What is the UEFA Nations League? When does it start? Where to watch?

Topics: TV Schedules, UEFA Nations League

The first ever UEFA Nations League is set to kick off this September, and LiveSoccerTV is here to provide you with all the info you need to stay on top of all the action.

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The newest tournament created by UEFA, this latest competition will involve all 55 UEFA nations - including minnows like the Faroe Islands. The purpose of it? Basically to get rid of "meaningless" international friendlies and streamline the qualification process for the EURO tournaments, while offering smaller teams a real shot at securing a berth.

The tournament will be divided into two phases: the pool stage and the Nations League finals stage. The former will be contested every September through November of an even-numbered year, with the first one starting from this fall. The latter will start in June of an odd-numbered year, with the first one starting in June 2019. This means that a new champion will be crowned biannually.

There are four leagues: League A, B, C, and D, which are based on the strength of how a national team has fared at international competitions and their overall ranking by FIFA. In the maiden edition, not surprisingly, teams like France, Germany, Spain, England, and Portugal are all in League A. Thanks to their solid showings at recent tournaments, Croatia and Iceland also made it to League A. Poland's inclusion here may have raised some eyebrows perhaps, but they did do well at EURO 2016 and were in the Top 10 as per FIFA's rankings at the time of the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League draw.

League B of the first ever UNL include other sides like Russia, Wales, Austria, and Turkey - teams hoping to break into the upper tier should they do well in their group. Meanwhile, Leagues C and D are comprised of smaller sides who nonetheless could use this competition as a back-door route to sneak into the EURO 2020 tournament, theoretically. All group matches are played on a home-and-away basis.

How is the winner of the UEFA Nations League decided?

The winner of the UEFA Nations League can only come from League A which is the highest division in this four-division tournament. Every season, the four group winners in League A qualify for the Nations League Finals to be played in June. This phase starts with two semi-finals. The losers of these two clashes settle for the Third Place final battle while the victors of the semis go on to play in the ultimate UEFA Nations League final. The winner takes it all!

Is there a relegation-promotion system?

YES. Each team plays each other twice, and the worst-performing team in each group is relegated to the next lower league. The best-performers, of course, are rewarded with a bump up to the league above them.

Does the UEFA Nations League have anything to do with the UEFA Euro?

YES. Although it is a separate competition and the winner of this will enjoy a totally separate title (namely, the UEFA Nations League trophy) independent of the 2020 EURO tournament, it is still connected to the EURO competition. Call it "the second chance"!

Keep in mind, there are 24 spots available for EURO 2020. And given that it will not be hosted in any one specific country unlike in prior editions, there is no automatic berth given to anyone. Twenty of those spots will be earned through UEFA Euro qualifying rounds, which will start in March 2019 and end in March 2020.

That said, keep in mind also that there are 16 groups in the UEFA Nations League and that the 16 group winners (or those with the best finish if a group winner has already qualified for the UEFA Euro through the Euro qualifiers) get to progress into their respective league's playoffs to determine the four nations to grab the last four UEFA Euro spots.

The playoffs in each division is scheduled to take place in March 2020. It is shaped upon a semi-finals and final format to decide the UEFA Euro qualifying playoffs winner of each league. In other words, the last four UEFA Euro tickets will be taken, in March 2020, by one team from League A, one from League B, one from League C, and one from League D. This format was created to offer Europe's lowest ranked nations an equal chance as that of giants to participate in the European Championship.

When does the 2018/2019 UEFA Nations League start?

The UEFA Nations League will run from September 6, 2018 through November 20th of the same year. Once the league phase is completed, the Nations League finals stage -- comprising only League A group winners -- will take place starting on June 5th and will end on June 9th, 2019.

Here are the specific dates of each phase:

Sep. 6-8, 2018: Matchday 1

Sep. 9-11, 2018: Matchday 2

Oct. 11-13, 2018: Matchday 3

Oct. 14-16, 2018: Matchday 4

Nov. 15-17, 2018: Matchday 5

Nov. 16-18, 2018: Matchday 6

Jun. 5-6, 2019: Nations League Finals' semi-Finals (League A)

Jun. 9, 2019: Nations League Finals' Third place Play-off and Final (League A)

The latter stages, which begin in 2019 are where things get very interesting. Why? Well, because with the EURO 2020 qualifying campaign beginning in March of that year, there will be some slight overlap between the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Euro qualifiers. In fact, in June, fans will be bombarded with plenty of footballing action as the UEFA Nations League wraps up and the European Championship qualifiers heat up. Curiously, the UEFA Nations League's League A semi-finals take place on June 5th and June 6th whilst matchday three of the EURO 2020 qualifiers will take place on June 7th and June 8th followed by the UEFA Nations League's League A third-placed final and ultimate final on June 9th.

That's a busy and hectic period, indeed.

Which teams are playing the UEFA Nations League?

There are a total of 55 teams playing in the UEFA Nations League and this is how they've been divided into four leagues made of four groups each:

League A and League B have three teams in each of their four groups. In other words, League A counts UEFA's 12 highest-ranked nations. League B also counts 12 other contestants.

In League C, three of the four groups have four teams each while the first of those groups counts only three participants. League C therefore counts 15 contenders.

And finally, in League D, all four groups are made of four teams each totalling 16 participants and completing the list 55 UEFA nations.

UEFA Nations League - League A teams:

Reminder: all four group winners in League A will compete for the ultimate UEFA Nations League trophy while all four bottom sides will be relegated to League B.

League A - Group 1

Germany
France
Netherlands

League A - Group 2

Belgium
Switzerland
Iceland

League A - Group 3

Portugal
Italy
Poland

League A - Group 4

Spain
England
Croatia

UEFA Nations League - League B teams:

Here are the teams in League B which feature stars like Gareth Bale and Austria's David Alaba.

Reminder: all four League B group winners will be promoted to League A and all four bottom sides will be relegated to League C.

Group 1: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine

Group 2: Turkey, Sweden, Russia

Group 3: Austria, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group 4: Wales, Denmark, Republic of Ireland

UEFA Nations League - League C teams:

Reminder: all four League C group winners will be promoted to League B and all four bottom sides will be demoted to League D.

Group 1: Israel, Scotland, Albania

Group 2: Greece, Hungary, Finland, Estonia

Group 3: Norway, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus

Group 4: Lithuania, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia

UEFA Nations League - League D teams:

Reminder: all four League D group winners will be promoted to League C.

Group 1: Andorra, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia

Group 2: Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino

Group 3: Faroe Islands, Malta, Azerbaijan, Kosovo

Group 4: Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, Armenia, Macedonia