UEFA Nations League: What's at stake, 2026 World Cup qualifying impact
UEFA Nations League: A New Era of International Football
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was established in 2018 to replace international friendly matches and provide more competitive and meaningful fixtures for national teams.
Format and Structure
The UEFA Nations League is divided into four divisions, A, B, C, and D, based on the UEFA national team coefficient rankings. Each division is further divided into groups of three or four teams. Teams play home and away matches against each other in their respective groups, with the winners of each group advancing to the next higher division and the bottom-placed teams in each group being relegated to the next lower division.
The top four teams in Division A qualify for the UEFA Nations League Finals, a knockout tournament that determines the overall winner of the competition. The winner of the Finals is crowned the UEFA Nations League champion.
2022-23 UEFA Nations League
The 2022-23 UEFA Nations League is the third edition of the competition. The group stage matches were played from June to September 2022, with the Finals scheduled for June 2023.
What's at Stake
There are several key factors at stake for teams competing in the UEFA Nations League, including:
- Promotion and relegation: Teams can earn promotion to a higher division or be relegated to a lower division based on their performance in the group stage.
- Qualification for the UEFA Nations League Finals: The top four teams in Division A qualify for the Finals, which provides an opportunity to win the UEFA Nations League championship.
- Qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: The UEFA Nations League plays a role in determining which European teams qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The top two teams in each of the four Division A groups qualify directly for the World Cup, while the remaining teams have a chance to qualify through the UEFA play-offs.
In addition to these key factors, the UEFA Nations League also provides teams with valuable competitive experience and an opportunity to improve their FIFA World Ranking.
