Uefa Nations League explained: dates, who will England face and how is Euro 2020 qualifying affected?
What is the Uefa Nations League?
Uefa’s new competition has been described as the saviour of friendly matches in international football by giving them a competitive edge.
It will see all the European countries separated into leagues, based on their Uefa coefficient, and then drawn into pots so that they play games against equally ranked nations. This will supposedly ensure more evenly-matched contests than say, official qualification campaigns, for the Euros or World Cups.
There will be promotion and relegation between the leagues, and they also serve as a potential route for qualification for Euro 2020.
The four group winners of the top-ranked League A will qualify for the Uefa Nations League finals in June 2019. For the remaining sides there is promotion and relegation to play for, not to mention a potential route to Euro 2020 (more on this below).
Why was it created?
Interest in international football, particularly friendly matches staged in the middle of tense domestic campaigns, has been on the wane across the continent. Already unpopular with increasingly powerful clubs, who resent losing their players for qualifying games for major tournaments, high profile players were often deciding to remain with their clubs rather than report for international duty.
Although these fixtures will still be friendlies and are not classed as competitive games in terms of national caps, there is a competitive edge added with the winners of each league section given the chance to qualify for Euro 2020 before official qualification for that tournament begins late next year.
How does it work?
55 countries have been split into four leagues according to their position in the Fifa rankings.
League A
The teams ranked 1-12 by Uefa are divided into four groups of three.
For Wednesday's draw, the pots are as follows:
Pot one: Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain
Pot two: France, England, Switzerland, Italy
Pot three: Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Holland
The four group winners contest the Uefa Nations League Finals (consisting of semi-finals, third-place match and final) in June 2019 to become the Nations League winners. One host country will be appointed for this mini-tournament in December 2018 from among the finalist teams.
The four sides that finish bottom of their groups will be relegated to League B for the 2020 edition.
The top four-ranked League A teams that do not qualify for Euro 2020 will enter play-offs in March 2020, with one finals place on offer.
League B
The teams ranked 13-24 by Uefa are divided into four groups of three.
For Wednesday's draw, the pots are as follows:
Pot one: Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia
Pot two: Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pot three: Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
The four group winners are promoted to League A, with the four sides that finish bottom relegated to League C.
The top four-ranked League B teams that do not qualify for Euro 2020 will enter play-offs in March 2020, with one finals place on offer.
League C
The teams ranked 25-39 by Uefa are divided into one group of three and three groups of four.
For Wednesday's draw, the pots are as follows:
Pot one: Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia
Pot two: Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway
Pot three: Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland
Pot four: Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
The four group winners are promoted to League B, with the four sides that finish bottom relegated to League D.
The top four-ranked League C teams that do not qualify for Euro 2020 will enter play-offs in March 2020, with one finals place on offer.
League D
The teams ranked 40-55 by Uefa are divided into four groups of four.
For Wednesday's draw, the pots are as follows:
Pot one: Azerbaijan, FYR Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia
Pot two: Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg
Pot three: Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta
Pot four: Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
The four group winners promoted to League C for the 2020 edition.
The top four-ranked League D teams that do not qualify for Euro 2020 will enter play-offs in March 2020, with one finals place on offer.
So how does Euro 2020 qualifying work?
This is where it gets a little complicated.
Qualifying for the Euros largely remains the same, at least until the play-offs. These were previously contested by teams that finished third in their group, but now they will be made up of the 16 group winners from the Nations League Groups.
If they have already qualified for the Euros by traditional means, they will be replaced by the next best ranked team in their Nations League group.
When do the matches and finals take place?
Uefa will confirm the fixtures, with dates and kick-off times, as soon as possible after the draw. Match weeks are below, though teams in Leagues A and B only play on four of them – they will still have friendlies on the other dates, presumably against nations outside of Europe.
Matchday 1: 6–8 September 2018
Matchday 2: 9–11 September 2018
Matchday 3: 11–13 October 2018
Matchday 4: 14–16 October 2018
Matchday 5: 15–17 November 2018
Matchday 6: 18–20 November 2018
Finals draw: early December 2018
Finals: 5–9 June 2019
Euro 2020 play-off draw: 22 November 2019
Euro 2020 play-offs: 26–31 March 2020
