Nations League 2024/25: Fixtures, results, table, schedule, teams, venues: everything you need to know about the tournament

The UEFA Nations League returns this week with the opening round of the fourth edition of the tournament.

The competition was created to remove unpopular friendlies from the calendar and replace them with meaningful matches – and as before, it will be partly linked to European qualification for the next World Cup in 2026.

England Interim CEO Lee Carsley is in charge Republic of Ireland on Saturday in Dublin at Heimir Hallgrimsson’s first game as coach at the Aviva Stadium in League B.

Scotland are preparing for their League A Group 1 opener against Poland at Hampden Park on Thursday before travelling to Lisbon to face Portugal next Sunday. Croatia are also in the group.

Craig Bellamy begins his Wales on Friday at the Cardiff City Stadium against Turkey, who were quarter-finalists at the 2024 European Championship this summer. Three days later, Wales will be visiting Montenegro in League B. The game was moved to Niksic at short notice after the pitch at the Podgorica National Stadium was deemed unplayable by UEFA.

In the 16 games so far, the hopefuls of League C Northern Ireland So far, the team has only one win in the competition – a 2-1 comeback victory against Kosovo in September 2022, with Josh Magennis scoring the winning goal in injury time.

Sky Sports takes a look at what’s new in UEFA’s newest competition and offers everything you need to know about the latest edition…

How does the league phase work?

Forget the new format of the Champions League – the Nations League still follows the traditional system with each team playing six games in its group, one at home and one away against the other three nations in the group.

The 54 participating UEFA member associations have been divided into four leagues based on their results in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League. Two years ago, England and Wales were relegated to League B, while Scotland were promoted to League A. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland remain in Leagues B and C respectively.

The fourth-placed teams in Leagues A and B are automatically relegated to Leagues B and C. As before, the four group winners in Leagues B and C and the two group winners in League D are automatically promoted to Leagues A, B and C.

The two worst placed fourth-placed teams in League C will be relegated to League D.

And the winners of the four groups of League A advance to the final?

No, that has changed since the last edition. Now the Nations League has been expanded to include an additional knockout round, which will take place in March 2025.

The winners and runners-up of Group A will play in home and away quarter-finals from 20 to 25 March, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the finals next June.

Are there any other changes to the format?

In addition, the third-placed teams in League A and the runners-up in League B as well as the third-placed teams in League B and the runners-up in League C will compete in a home and away play-off for promotion/relegation.

In addition, play-offs will take place between the two best fourth-placed teams in League C and the two runners-up in League D.

When will the Nations League finals take place?

The final round, which will be hosted by one of the four qualified nations, is scheduled to take place in June 2025.

The semifinals will take place on June 4th and 5th. The winners will advance to the final on June 8th, while the two losing semifinalists will fight for third place on the same day.

When will the draw for the promotion/relegation playoffs take place?

The draw for the promotion/relegation playoffs will take place on 22 November 2024 in Nyon, Switzerland, at the same time as the draw for the quarter-finals of League A.

For League A/B and B/C matches, the first legs will take place on March 20 and the second legs on March 23. For League C/D matches, the first legs will take place on March 26, 2026 and the second legs on March 31, 2026.

Do teams qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the Nations League?

The road to Canada, Mexico and the USA technically starts here. When it comes to the World Cup qualifying draw, each national team involved will also be ranked based on their performance in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League.

Essentially, a play-off safety net will be provided to the top four ranked teams who will then not automatically be able to secure a place at the 2026 World Cup.

To qualify for the 2026 World Cup, there will be 12 groups of four or five teams each. Only the group winners will automatically qualify for the tournament.

The twelve group runners-up and the four best Nations League group winners (based on the overall Nations League ranking) will be drawn into four play-off paths and will play two rounds of play-offs with one game each (semi-finals with the seeded teams as hosts, followed by a final with the home teams).

The four winners qualify for the final round of the World Cup.

All draws for the Nations League 2024/25

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: EnglandFinland, Republic of IrelandGreece.
Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan.
Group B4: WalesIceland, Montenegro, Türkiye.

League C

Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia.
Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania.
Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern IrelandBelarus.
Group C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia.

League D

Group D1: Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein.
Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra.

Scotland Fixtures

Scotland – Poland – 24.09.05
Portugal vs Scotland – 24.09.08
Croatia vs Scotland – 10.12.24
Scotland vs Portugal – 15.10.24
Scotland – Croatia – 15.11.24
Poland vs Scotland – 18.11.24

England games

Republic of Ireland vs England – 24.09.07.
England vs Finland – 24.09.10.
England vs Greece – 10.10.24
Finland vs England – 13.10.24
Greece vs England – 14.11.24
England vs Republic of Ireland – 17.11.24

Republic of Ireland fixtures

Republic of Ireland vs England – 24.09.07.
Republic of Ireland – Greece – 24.09.10.
Finland – Republic of Ireland – 10.10.24
Greece – Republic of Ireland – 13.10.24
Republic of Ireland – Finland – 14.11.24
England vs Republic of Ireland – 17.11.24

Wales Fixtures

Wales – Türkiye – 24.09.06.
Montenegro vs Wales – 24.09.09.
Iceland vs Wales – 24.10.11.
Wales vs Montenegro – 14.10.24
Türkiye – Wales – 16.11.24
Wales vs Iceland – 19.11.24

Northern Ireland Fixtures

Northern Ireland – Luxembourg – 09/24/05
Bulgaria – Northern Ireland – 24.09.08
Belarus – Northern Ireland – 10.12.24
Northern Ireland – Bulgaria – 15.10.24
Northern Ireland – Belarus – 15.11.24
Luxembourg vs Northern Ireland – 18.11.24

2024/25 Nations League schedule

Matchday 1: 5-7 September 2024
Matchday 2: 8-10 September 2024
3rd matchday: 10-12 October 2024
4th matchday: 13-15 October 2024
Matchday 5: 14-16 November 2024
Matchday 6: 17-19 November 2024
Draw of the knockout play-offs: November 2024
Play-offs for the knockout round: 20-25 March 2025
Quarterfinals of League A: 20-25 March 2025
Final round: 4-8 June 2025

topicnews · September 5, 2024