Nations League Matchday 4: France Hit Four, Spain and Portugal Advance, and 4 of 5 Preview Picks Land Again

Matchday 4 has started to separate the teams that are almost there from those who still have serious work to do in November.

Portugal became the first side to book a place in the quarter-finals. Spain followed. France scored four against Belgium after going into half-time behind, while Harry Kane once again made the difference for England.

And, as usual, it is time to return to our pre-match preview.

We selected five fixtures from the 888STARZ line.

Portugal, France, Spain and England all won. Germany failed to get past Greece. Another 4 out of 5.

Greece 0–0 Germany: 15 first-half shots, but no goal

A week earlier, Greece had beaten Germany for the first time in their history.

We expected an immediate response.

Our preview pick: Germany to win at 1.78 with 888STARZ.

Germany did start with huge pressure. Jürgen Klopp’s side had 15 shots in the first half alone, while Konstantinos Tzolakis made several important saves.

But the game slowed down dramatically after the break.

Germany never found the goal, and Greece collected four points from back-to-back games against one of the group favourites.

0–0 — our 1.78 pick does not land.

Portugal 2–1 Norway: another comeback and an early ticket to the quarter-finals

Portugal entered Matchday 4 without dropping a single point.

Our preview pick: Portugal to win at 1.65 with 888STARZ.

Norway still made them work for it.

Kristoffer Ajer put the visitors ahead with a superb finish, but João Cancelo equalised almost immediately.

The decisive moment came in the 79th minute. João Félix produced a clever touch for Gonçalo Ramos, who finished the move.

2–1 — Portugal make it four wins in a row, the 1.65 price lands, and they secure a quarter-final place early.

France 4–1 Belgium: behind at half-time, four goals in 14 minutes after the break

A week earlier, France needed an 88th-minute winner to beat Belgium 1–0.

In Paris, the story was very different.

Our preview pick: France to win at 1.50 with 888STARZ.

Belgium actually scored first, with Dodi Lukebakio putting the visitors ahead before half-time.

Then France exploded.

Désiré Doué and Rayan Cherki quickly turned the game around, before Michael Olise added two more.

Four goals in 14 second-half minutes.

4–1 — the most emphatic winner from our five picks. The 1.50 price lands comfortably.

Croatia 1–2 Spain: Merino turns it around and sends Spain through

After a 4–1 defeat in the first meeting and a 7–0 loss to England, Croatia badly needed a response.

And they started well.

Ivan Perišić headed them in front, leaving Spain chasing the game for a rare change.

Our preview pick: Spain to win at 1.28 with 888STARZ.

Mikel Merino changed everything after the break.

He first equalised, then scored again after Perišić was sent off to complete the comeback.

1–2 — Spain make it four wins from four, the 1.28 pick lands, and they join Portugal in the quarter-finals.

England 3–0 Czechia: Kane makes the difference again

After scoring seven in Croatia, the question was simple: could England keep that level going?

Our preview pick: England to win at 1.14 with 888STARZ.

Czechia did not hold out for long.

A Harry Kane cross was turned into his own net by Vladimír Coufal. Kane then scored himself after a Morgan Rogers assist.

The captain added another after the break to complete his brace.

Kane also moved level with Peter Shilton on 125 England appearances, while his six goals put him top of the current Nations League scoring chart.

3–0 — England confirm their status as favourites, and our 1.14 pick lands.

Italy 3–1 Türkiye: another strong response from the Italians

Italy were not part of our five 888STARZ picks, but after Matchday 4 they are impossible to ignore.

Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring, Türkiye equalised after the break, but only briefly.

Riccardo Calafiori restored Italy’s lead before Pio Esposito added the third.

3–1 — Italy beat Türkiye for the second time in a row and strengthen their grip on second place in Group A1.

Netherlands 2–1 Serbia: Xavi’s side remain unbeaten

Another important result came from Germany’s group.

Teun Koopmeiners put the Netherlands ahead, Mihajlo Cvetković equalised for Serbia, before Joshua Zirkzee scored the winner with 19 minutes left.

2–1 — the Netherlands remain unbeaten after four rounds and stay in control of their position in the group.

How our preview picks performed

Five matches, four winning picks. For the second round in a row, we finish 4 out of 5.

After four rounds, the picture is becoming much clearer.

Portugal and Spain are the first teams to secure quarter-final places. England have answered their opening defeat with three straight wins. France remain unbeaten, while Italy have recovered from a poor first round and are now fully back in the Group A1 race.

Germany, meanwhile, have dropped points against Greece again — making the November fixtures against Serbia and the Netherlands especially important for Klopp’s side.

Only two group-stage rounds remain.