The UEFA Nations League: How does it work, what's changed and ...
The Nations League is back and this time it’s slightly different.
It may not be the most beloved international competition, but the Nations League will dominate the European football agenda for the next week, so how does it work and what, exactly, has changed?
The Nations League was introduced in the 2018-19 season to banish ‘meaningless’ international friendlies and give countries more competitive games.
The 2024-25 edition kicks off tonight and runs up to the final in June 2025. In total, 54 teams are spread over four leagues — labelled A to D — with 16 teams in Leagues A, B and C, and six in League D. Each league is split into groups, with four groups in Leagues A to C and two in League D.
Each team will play six games in the league phase, one home and one away against each of the three teams in their Group.
The four group winners in Leagues B and C will be promoted to the league above, as well as the two group winners in League D.
The fourth-placed teams in League A and B are automatically relegated to the league below, while the two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League C face relegation to League D.
Which teams are in the leagues and groups?League A
Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland Group A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia
League B
Group B1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia Group B2: England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Turkey
League C
Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus Group C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia
League D
Group D1: Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra
But England were Euro 2024 finalists. How did they end up in League B?Performance at the Euros in Germany over the summer doesn’t matter as far as the Nations League is concerned.
England are in League B because they were relegated from League A — along with Austria, Czech Republic and Wales — in the 2022-23 Nations League.
They failed to win a game in that campaign, losing twice to Hungary, including a 4-0 defeat at Molineux — arguably the low point of Gareth Southgate’s reign as manager.
England’s players looked dejected during their defeat to Hungary at Molineux (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
There is now a new knockout round. Instead of the four League A winners progressing straight to the final four as previously, they will now face League A runners-up in home-and-away quarter-finals in order to qualify for the final four.
In terms of promotion and relegation, there will now also be promotion/relegation home-and-away ties between the third-placed teams of League A and the runners-up of League B, and the third-placed teams of League B and runners-up of League C. This gives more opportunities for promotion and relegation.
According to UEFA, these changes are designed to create “continuity between the group phase ending in November and the finals played in June”.
When are the knockout rounds?
Knockout round play-off draw: November 2024 Knockout round play-offs: March 20-25, 2025 League A quarter-finals: March 20-25, 2025 Semi-finals: June 4-5, 2025 Final: June 8, 2025
One of the nations who reach the final four will be decided to host the semi-finals and beyond.
What do the winners receive and who are the favourites?Spain are the holders, having defeated Croatia in 2023, and off the back of their European Championship victory, they will feel confident of adding to their international silverware.
France, ranked second in FIFA rankings, and Portugal could also be in contention.
Spain and Croatia do battle in the 2023 Nations League final (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)
The winners will receive significant prize money. For the last campaign, Spain were awarded €10.5million (£8.9m, $11.7m), while the runners-up got €9m.
This is on top of an initial payment for participating, which goes from €1.5m for League A teams to €500,000 for League D teams. There are also extra bonuses for winning your group, ranging from €750,000 in League A to €250,000 in League D.
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The Nations League 2024-2025 will also determine four spots in the UEFA qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
From March 2025 to 2026, UEFA’s 16 World Cup nations (up from 13) will be decided through 12 groups of four or five teams, with those teams playing home-and-away ties against one another. Group winners will automatically qualify for the World Cup, taking up the first 12 spots.
For the remaining four spots, the runners-up in these 12 groups along with the four best Nations League group winners based on their overall Nations League ranking — which, for example, ranks League A winners above League B winners and so on — will be drawn into four paths.
The four paths will consist of two single-match play-off games, with the winners of each qualifying for the World Cup.
(Top photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Eduardo Tansley is an Explainer Journalist for The Athletic. He completed his postgraduate in Sports Journalism from St Mary's University, Twickenham
