EXPLANATOR
When does the 2024-2025 Nations League begin and what’s the format? What number of nations are taking part? Al Jazeera solutions.
The primary spherical of the 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League will get underway on 5 September, when Spain start the defence of their title with an away match towards Serbia in Belgrade.
This is every little thing it is advisable to know concerning the fourth version of the match:
⚽ What’s the UEFA Nations League?
The Nations League is a biennial worldwide males’s soccer competitors contested by 54 groups which might be member associations of the Union of European Soccer Associations (UEFA).
The primary version of the Nations League happened in 2018-19 and the competitors is performed in response to a league construction, with promotion and relegation.
UEFA, European soccer’s governing physique, says the match was designed “to attenuate meaningless friendlies and supply nations with aggressive encounters with equally ranked groups.”
⚽ Which groups are taking part in within the 2024-2025 Nations League?
The 54 taking part groups had been divided into 4 leagues primarily based on their ends in the 2022-2023 Nations League, the newest version of the competitors.
The groups had been then divided into teams, once more primarily based on their rating within the 2022-2023 UEFA Nations League:
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 Eire, Greece
- Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
- Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Türkiye
C League
- Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia
- Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania
- Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Eire, Belarus
- Group C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia
D League
- Group D1: Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein
- Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra
⚽When will the match happen?
The league part will include six rounds.
- Day 1: September 5-7, 2024
- Matchday 2: September 8-10, 2024
- Matchday 3: October 10-12, 2024
- Matchday 4: October 13-15, 2024
- Matchday 5: November 14-16, 2024
- Matchday 6: November 17-19, 2024
- Knockout Spherical Playoffs Draw:November 2024
- Knockout Spherical Playoffs: March 20-25, 2025
- Quarter-finals of the A League: March 20-25, 2025
- Closing match: June 4-8, 2025
⚽What’s the format?
- Every crew in Leagues A, B and C will play six matches of their group, whereas groups in League D will play 4. All matches will probably be performed on a home-and-away foundation.
- The winners and runners-up of League A gaggle will play in a two-legged quarter-final, with the winners of those ties qualifying for the ultimate 4.
- The fourth-placed groups in Leagues A and B are routinely relegated to Leagues B and C respectively. The 2 fourth-placed groups in League C and fourth within the decrease league desk are relegated to League D, the decrease division.
- The 4 group winners from Leagues B and C, and the 2 group winners from League D, are routinely promoted to Leagues A, B and C, respectively.
⚽Which crew doesn’t play within the Nations League?
Russia is the one crew that won’t play within the 2024-2025 Nations League.
Each UEFA and world soccer’s governing physique, the Fédération Internationale de Soccer Affiliation (FIFA), determined in February 2022 that every one Russian groups (nationwide groups and golf equipment) could be suspended from taking part following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
⚽ Who’re the favourites to win the 2024-2025 Nations League?
Spain, who received the Nations League in 2022-23 and the Euro 2024 title, are among the many match favourites.
Former champions France and Portugal, together with Germany and England, are thought-about robust contenders.
⚽ Which nations have received the UEFA Nations League?
- 2018-2019: Portugal – beat the Netherlands 1-0 within the ultimate
- 2020-2021: France – beat Spain 2-1 within the ultimate
- 2022-2023: Spain beat Croatia 5-4 on penalties within the ultimate
⚽ How a lot is the prize cash for successful the UEFA Nations League?
The precise prize cash for the 2024-2025 Nations League has not but been revealed.
Within the 2022-23 Nations League, Spain collected €10.5 million ($11.7 million) for successful the occasion, whereas runners-up Croatia acquired €9 million ($10 million).
⚽ How is World Cup qualification associated to the UEFA Nations League?
The 2024-2025 Nations League will probably be partially linked to European qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 12 group winners after the primary spherical (group stage) will qualify immediately for the World Cup, whereas the runners-up of every group will advance to the World Cup playoffs.
The 4 highest-ranked Nations League group winners who don’t qualify in any of these methods may even advance to the World Cup playoffs.
All through the 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League, you can preserve updated with all the newest soccer information, in addition to dwell textual content commentary from chosen matches, through Al Jazeera Sport’s soccer web page.
