The Nations League is back and this time it’s slightly different. It may not be the most beloved international competition, but the Nations League will dominate the European football agenda for the next week, so how does it work and what, exactly, has changed?

The Nations League was introduced in the 2018-19 season to banish ‘meaningless’ international friendlies and give countries more competitive games. The 2024-25 edition kicks off tonight and runs up to the final in June 2025. In total, 54 teams are spread over four leagues — labelled A to D — with 16 teams in Leagues A, B and C, and six in League D. Each league is split into groups, with four groups in Leagues A to C and two in League D.

Each team will play six games in the league phase, one home and one away against each of the three teams in their Group. The four group winners in Leagues B and C will be promoted to the league above, as well as the two group winners in League D. The fourth-placed teams in League A and B are automatically relegated to the league below, while the two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League C face relegation to League D.

League Groups

League A

• Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland
• Group A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel
• Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia

League B

• Group B1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia
• Group B2: England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece
• Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
• Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Turkey

League C

• Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia
• Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania
• Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus
• Group C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia

League D

• Group D1: Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein
• Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra

Performance at the Euros in Germany over the summer doesn’t matter as far as the Nations League is concerned. England are in League B because they were relegated from League A — along with Austria, Czech Republic and Wales — in the 2022-23 Nations League. They failed to win a game in that campaign, losing twice to Hungary, including a 4-0 defeat at Molineux — arguably the low point of Gareth Southgate’s reign as manager.

New Knockout Round

There is now a new knockout round. Instead of the four League A winners progressing straight to the final four as previously, they will now face League A runners-up in home-and-away quarter-finals in order to qualify for the final four.

In terms of promotion and relegation, there will now also be promotion/relegation home-and-away ties between the third-placed teams of League A and the runners-up of League B, and the third-placed teams of League B and runners-up of League C. This gives more opportunities for promotion and relegation. According to UEFA, these changes are designed to create “continuity between the group phase ending in November and the finals played in June”.

Nations League Schedule

• Knockout round play-off draw: November 2024
• Knockout round play-offs: March 20-25, 2025
• League A quarter-finals: March 20-25, 2025
• Semi-finals: June 4-5, 2025
• Final: June 8, 2025

One of the nations who reach the final four will be decided to host the semi-finals and beyond. Spain are the holders, having defeated Croatia in 2023, and off the back of their European Championship victory, they will feel confident of adding to their international silverware. France, ranked second in FIFA rankings, and Portugal could also be in contention.

Prize Money

The winners will receive significant prize money. For the last campaign, Spain were awarded €10.5million (£8.9m, $11.7m), while the runners-up got €9m. This is on top of an initial payment for participating, which goes from €1.5m for League A teams to €500,000 for League D teams. There are also extra bonuses for winning your group, ranging from €750,000 in League A to €250,000 in League D.

World Cup Qualification

The Nations League 2024-2025 will also determine four spots in the UEFA qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

From March 2025 to 2026, UEFA’s 16 World Cup nations (up from 13) will be decided through 12 groups of four or five teams, with those teams playing home-and-away ties against one another. Group winners will automatically qualify for the World Cup, taking up the first 12 spots. For the remaining four spots, the runners-up in these 12 groups along with the four best Nations League group winners based on their overall Nations League ranking — which, for example, ranks League A winners above League B winners and so on — will be drawn into four paths. The four paths will consist of two single-match play-off games, with the winners of each qualifying for the World Cup.

Key Storylines

The UEFA Nations League returns this month, as Portugal, France, and Spain bid to become the first two-time winners of the nascent competition and the rest of League A hope to become a first-time champion. Everyone else is looking to move on up, and that includes League B new boys England and League C new boys Sweden. Yep, big-name nations with big-name players like Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski can now say they’ve tasted relegation.

Nations League Fixtures

• League A

• Portugal vs Croatia

• Scotland vs Poland

• Denmark vs Switzerland

• Serbia vs Spain

• Belgium vs Israel

• France vs Italy

• Germany vs Hungary

• Netherlands vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Croatia vs Poland

• Portugal vs Scotland

• Denmark vs Serbia

• Switzerland vs Spain

• France vs Belgium

• Israel vs Italy

• Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Germany

• Hungary vs Netherlands

• Croatia vs Scotland

• Poland vs Portugal

• Serbia vs Switzerland

• Spain vs Denmark

• Belgium vs France

• Italy vs Israel

• Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Hungary

• Germany vs Netherlands

• Poland vs Croatia

• Scotland vs Portugal

• Spain vs Serbia

• Switzerland vs Denmark

• Belgium vs Italy

• France vs Israel

• Portugal vs Poland

• Scotland vs Croatia

• Denmark vs Spain

• Switzerland vs Serbia

• Germany vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Netherlands vs Hungary

• Israel v Belgium

• Italy vs France

• Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Netherlands

• Hungary vs Germany

• Serbia vs Denmark

• Spain vs Switzerland

• Croatia vs Portugal

• Poland vs Scotland

• League B

• Republic of Ireland vs England

• England vs Finland

• England vs Greece

• Finland vs England

• Greece vs England

• England vs Republic of Ireland

• Republic of Ireland vs England

• Republic of Ireland vs Greece

• Finland vs Republic of Ireland

• Greece vs Republic of Ireland

• Republic of Ireland vs Finland

• England vs Republic of Ireland

• League C

• Wales vs Turkey

• Montenegro vs Wales

• Iceland vs Wales

• Wales vs Montenegro

• Turkey vs Wales

• Wales vs Iceland

• Northern Ireland vs Luxembourg

• Bulgaria vs Northern Ireland

• Belarus vs Northern Ireland

• Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria

• Northern Ireland vs Belarus

• Luxembourg vs Northern Ireland

The UEFA Nations League is sure to provide plenty of action as teams fight for promotion, avoid relegation and qualify for the 2026 World Cup. With new rules and a new knockout round, the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League is sure to be exciting. We’ll be following all of the action and providing updates throughout the tournament.