The draw for the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League was held in Paris on February 8, Thursday and has set up some interesting battles in the group stage. Here is everything that was revealed in Paris!

How does the draw for the league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League work?

54 UEFA member nations will particpate in the 2024/25 editions of the Nations League. Based on their performances in the 2022/23 Nations League, these 54 member nations have been divided in 4 different leagues. Teams were then put into pots based on their ranking in the previous edition of the league. After the draw on Thursday, these are the groups. 

League A (16 Teams)

A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland

A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel

A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina

A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia

League B (16 Teams)

B1: Czechia, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia

B2: England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece

B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan

B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Türkiye

League C (16 Teams)

C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia

C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania/ Gibraltar*

C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus

C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia

League D (6 Teams)

D1: Lithuania/Gibraltar*, San Marino, Liechtenstein
D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra

* Play-offs in March 2024 will dtermine the positions.

Matchday Schedule:

The schedule for the matchdays 1-6 is as follows:

MD1: 5-7 September 2024

MD2: 8-10 September 2024

MD3: 10-12 October 2024

MD 4: 13-15 October 2024

MD5: 14-16 November 2024

MD6: 17-19 November 2024

Schedule for the Knockout stages:

Knockout round play-off draw: November 2024

Knockout round play-offs: 20-25 March 2025

League A quarter-finals: 20-25 March 2025

Final tournament: 4-8 June 2025

How will the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League work?

Taking a page out of the previous edition’s book, the 2024/25 Nations League will also feature each team playing at home and away against the other nations in their respective groups. 

The nations in League D will face off against the other two nations in their group twice as well, once at home and the other time away. However, they will only have 4 matchdays. 

The League A group winners and runners-up will participate in home-and-away quarter-finals, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the final tournament in June 2025.

The 2024/25 Nations League edition will introduce a new knockout round. The teams which finish last in Leagues A and B will be automatically relegated to League B and C respectively. Simultaneously, the two nations the lowest ranked and in fourth place will be relegated to group D.

Automatic promotion awaits the four group winners of Leagues B and C, as well as the two group winners of League D.

The third-ranked teams of League A and the runners-up of League B, as well as the third-ranked teams of League B and the runners-up of League C, will play a home-and-away promotion/relegation play-off.

The two best-ranked fourth-placed teams from League C and the two runners-up from League D will face off in a play-off.

Key Takeaways from the UEFA Nations League draw:

With the stage set for an interesting group stage, here are some of the key takeaways from the group stage draw!

• France, Italy and Belgium and Israel will battle to death in group A2 of League A. While France are the favorites to win the group, a ‘Group of Death’ can be highly unpredictable. 
• England ‘s poor campaign in the previous edition of Nations League relegated them to League B. Group 2 of the Nations League of League B has offered The Lions a chance at redemption. They will face Finland, Greece and Ireland.
• A Spanish relegation? Spain’s young team has struggled recently and in a group consisting of Switzerland, Denmark and Serbia they could find themselves struggling to win.

The Nations League 2024/25 will begin on 5th September 2024.

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