UEFA Nations League Kicks Off with Exciting Matches

The UEFA Nations League returns this week with the opening round of fixtures in its fourth edition. This competition was established to eliminate the less popular friendly matches, replacing them with more meaningful fixtures. Furthermore, the tournament will also serve as a partial link to European qualification for the upcoming World Cup in 2026.

England‘s interim coach Lee Carsley will lead the team against the Republic of Ireland this Saturday in Dublin. This match marks the first game under Heimir Hallgrimsson‘s leadership at the Aviva Stadium in League B.

In League A, Scotland is preparing for their group opener against Poland at Hampden Park on Thursday. They will also face Portugal in Lisbon next Sunday, with Croatia being another team in their group. Meanwhile, Craig Bellamy will begin his tenure as Wales‘ coach against Turkey at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday.

Wales will then proceed to play Montenegro three days later. This match has been rescheduled to take place in Niksic after UEFA deemed the pitch at the Podgorica National Stadium unplayable.

To date, Northern Ireland, a League C hopeful, has achieved only one victory in the competition—a narrow 2-1 win against Kosovo in September 2022.

The Nations League follows a conventional system, requiring each team to play six matches within their group, consisting of one home and one away game against each of the other three nations. The 54 member associations of UEFA are divided into four leagues based on their results from the 2022/23 edition, with England and Wales having been relegated to League B while Scotland was promoted to League A.

The regulations state that the bottom-placed teams from Leagues A and B will automatically drop to Leagues B and C, respectively. Notably, the four group winners across Leagues B and C, as well as the two victors from League D, will be automatically promoted, while the two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League C will be relegated to League D.

This edition has been enhanced with an additional knockout round scheduled for March 2025. The top teams from League A will compete in home-and-away quarter-finals, with success in these matches leading to qualification for the finals next June.

Additionally, promotion and relegation playoffs will occur for various teams across the leagues, with finals expected to take place in June 2025. The draw for the promotion and relegation playoffs is set for November 22, 2024, in Nyon, Switzerland.