UEFA Nations League 2026-27: groups, teams, format, schedule

The road to the UEFA Nations League 2026-27 begins on Thursday 24 September, with 54 teams in action in the league phase of the fifth edition of the competition.

Portugal, the record two-time champions, will look to successfully retain the title they won in 2025. But with reigning World Cup winners Spain, former champions France and heavyweights England also in the mix, the title defence will be far from easy.

What the UEFA Nations League is

The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against equally ranked teams.

Countries from across Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation.

All 54 teams across the four leagues

A total of 54 teams will participate in the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League. They were divided into the following leagues and groups at the draw in Brussels, Belgium, in February.

League A

• Group A1: France, Italy, Belgium, Turkiye
• Group A2: Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Greece
• Group A3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czechia
• Group A4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales

League B

• Group B1: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia
• Group B2: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Northern Ireland
• Group B3: Israel, Austria, Republic of Ireland, Kosovo
• Group B4: Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden

League C

• Group C1: Albania, Finland, Belarus, San Marino
• Group C2: Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus, Latvia
• Group C3: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova
• Group C4: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembourg

League D

• Group D1: Gibraltar, Malta, Andorra
• Group D2: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein

Schedule and key dates

UEFA has earmarked the following dates for the Nations League 2026-27.

League phase

• Matchday 1: 24 to 26 September 2026
• Matchday 2: 27 to 29 September 2026
• Matchday 3: 1 to 3 October 2026
• Matchday 4: 4 to 6 October 2026
• Matchday 5: 12 to 14 November 2026
• Matchday 6: 15 to 17 November 2026

Quarter-finals, League A/B and League B/C promotion and relegation play-offs

• 25 to 30 March 2027

League C/D play-offs

• 23 to 28 March 2028

Final tournament

• 9 to 13 June 2027

How promotion and relegation work

The teams compete across four different divisions, facing every other team in their group twice, once at home and once away. The league phase ends in November.

In League A, the top two teams from each group go through to the quarter-finals, which take place in March 2027. The finals will again be contested between four teams, with the host and the dates not yet confirmed.

The group winners in Leagues B, C and D will be promoted to the league above, while the teams finishing bottom of their groups in Leagues A, B and C will be relegated one league below.

The full breakdown of the promotion and relegation scenarios is as follows.

League A

• The group winners and runners-up advance to the quarter-finals.
• The two highest-ranked third-placed teams remain in League A.
• The two lowest-ranked third-placed teams and two highest-ranked fourth-placed teams contest the League A/B play-offs against the four runners-up from League B.
• The two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams are relegated to League B.

League B

• The group winners are promoted to League A.
• The runners-up contest the League A/B play-offs against the two lowest-ranked third-placed teams and two highest-ranked fourth-placed teams from League A.
• The third-placed teams remain in League B.
• The fourth-placed teams contest the League B/C play-offs against the four runners-up from League C.

League C

• The group winners are promoted to League B.
• The runners-up contest the League B/C play-offs against the fourth-placed teams from League B.
• The third- and fourth-placed teams remain in League C.

League D

• All teams are promoted to League C.

The link to UEFA EURO 2028

According to European football's governing body, UEFA, the 2026-27 Nations League is expected to be linked to qualification for UEFA EURO 2028 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Based on their Nations League results, some teams will be given a second chance to enter the play-offs for the final tournament.

Ronaldo confirms his place in Portugal's squad

Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in the Nations League after being called up for Portugal's upcoming four fixtures, having been included in new coach Jorge Jesus's first 25-man squad last weekend. Portugal begin their campaign against Wales.

In August, however, the 41-year-old fuelled speculation about his retirement plans after saying the coming year would probably be the last of his playing career.

The Portugal captain has won major trophies at the club level with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and current club Al-Nassr since making his senior debut for Sporting in 2002, but he has not quite tasted similar success with his national team.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has yet to win a FIFA World Cup, football's biggest prize, after Portugal were knocked out in the last 16 by eventual champions Spain.

Ronaldo has, though, won the Nations League twice, leading Portugal to victory in the inaugural edition in 2019 and again in 2025. In 2019 Portugal were crowned winners on home soil in Porto, defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final. Last edition they were crowned champions for a second time, beating Spain 5-3 on penalties after the match was tied 2-2 in extra time, with Ronaldo among Portugal's goal scorers in Munich.

Other stars to watch across the leagues

The Nations League 2026-27 is filled with stars across all divisions.

In League A, world champions Spain have talent all around with Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Ferran Torres among the standout names, while England skipper Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham also add glamour to the division.

Norway's talismanic forward Erling Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard headline their team, Brian Bobbey has the spotlight on him in the Netherlands squad, and veteran Luka Modric continues his journey with Croatia.

In League B, fans should watch out for Sweden's Victor Gyokeres, the top scorer in the 2024-25 Nations League, and Georgia's winger and PSG star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Several players will miss the opening games through injury, including England's Cole Palmer, Declan Rice and Marcus Rashford, while Pedro Porro has been ruled out of the Spain squad.

Previous Nations League finals

The UEFA Nations League has been held every two years since 2019.

• 2019: Portugal 1-0 Netherlands, Porto
• 2021: France 2-1 Spain, Milan
• 2023: Croatia 0-0 Spain after extra time, Spain won 5-4 on penalties, Rotterdam
• 2025: Portugal 2-2 Spain after extra time, Portugal won 5-3 on penalties, Munich

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