still without a point, finish in Osijek on Sunday against a Croatia side with Perišić available again.
The fixtures
All times UK.
Thursday 12 November
- Turkey v Belgium, 5pm
- Italy v France, 7:45pm
- Czech Republic v Spain, 7:45pm
- England v Croatia, 7:45pm
Friday 13 November
- Netherlands v Greece, 7:45pm
- Serbia v Germany, 7:45pm
Saturday 14 November
- Norway v Wales, 5pm
- Portugal v Denmark, 7:45pm
Sunday 15 November
- Belgium v Italy, 7:45pm
- France v Turkey, 7:45pm
- Croatia v Czech Republic, 7:45pm
- Spain v England, 7:45pm
Monday 16 November
- Germany v Netherlands, 7:45pm
- Greece v Serbia, 7:45pm
Tuesday 17 November
- Wales v Portugal, 7:45pm
- Denmark v Norway, kick-off time to be confirmed
The AI's corner
The AI's biggest call is a Spain win over England in Madrid, which would leave England second in Group A3. It has Italy holding France to a draw at San Siro and Germany taking four points from their two games, which would leave them needing Greece to slip against Serbia. Its most one-sided call is England 3-0 Croatia on Kane's record night.
Sources
Drafted with AI from published match reports and our football data, and checked against both before it went out. How Talking Points is written