The UEFA Nations League is approaching its final stages. Today's draw decided the semifinals of the tournament that will be held from 14-18 June in the Netherlands. Each semifinal will have potential Barça representation as Spain will take on Italy, while the Netherlands will play Croatia.
Spain v Italy: a Mediterranean match-up
The Spaniards will take on the Italians on 15 June in Enschede (kick off 8.45pm CEST). Spain reached the last four for the second year in a row after going through against Portugal (0-1). Using the recent Qatar World Cup squad as a reference, a lot of Barça players may feature in the game. Former coach Luis Enrique called up eight Barça players for the tournament, namely Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba, Pedri, Gavi, Busquets, Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Alejandro Balde.
As new coach Luis de la Fuente is yet to name a squad, whether or not he will call up Barça players clearly remains unknown. The Spaniard took on the role after the World Cup in December once Luis Enrique had vacated the post.
Let's not forget that two players in the Barça squad have experience of winning a trophy with the national team, Sergio Busquets, now retired from the national side, and Jordi Alba. Both captains won Euro 2012 and Barça's number 5 also won the World Cup in 2010.
Frenkie De Jong set to face Croatia
The other semifinal may also see Barça representation as the Netherlands and Frenkie De Jong are set to face Croatia with a place in the final at stake and potentially the young midfielder's first trophy with the national side. The semifinal will be played in Rotterdam on 14 June, kickoff 8:15pm CEST.
Frenkie debuted for the Netherlands in 2018 and was called up to both the Euro 2020 and Qatar World Cup squads. Every indication is that Barça's number 21 is likely to be called up by former Barça player and coach Ronald Koeman, for the international tournament.