How the Nations League works and who is in each league
The 2026-27 UEFA Nations League campaign starts on Thursday.
The competition began in 2018, and the format sees each nation compete across four different divisions. Each side competes for promotion and relegation in every campaign, with the best-performing nations in the top league going on to reach the play-offs at the end of each campaign.
The best-performing nations in each Nations League campaign can also strengthen their chances of qualifying for World Cups and European Championships, but cannot directly qualify for major tournaments through the Nations League alone.
How the leagues and groups are structured
Of the four leagues, teams are split into smaller groups. Leagues A, B and C are split into four groups of four, while League D contains only six teams.
UEFA also operates a Nations League in international women's football using a similar format.
Fixtures, promotion and relegation
Between September and November, each team in the Nations League will face every other team in their group twice, once at home and once away.
In League A, the top two teams from each group will make the quarter-finals later in that campaign. A knockout tournament between those eight teams will then play out to determine the overall Nations League winner.
In Leagues B, C and D, each group winner will be promoted up one league. The teams finishing bottom of their groups in Leagues A, B and C will be relegated down one league.
Teams finishing second in groups from Leagues B, C and D will enter play-offs against teams that finish third in Leagues A, B and C in relegation play-offs.
The March international break in 2027 will see the quarter-finals from League A and the relegation play-offs between League A/B and League B/C take place. The semi-finals and final for the Nations League campaign will take place in the international break of June 2027, as will the League C/D play-off.
The best-performing teams in the Nations League that do not qualify for the 2028 European Championships from the qualification campaign will enter play-offs to earn the final qualifying spots for the tournament.
League A groups
- Group A1: France, Italy, Belgium, Turkey
- Group A2: Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Greece
- Group A3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czech Republic
- Group A4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales
League B groups
- 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 groups
- 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 groups
- Group D1: Gibraltar, Malta, Andorra
- Group D2: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein
Nations League competitions on other continents
There are also Nations League competitions played in the Asian and North and Central American continents.
South America do not currently have their own men's Nations League, but reports in late 2025 suggested their football confederation CONMEBOL may be considering launching their own equivalent. There is, however, a South American Nations League in women's football.
Africa and Oceania, the other continental confederations, do not have a Nations League competition.
Previous Nations League winners
Portugal have won the men's Nations League twice, with Spain and France the other winners of the competition since it began in 2018.
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