UEFA Nations League rules – explained

UEFA Nations League rules – explained

Following Harry Maguire admitting that he doesn’t understand UEFA Nations League rules despite Southgate’s efforts, it is clear that the system’s a bit unclear. 

That’s why we thought it’s a good idea to simplify the rules for those who are on the same page as Harry.

As you probably all know – UEFA Nations League was created to give more meaning and structure to the national football. The basic principles it’s based on are promotion and relegation.

4 leagues – from the strongest to the weakest 

In total, 55 European teams participate in UEFA Nations League. They are divided in 4 Leagues – A, B, C and D. Based on UEFA rankings, League A has the strongest teams, while League D is the weakest. League A and B have 12 teams, while League C has 15 and League D 16 teams.

The teams in each league are further divided into 4 groups. These are the leagues with their groups:

The teams in each group play each other home and away. Once that is done, the 4 winners of the groups in League A go straight to the semifinals, and the winners of the groups in League B, C and D are promoted to a higher league for the next UEFA Nations League. The worst 4 teams in each League are relegated to a lower league for the next time.

EURO 2020

There is also an interesting rule regarding EURO qualifiers. The top four ranked teams from each group who didn’t qualify for EURO 2020 through traditional qualifiers will take part in the play-offs – in which the 16 teams fight for the final four spaces. In case, let’s say, League A doesn’t have enough teams left who haven’t already qualified, then the remaining spot(s) go to the next best-placed team in League B.

These are the rules in short. To read more details about the competition, 

visit UEFA’s site: https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/news/newsid=2079553.html?iv=true