Credit: @UEFANationsLeague / X

What Are the Different Leagues in UEFA Nations League?

A crucial aspect of the UEFA Nations League is its tiered league system, which ensures that teams play against opponents of a similar level.

Credit: @UEFANationsLeague / X

The fourth edition of the UEFA Nations League has reached its final stages, with the league phase now completed and the knockout rounds and play-offs fully mapped out. Teams have battled through their respective groups and now the focus shifts to the upcoming matches that will determine the final champion.

The league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League was held across September, October, and November 2024. During this period, teams earned promotion, faced relegation and qualified for the quarter-finals or play-offs.

Introduced in 2018, the UEFA Nations League was designed to replace international friendlies with more competitive fixtures and provide a clearer pathway to major tournaments like the UEFA European Championship.

UEFA Nations League is back this month 🙌#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/SKgvtiu5NO
— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) March 1, 2025

What Are the Different Leagues in UEFA Nations League?

A crucial aspect of the UEFA Nations League is its tiered league system, which ensures that teams play against opponents of a similar level. This structure helps maintain competitive balance and allows lower-ranked teams more opportunities for meaningful matches. The competition consists of four leagues – League A, League B, League C, and League D.

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: Czechia, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia
Group B2: England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece
Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Türkiye

Also Read: When can Liverpool win the Premier League title?

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

What Is the UEFA Nations League Format?

All the UEFA national teams were originally divided into divisions ‘leagues’ based on their UEFA coefficients following the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Within each league there are groups of three or four teams. The current 2024/25 format sees four groups of four teams across Leagues A, B and C, while League D is two groups of three teams.

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Teams can be promoted or relegated from one league to another. Under the current rules, the teams that finish bottom of groups in Leagues A and B are automatically relegated, while third-placed teams will contest a two-legged play-off against runners-up from the league below. The winners of groups in League B, C and D are automatically promoted to the league above.

Relegation from League C is different in the form that the four last-placed teams go into a head-to-head league, whereby the two teams with the worst overall record are relegated to League D.

The top two teams from each four groups go into a quarter-final round which pits a group winner against a runner-up from another group. The winners on aggregate over the four two-legged, home-and-away ties then advance to the Nations League Finals.

UEFA Nations League

Abhinav Goel

soccer

I am a soccer writer at The PlayOffs, covering everything from match analysis to transfer buzz and tactical deep dives. Ever since I was a kid, soccer has been more than just a sport to me—it’s been an obsession. Playing and watching the game from a young age fueled my passion, eventually leading me into the world of sports media and betting. Now, I get to analyze the sport I love and bring the latest updates to fans worldwide.