A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | League phase: 5 September – 19 November 2024 League A quarter-finals and League A/B and B/C play-offs: 20–23 March 2025 Nations League Finals: 4–8 June 2025 League C/D play-offs: 26–31 March 2026 |
| Teams | 54 |
The 2024–25 UEFA Nations League will be the fourth season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, everyone except one. The competition will be held from September to November 2024 (league phase), March 2025 (League A quarter-finals, and League A/B and B/C play-offs), June 2025 (Nations League Finals) and March 2026 (League C/D play-offs).
Spain are the defending champions, having won the 2023 finals.
Format
The UEFA national teams will be divided into four leagues, with Leagues A, B, and C featuring 16 teams each, divided into four groups of four teams, while League D will feature 6 teams divided into two groups of three. The teams are allocated to leagues based on the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League overall ranking.[1] Each team will play six matches within their group, except for teams in League D which will play four, using the home-and-away round-robin format on double matchdays in September, October and November 2024.[2]
On 25 January 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee confirmed a modified format for the Nations League following the league phase.[3][4] In the top division, League A, the group winners and runners-up will advance to a new quarter-final round, played home-and-away over two legs in March 2025. In each tie, group winners will face a runner-up from a different group, with the group winner hosting the second leg. The four quarter-final winners will qualify for the Nations League Finals, retaining its previous format, which is played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off, and final. The semi-final pairings, along with the administrative home teams for the third place play-off and final, are determined by means of a draw. The host country will be selected among the four qualified teams by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the Nations League champions.
Teams also compete for promotion and relegation to a higher or lower league. The group winners in Leagues B, C, and D are directly promoted, while the last-placed teams of each group in Leagues A and B are directly relegated. As League C has four groups while League D has only two, the two worst-ranked League C teams will automatically be relegated (a change from the previous editions, which featured relegation play-outs between the fourth-placed teams of League C). As part of the format change, promotion/relegation play-offs will also be introduced, with the third-placed teams of League A facing the runners-up of League B, the third-placed teams of League B facing the runners-up of League C, and the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams of League C facing the runners-up of League D. The matches will be played home-and-away over two legs in March 2025 (League A/B and B/C) and March 2026 (League C/D), with the winners going to the higher league and the losers entering the lower league.[5]
In all two-legged ties, the higher-ranked teams host the second leg. The team that scores more goals on aggregate is the winner. If the aggregate score is level, extra time is played (the away goals rule is not applied). If the score remains level after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner.[6]
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2024–25 Nations League will be partially linked with European qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the format confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 28 June 2023.[7] The twelve group winners after the first round (group stage) will qualify directly for the World Cup. Then, the second round (play-offs) will be contested by the twelve group runners-up, along with the best four Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group. The play-offs will be split into four play-off paths, played in two single-match knockout rounds (semi-finals and finals, with the home teams to be drawn), from which an additional four teams will also qualify.[8]
Tiebreakers
Tiebreakers for group ranking
If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:[6]
- Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
- Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
- Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
- If, after having applied criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings.[a] If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 11 apply;
- Superior goal difference in all group matches;
- Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
- Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
- Higher number of wins in all group matches;
- Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
- Lower disciplinary points total in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card).
- Higher position in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League access list.
Notes
- ^ When two or more teams are tied in points, criteria 1 to 3 are applied. After these criteria are applied, they may define the position of some of the teams involved, but not all of them. For example, if there is a three-way tie on points, the application of the first three criteria may only break the tie for one of the teams, leaving the other two teams still tied. In this case, the tiebreaking procedure is resumed, from the beginning, for those teams that are still tied.
Criteria for league ranking
Individual league rankings are established according to the following criteria:[6]
- Position in the group;
- Higher number of points;
- Higher goal difference;
- Higher number of goals scored;
- Higher number of goals scored away from home;
- Higher number of wins;
- Higher number of wins away from home;
- Lower disciplinary points total (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card).
- Higher position in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League access list.
Criteria for interim overall ranking
Following the completion of the league phase, the interim overall UEFA Nations League rankings are established as follows:[6]
- The 16 League A teams are ranked 1st to 16th according to their league rankings.
- The 16 League B teams are ranked 17th to 32nd according to their league rankings.
- The 16 League C teams are ranked 33rd to 48th according to their league rankings.
- The 6 League D teams are ranked 49th to 54th according to their league rankings.
Criteria for final overall ranking
Following the completion of the League A knockout stage and promotion/relegation play-offs, the final overall UEFA Nations League rankings are established. Within each of the groups listed below, teams are ordered based on their interim overall ranking.[6]
- The four Nations League Finals participants are ranked as follows:
- The winner is ranked 1st;
- The runner-up is ranked 2nd;
- The third-placed team is ranked 3rd;
- The fourth-placed team is ranked 4th.
- The four League A quarter-final losers are ranked 5th to 8th.
- The four teams directly promoted to League A, and the four winners of the League A/B play-offs, are ranked 9th to 16th.
- The four teams directly relegated to League B, and the four losers of the League A/B play-offs, are ranked 17th to 24th.
- The four teams directly promoted to League B, and the four winners of the League B/C play-offs, are ranked 25th to 32nd.
- The four teams directly relegated to League C, and the four losers of the League B/C play-offs, are ranked 33rd to 40th.
- The four League C third-placed teams remain ranked 41st to 44th.
- The two teams directly promoted to League C, and the two winners of the League C/D play-offs, are ranked 45th to 48th.
- The two teams directly relegated to League D, and the two losers of the League C/D play-offs, will be ranked 49th to 52nd.
- The two League D third-placed teams remain ranked 53rd and 54th.
Schedule
Below is the schedule of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League.[6]
To allow for enough teams to participate in the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification group stage in March 2025, the League C/D promotion/relegation play-offs will be played in March 2026. If any of the teams due to participate in these ties advance to the World Cup play-offs in March 2026, the League C/D promotion/relegation play-offs will be cancelled, and all teams will remain in their respective leagues for the following edition.[6]
| Stage | Round | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| League phase | Matchday 1 | 5–7 September 2024 |
| Matchday 2 | 8–10 September 2024 | |
| Matchday 3 | 10–12 October 2024 | |
| Matchday 4 | 13–15 October 2024 | |
| Matchday 5 | 14–16 November 2024 | |
| Matchday 6 | 17–19 November 2024 | |
| League A quarter-finals and League A/B and B/C play-offs |
First leg | 20 March 2025 |
| Second leg | 23 March 2025 | |
| Finals | Semi-finals | 4–5 June 2025 |
| Third place play-off | 8 June 2025 | |
| Final | ||
| League C/D play-offs | First leg | 26 March 2026 |
| Second leg | 31 March 2026 |
The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 9 February 2024, the day following the draw.[9][10][11][12]
Seeding
54 of UEFA's 55 national teams entered the competition. Russia, slated to participate in League C, were banned from participating due to Russian invasion of Ukraine.[citation needed] The teams which finished bottom of their group in Leagues A and B, as well as the losers from the relegation play-outs of League C, from the 2022–23 season will move down a league, while the group winners of Leagues B, C and D moved up. The remaining teams stayed in their respective leagues.[13]
In an interview with the Polish website meczyki.pl, UEFA vice-president Zbigniew Boniek said that all ten teams from CONMEBOL, South America's football federation, could join the UEFA Nations League from the 2024–25 edition of the competition.[14] The plans, which would act as a response to FIFA's biennial World Cup plans, were intended as part of enhanced cooperation between the two organisations following the signing of a memorandum of understanding and the opening of a joint office in London.[15] However, such an expansion was not possible after CONMEBOL submitted a request to FIFA to maintain the round-robin qualification format for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[16] On 25 January 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee confirmed the format for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, with no South American teams to be added.[3]
In the 2022–23 access list, UEFA ranked teams based on the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League overall ranking,[17] with slight modifications: teams that were relegated in the previous season were ranked immediately below those who were promoted, and rankings shifted with the removal of Russia.[6] The seeding pots for the league phase were based on the access list ranking. The seeding pots, draw procedure, and fixture list procedures were confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Hamburg, Germany, on 2 December 2023.[18]
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Promoted in previous season after league phase |
|---|---|
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Relegated in previous season after league phase |
| *
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Relegated in previous season after relegation play-outs |
