HOW do you solve a problem like international friendlies?

Uefa has attempted to arrest dwindling attendances and interest with the introduction of “a new competition that aims to ensure the continued success of national team football by replacing most friendlies with competitive matches and enabling all nations to play against evenly matched opponents” 

Four leagues each split into four groups with promotion, relegation and a guaranteed place at the European Championship finals for four play-off winners has created more confusion than anticipation as it overlaps with the traditional qualification system, itself delayed until 2019.

For England, today’s draw was relatively kind pitting them against familiar opponents Spain for the eighth time this century and Croatia whom they faced six times in seven years last decade. “Ideally we’d have had two teams that maybe we hadn’t played for a while,” admitted England manager Gareth Southgate. “The whole concept is to play high-level opposition and that’s what we’ve got.”

Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic saw the benefits of more competitive fixtures. “To play friendly games there is not a big interest because [we play] a small team without fans [in the stadium]. To play against Spain and England, it will be spectacular. I expect full stadiums and a real spectacle.”

“Top teams can aspire to take part in the Nations League finals, a new top-level event” was the wording from the official press release and Southgate, while seeing the opportunity to win a new trophy as a “part to it,” understood why fans may struggle to get excited about the Nations League. “I think it will be difficult before the World Cup for people to get enthused about what comes after the World Cup. Once we’ve flown back, we’re thinking about Russia rather than what comes at the end of the year.”