It's coming home
There is no World Cup this summer, but England will still be contesting for a trophy: the historic and prestigious UEFA Nations League. Its inaugural campaign saw England escape arguably the toughest group in the top league, beating Croatia at home and Spain in Seville, confirming that football will be coming home for the second consecutive summer. (Yes, it did, don't @ me).
The UEFA Nations League finals comprise two semi-finals and one final, all to be competed in Portugal.
The first semi-final will be contested between Portugal and Switzerland at Porto's home stadium, Estádio do Dragão, while the other game, between England the Netherlands, will take place at the home of Vitoria S.C., Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães.
The winners of each game will play the final in Porto on 9 June, competing for the historic and well-respected title of UEFA Nations League champions.
There will also be a third-place play-off in Guimarães on the same day as the final, which nobody will want to go to.
UEFA recently announced ticket prices, and they're surprisingly reasonable, although demand will, of course, be through the roof, given the high level of prestige that the competition holds.
If you want to see Gareth's boys bring it home, you'll have to fork out between €30 (£26.70) to €120 (£106.80) for the semi-finals, depending on the location of the seat, while tickets for the final range from €50 (£44.60) to €150 (£133.80). Mid-range tickets for the semis cost €65 (£58). Which isn't bad considering
return flights to Portugal are pretty cheap as well.
If you want to have a chance of seeing Harry Kane and company destroy the Netherlands (and then Portugal), you must register your interest by creating a ticketing account on
UEFA's website.
The ticket application window will open 30 January 2019 at 14:00 CET and will remain open until 12 February 2019 14:00 CET.
In the likely event that demand exceeds supply, tickets will be allocated via a lottery. Fans will be informed via email by the end of February 2019 as to whether their application has been successful or not.
Good luck. And remember, you've got to hold and give, but do it at the right time...
