4 reasons why the UEFA Nations League is a great idea

#3 It might put an end to un-earned international caps

Raheem Sterling is one of just two England players to withdraw from the current squad

Over the years, one reason why international friendlies have become so maligned is that they seemingly allow for too much experimentation. Sure, it’s nice for an international boss to be able to play around to find the correct formation or tactics for his team with less pressure than there would be during a competitive game, but due to the current rules allowing six substitutions in friendly games, some players have probably picked up caps they didn’t necessarily deserve.

Granted, the days of a team like Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England being able to make a full 11 substitutes at half-time have been gone since 2004, but even so, being able to use even six substitutes in a friendly match is jarring for the fans and can often spoil the flow of a game.

With less friendly fixtures and more competitive games due to the Nations League, though, international managers are surely far more likely to select their strongest side for each fixture – and much less likely to experiment for the sake of it. Not only will this preserve the integrity of international football, it should make for far better games.

To add to this, it’s probably less likely that a player would withdraw from an international squad for a competitive fixture in contrast to a friendly. For instance – at the time of writing – the only players to withdraw from England’s squad for their upcoming Nations League game with Spain are Adam Lallana (who has had long-term injury issues) Raheem Sterling.