Founded in 2018, the UEFA Nations League was devised to provide nations with more competitive matches against equally ranked opposition.
What is the Nations League?
The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 as a means of reducing the number of meaningless friendlies on the international football calendar and matching teams with equally ranked nations.
Teams across the European continent compete in a league structure which includes promotion and relegation, with the highest performing sides in League A engaging in a knockout Nations League Finals tournament with a trophy up for grabs.
The Nations League can also boost teams' chances of obtaining qualification for Euros and World Cup finals.
Dates
- League phase draw: 12th February 2026
- Matchday 1: 24th - 26th September 2026
- Matchday 2: 27th - 29th September 2026
- Matchday 3: 30th September - 3rd October 2026
- Matchday 4: 4th - 6th October 2026
- Matchday 5: 12th - 14th November 2026
- Matchday 6: 15th - 17th November 2026
- League A quarter-finals: 25-30 March 2027
- League A/B and B/C play-offs: 25-30 March 2027
- Final tournament: 9-13 June 2027
- League C/D play-offs: 23-28 March 2028
Format
The 2026/27 Nations League will comprise of four leagues - divided in line with teams' performance in the previous Nations League.
Within each league, there are four groups of four teams and each nation will play six matches using the home-and-away round-robin format.
How many times has the Nations League taken place?
The UEFA Nations League began in 2018/19, with Portugal crowned the inaugural winners of the new competition after a 1-0 win over over the Netherlands in Porto.
UEFA Nations League previous winners:
- 2018/19: Portugal
- 2020/21: France
- 2022/23: Spain
- 2024/25: Portugal
