The third edition of the UEFA Nations League commenced in June 2022 and the finals are scheduled for the same month a year later.
The third season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition featuring the men’s national teams of UEFA’s 55 member associations, will take place in 2022–2023.
The competition will take place from June to September 2022, June 2023, and March 2024, respectively (relegation play-outs).
Following their victory in the 2021 finals, France is the reigning champion. They couldn’t defend their championship because they finished third in their group.
How has the Nations League 2022/23 worked?
The 16 teams in Leagues A, B, and C were divided into four groups four for the league phase. League D’s remaining seven clubs were divided into two groups, one with four teams and the other with three.
Each team plays every opponent in their group both at home and away between June and September 2022. Due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s winter scheduling, four of the six matchdays were played in June.
League A’s top four group winners go to the knockout rounds in June 2023. For the 2024–25 season, all of the group winners from the other three leagues will receive promotions.
Leagues A and B’s fourth-place teams in each group will be demoted. The two teams that were defeated in those ties will move to League D, and the teams that place fourth in the League C groups will enter the play-outs in March 2024.
Who has so far earned a spot in the finals?
The Netherlands and Croatia were the first to claim the top slots in their League A groups, and now three teams have confirmed their spots in the finals. The following day, Italy joined them, and on Tuesday, either Portugal or Spain will take the final spot.
Who has each team played in the 2022/23 Nations League?
League A
Group A1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group A2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czechia
Group A3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group A4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales
League B
Group B1: Ukraine, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group B2: Iceland, Russia*, Israel, Albania
Group B3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Romania, Montenegro
Group B4: Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia
League C
Group C1: Türkiye, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Faroe Islands
Group C2: Northern Ireland, Greece, Kosovo, Cyprus
Group C3: Slovakia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan
Group C4: Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar
League D
Group D1: Liechtenstein, Moldova, Andorra, Latvia
Group D2: Malta, Estonia, San Marino
What are the dates for the 2022/23 Nations League?
Matchdays 1 & 2: 1–8 June 2022
Matchdays 3 & 4: 9–14 June 2022
Matchdays 5 & 6: 22–27 September 2022
Semi-finals: 14 & 15 June 2023
Final & third-place match: 18 June 2023
Play-outs: 21–23 & 24–26 March 2024
What will happen during the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals?
There will be four League A group winners, with one in theory serving as hosts. The final and third-place play-off will take place on June 18, 2023, after the semi-finals on June 14 and 15.
How does this relate to UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying?
According to rules, three of the 24 berths at UEFA EURO 2024 will be decided through play-off spots via the 2022–2023 UEFA Nations League.
Twelve teams, theoretically the group winners of Leagues A, B, and C, will be chosen based on their performance in the 2022–23 Nations League; however, if they have already qualified, they will be replaced by the next-best club in their league.
Relegated Teams Set to be Promoted
Switzerland and the Czech Republic are no longer contenders for first place. The Czech Republic needs to win in St. Gallen on Tuesday, while the Swiss only need a point to advance out of the group.
For Gareth Southgate’s team, a loss in Milan resulted in relegation to League B, but a 3-3 draw against Germany on Monday at Wembley allowed them to retain some dignity.
To ensure their safety, Republic of Ireland must win Tuesday’s match against Armenia at the Aviva Stadium.
Israel’s 2-1 victory over Albania on Saturday ensured their advancement to League A.
Russia will be demoted to League C as a result of the ban.
Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Montenegro 1-0 at home on Friday night to guarantee their promotion to League A. Despite defeating the group champions 4-1 on Monday night, Romania was demoted to League C when Finland defeated Montenegro 2-0.
When the bottom team Slovenia visits Sweden on the last gameday, relegation will also be decided. While Sweden needs to win, Slovenia only needs a point to ensure its survival.
With one game remaining, Lithuania’s draw against the Faroe Islands at home results in their relegation to League D.
After being defeated 2-1 by Northern Ireland at Windsor Park on Saturday, Kosovo was forced into the relegation fight. If they lost to Cyrpus on the last day of play, they would be in danger.
The outcome also effectively ended Belarus’ chances of being promoted from League D; they are now four points behind a Slovakia team that fell to Azerbaijan at home on Thursday. However, with just one match left in this pool, the promotion and relegation race is now over.
Gibraltar was dropped to League D after Bulgaria’s 5-1 victory against the visitors.
On Monday night, the group was over when Georgia defeated Gibraltar 2-1 and Bulgaria defeated North Macedonia 1-0.
At Andorra, Latvia and Liechtenstein tied 1-1, but Moldova defeated Liechtenstein at home by scoring twice in extra time.
