UEFA Nations League: Who do England play? When are the fixtures? How does it work? When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. The UEFA Nations League is a four-tiered league system introduced to add more structure to the international football calendar. UEFA, the governing body for European football, vows it will “improve the quality and standing of national team football”. The format consists of four leagues, with League A containing the best-ranked nations; League D the lowest-ranked nations. Within each league are four groups of three or four teams. Each of UEFA’s 55 member associations were drawn into their league as per their UEFA coefficient ranking on 11 October 2017.<doc-sep>The World Cup is long over - but international football is about to return. The newly-founded UEFA Nations League starts on Thursday, with 55 European nations competing in four leagues and all Home Nations games shown live on Sky Sports. There will be a few blockbuster games to start the tournament, as England take on Spain and World Cup winners France face previous champions Germany. Here's all you need to know about the UEFA Nations League, including the teams, groups and how to watch on Sky Sports... What is the UEFA Nations League? The UEFA Nations League is a new international tournament. England will go up against other European nations in a league format for the chance to compete in the Final Four summer showpiece in 2019, where the winner will be crowned the Nations League champion. In a bid to improve the quality of international football and reduce the number of meaningless friendlies, UEFA - which has been planning the competition since 2011 - has devised a new format to add excitement and competition to country clashes. Image: Portugal won Euro 2016 - but the qualification for Euro 2020 will be affected by the Nations League How will it work? There will be 55 teams involved, split into four leagues (A, B, C and D) based on their UEFA ranking at the end of the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. Within those four leagues, teams will be split again into groups, which will be made up of either three or four teams. Within each league, four teams will be promoted at the end of the cycle, while four teams will be relegated. They will then play at their new level in the next competition, which starts in 2020. The winners of the four groups in League A will qualify for the Final Four competition. How have the groups been divided? Full League A draw Group 1: Germany, France, Netherlands Group 2: Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland Group 3: Portugal, Italy, Poland Group 4: Spain, England, Croatia Full League B draw Group 1: Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic Group 2: Russia, Sweden, Turkey Group 3: Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Northern Ireland Group 4: Wales, Republic of Ireland, Denmark Image: Gareth Bale's Wales are in League B Full League C draw Group 1: Scotland, Albania, Israel Group 2: Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia Group 3: Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus Group 4: Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania Full League D draw Group 1: Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Andorra Group 2: Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino Group 3: Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo Group 4: FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar When will the Nations League take place? Matchday 1: September 6-9, 2018 Matchday 2: September 9-11, 2018 Matchday 3: October 11-13, 2018 Matchday 4: October 14-16, 2018 Matchday 5: November 15-17, 2018 Matchday 6: November 18-20, 2018 Finals: June 5-9, 2019 What games should we look forward to? The tournament kicks off in style as the winners of the last two World Cups meet on Thursday, September 6. Germany host France in Munich, while Wales also face Republic of Ireland on the opening day. Italy are in action against Poland on Friday, before England play Spain on Saturday when Northern Ireland take on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Image: How will Spain recover from their shock World Cup exit against Russia? The heavyweight clashes continue on Sunday, as France face the Netherlands and Wales take on Denmark, who reached the last 16 of the World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal face Italy on Monday, as Scotland start their campaign against Albania. The opening round of fixtures then finishes on September 11, with Iceland against Belgium and Spain against World Cup finalists Croatia. You will be able to follow all the matches with Sky Sports. What is the Final Four? The Final Four is the climax to the Nations League. It will take place in June 2019 and pits the group winners from League A against each other. There will be a one-game semi-final stage, followed by the final. The winner will be named as Nations League champion. The Final Four tournament will occur in odd years, meaning that in years when there isn't a World Cup or European Championships, there will be a Nations League winner. Image: There will still be openings in the international calendar for friendlies How will the Nations League affect European Qualifiers? Euro qualifiers for 2020 will commence in March 2019, with double headers in the March, June, September, October and November international breaks. Teams will be split into five groups of five teams and five groups of six teams. In total, there will be 10 matchdays - the same number as now. The top two teams from the 10 groups qualify automatically for the Euros, while four more places at the finals will be awarded to play-off winners. Sixteen teams will compete in the play-offs. Image: World Cup winners France face Germany on September 6 Now, here's the interesting bit... Each Nations League league gets four play-off spots. If the winner of a group has already qualified for the Euros, the next best team which has not qualified goes into the play-offs. Those 16 teams will go into four groups, with the top team going to the Euros. The four teams play two one-off semi-finals and one one-off final to determine play-off winners. So, if one of the Home Nations fails to qualify the traditional way, each league has a path of its own to the finals. The UEFA Nations League rankings will also determine the composition of draw pots for subsequent European Qualifiers. UEFA EURO 2020 play-off draw : November 22, 2019 : November 22, 2019 UEFA EURO 2020 play-offs: March 26-31, 2020 What are the benefits? "The UEFA Nations League creates more meaningful and competitive matches for teams and a dedicated calendar and structure for national team football," say UEFA, who believe the new format addresses concerns national associations raised about friendlies no longer providing adequate competition. Image: The format gives Home Nations sides an alternative route to major tournaments As well as the appeal of being named National League winner after the Final Four showpiece event for top teams, weaker teams will have better opportunities to qualify for European Championships - the bottom 16 in the rankings are now guaranteed one of the 24 qualifying spots. Weaker teams will also face teams of a similar level - so there will be fewer thrashings and more meaningful games for fans. Is this the end of friendlies? Not completely. There will still be some space in the calendar for friendlies - particularly for the top teams, who are in groups of three within League A and B and the top group in League C. There will also be room for pre-tournament warm-up games ahead of World Cups and European Championships. But, essentially, the outcome of more international games will matter. 0:53 Gareth Southgate says England's performance at the World Cup made millions of people happy Will the new format increase players' workload? The Nations League and new Euros qualification process operates within the current international calendar, so there are not increased demands in terms of the number of matches. In fact, UEFA claims the new product will actually reduce strain on players. That's because there is likely to be less travel and players will be playing at their own level. Players will also go back to their clubs earlier than is currently the case. How can I watch the Nations League? You will be able to watch all of the Home Nations in the UEFA Nations League on Sky Sports, through September, October and November 2018. You'll also be able to watch the Final Four finale in June 2019 on Sky Sports. In fact, there will be up to 900 live international matches on Sky Sports between 2018 and 2022, with the new rights agreement also including qualifiers for Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022.<doc-sep>If you're confused about the new UEFA Nations League, you're not alone. But, in theory, the competition should add an otherwise missing element to the international fixture calendar. “The boss,” said Harry Maguire this week, “tried to explain it to us the best he could the other day. I think he has got his head around it now, but it took a lot of studying. It is confusing, but for us players, we just go into each game trying to win it and see where it takes us.” The England defender is not alone in looking at the structure of the new UEFA Nations League and feeling a sense of bewilderment. It isn’t like anything top-level football has seen before, and there are elements that don’t feel quite right. But it’s not that baffling. From Maguire’s point of view, all he has to worry about is a group of three teams–England, Spain and Croatia: if England finishes at the top, it goes into a four-team semifinals next summer; if it finishes bottom, it is relegated into a lower division. This, essentially, is a plan to make countries take international friendlies more seriously, in part because the likes of Poland and Romania had been gaming the ranking system. They eschewed friendlies after they had worked out that playing them inevitably reduced a side’s coefficient and thus their chances of being seeded at major tournaments. UEFA Nations League Explained: How New Soccer Competition Works The 55 UEFA nations were divided into four leagues according to their FIFA coefficient at the end of the World Cup qualifiers: 12 in Leagues A and B, 15 in League C and 16 in League D. They were then seeded within those leagues into four pots, and drawn into four groups: each of three teams in Leagues A and B, of four teams in League D and three of four and one of three in League C. Each team plays each of the other teams in the group home and away, starting his week and ending in November. The top side in each group in Leagues B, C and D will be promoted, and the bottom side in Leagues A, B and C relegated. In addition, the top side in each group in League A will meet next summer to play for the title of Nations League champion. So much, so straightforward. Where it becomes complicated is in the way the Nations League impacts Euro 2020, for which qualifying begins next March. The 55 teams will be drawn into groups as usual, but this time the qualifying stage will produce 20 teams for the 24-team competition. A further 16 teams will then enter playoffs in March 2020 to claim the four remaining slots–those 16 to be determined by performance in the Nations League. Those 16 sides will be divided into four “paths” of four, with each pathway offering a route to the Euros. And this is where it does become really complicated. In theory, each pathway will represent one league and will consist of group-winners. If the group winner has already qualified, then it will be the next best team from that group; or if all teams in the group have already qualified then of the next highest-ranked side from that league. Of course, it’s entirely likely that there will not be four teams who have failed to qualify from League A, in which case they will be replaced by the next-highest ranked side that has not already qualified–with the proviso that group winners can’t face teams from a higher league. In practice, what that will probably mean is the four group winners from League D playing off for one spot at the Euros, with a mess of teams from higher up. That effectively guarantees one minnow will qualify (the highest seeding pot from League D consists of Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus and Georgia), which can be seen as a positive or negative depending on whether you regard the tournament as being about spreading the game or pitting the best sides against each other. It’s arguable that an in-form minnow is likely to perform better than an out-of-form mid-ranked side, and the expansion to 24 teams has killed any sense of elite competition from the group stage, anyway. The danger is that in initial qualifying, it becomes advantageous for a side with an eye on the playoffs to help another country because of what that will then do to the make-up of supplementary qualifying – which is always the problem when competitions are not arranged in discrete silos. But whether the Nations League should be linked to Euro qualifying, and if so in what way, are quibbles for further down the line. At its heart, the Nations League ensures at least semi-competitive international football that pits teams teams of roughly equivalent ability against each other. And in that sense, however daunting the structure may look, it is an initiative to be welcomed.<doc-sep>
Gareth Southgate will lead England into the Nations League (Picture: REX/Shutterstock) England announce their first Nations League squad this afternoon ahead of their debut in the competition against Spain in September. The UEFA Nations League is an exciting new project which should spice up the often drab mid-season international friendlies thanks to the new league structure that features promotion and relegation. It also has an impact on qualification for Euro 2020, offering another way into the tournament other than the traditional qualifying campaign. Here is everything you need to know… Kane has more reasons to celebrate (Picture: AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) How will the UEFA Nations League work? 55 European teams will be involved, split into four leagues – A (12), B (12), C (15) and D (16) with A being the strongest. Teams were split into the leagues according to their UEFA ranking at the end of the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. Within those four leagues, teams will be split again into groups, which will be made up of either three or four teams. The sides in each group will play home and away in a 10-week period with the team finishing top of each section being promoted to a higher tier and the nation finishing bottom dropping down one tier. They will then play at their new level in the next competition, which starts in 2020. As League A is the strongest league there is no promotion available, but the winners of the four groups in qualify for the 2019 Nations League Finals which will see two semi-finals and a final in the summer of next year. The winner will be crowned Nations League champion. Will England have more to celebrate? (Picture: PA Wire) How the groups have been divided and where are the Home Nations? League A (four groups of three): Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England , Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands (four groups of three): Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, , Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands League B (four groups of three): Austria, Wales , Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland ,Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey (four groups of three): Austria, , Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, ,Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey League C (one group of three, three groups of four): Hungary, Romania, Scotland , Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania (one group of three, three groups of four): Hungary, Romania, , Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania League D (four groups of four): Azerbaijan, FYR Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar League A Group A1: Germany, France, Netherlands Group A2: Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland Group A3: Portugal, Italy, Poland Group A4: Spain, England, Croatia League B Group B1: Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic Group B2: Russia, Sweden, Turkey Group B3: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland Group B4: Wales, Republic of Ireland, Denmark League C Group C1: Scotland, Albania, Israel Group C2: Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia Group C3: Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus Group C4: Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania League D Group D1: Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Andorra Group D2: Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino Group D3: Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo Group D4: FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar England's Nations League fixtures 08 Sep 2018 – England vs Spain 12 Oct 2018 – Croatia vs England 15 Oct 2018 – Spain vs England 18 Nov 2018 – England vs Croatia How does the Nations League impact Euro 2020 qualification? This is fairly complicated, but there will still be a separate qualification process for Euro 2020 which will see 20 teams qualify from 10 groups. These 10 qualification groups will be drawn thanks to the rankings from the Nations League. However, the final four spots will be decided through a play-off which is entirely determined by Nations League performances. UEFA explains: ‘The last four EURO places will be won through the European Qualifiers play-offs, which will take place in March 2020 and which will be contested by the 16 UEFA Nations League group winners. ‘If a group winner has already qualified via the European Qualifiers, then their spot will go to the next best-ranked team in their league. If a league does not have four teams to compete, the remaining slots are allocated to teams from another league, according to the overall UEFA Nations League ranking.