Nations League Promotion, Relegation and Finals – How Does Any of It Work?

Nations League Promotion, Relegation and Finals – How Does Any of It Work?

The first international break of the season has arrived, and as expected, it has seen the football social media scene spiral back to its usual antics - “Suarez had no right to put that so top bins” and the boxing day results of 1963 have, amongst others, taken absolutely no time to resurface.

It seems that everyone is so focused on trying to ignore the international break that no one has actually concerned themselves with the international fixtures about to get underway – if I asked any of you to tell me how the UEFA Nations League spot work, would you be able to explain it?

Though they may seem like glorified friendlies, there is much at stake when the competing nations meet, and with four games set to take place over the next three weeks for every side involved, it’s time to get acquainted with the potential outcomes, with different consequences for every team across tiers A, B, C and D.

Who Is Playing Where?

There are four tiers (as mentioned above), with 16 sides competing in A, B and C, while six nations face off in D.

League A

• Group A1: France, Italy, Belgium, Türkiye.
• Group A2: Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia, Greece.
• Group A3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czechia.
• Group A4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales.

League B

• Group B1: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia.
• Group B2: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Northern Ireland.
• Group B3: Israel, Austria, Republic of Ireland, Kosovo.
• Group B4: Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden.

League C

• Group C1: Albania, Finland, Belarus, San Marino.
• Group C2: Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus, Latvia.
• Group C3: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Faroe Island, Moldova.
• Group C4: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembourg.

League D

• Group D1: Gibraltar, Malta, Andorra
• Group D2: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein.

The complete 2026/27 Nations League line-up ✅#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/GiljxsUk3M

— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) April 2, 2026

The aim of those in League A is to win the Nations League tournament, as only four of those 16 nations are eligible for the knockouts rounds of the tournament. The goals for those in leagues B, C and D are to earn promotion to the leagues above them, or alternatively, to avoid demotion to a lower division.

How Does Promotion and Relegation Work?

As already specified, sides from leagues A, B and C cannot compete in the knockout stages of the tournament, as their reward for finishing top of their group is instead moving up a level ahead of the next edition.

For the sides in the top division, only the group winners and runners-up move on to the knockout stage, the quarter-finals of which are set to kick off on March 25th, 2027.

You might think that third-place teams are safe from demotion, but that isn’t necessarily the case – the best two third-place sides secure their spot in their existing divisions for another campaign, but the worst two must, along with the best pair of fourth-place sides and the two best runners-up from League B, face off in a six-way play-off, and one that is mirrored with the same positions lower down through B, C and D.

Some sides will also see the tournament as a chance to secure a backdoor entry into the European Championship play-offs – specifics will be given on which teams could potentially give themselves a chance at making the 2028 tournament as the Nations League campaign unfolds.

What is Special About This Year's Nations League?

This year’s Nations League marks the final time that each of the top three leagues are divided into four groups or four nations. Similarly to the UEFA Champions League, the 2028/29 edition will be structured into league tables instead, each 18 sides apiece.

💡 A reminder that qualifiers for EURO 2028 will be the last ones to be done in the "outdated" format of many groups of 4-5 teams with a double round-robin.

UEFA doesn't want that any more as it's not an attractive product to sell.

For example, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England played 40% of their… pic.twitter.com/jkRvRsoBAF

— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) September 22, 2026

It also marks the first time that a three-week international break will be introduced. In previous years, there have been breaks in September, October and November, each two weeks long. The November one break has remained untouched, but this year sees the September and October breaks rolled into one three-week break, removing a full week of international football from the calendar.

As such, the current international window will run from September 21st until Friday, the 9th of September, after which the regular club football calendar will resume.

When and Where Are the Nations League Finals?

When all of the group games and quarter finals wrap up by mid-March 2027, the teams remaining will be looking ahead to the finals, which are held as a separate event that summer.

🏁 UNL placement will determine pots for 🏟️ EURO 2028 qualifiers in the following way:

Pot 1⃣: League A teams finishing 1st-3rd in each group
Pot 2⃣: League A teams finishing 4th, League B teams finishing 1st-2nd in each group
Pot 3⃣: League B teams finishing 3rd-4th in each… pic.twitter.com/cFkrgqB0Ed

— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) September 22, 2026

A date and venue are yet to be confirmed for the finals, which consist of the semi-finals, third-place playoff and final proper, but one will likely be announced before the current international break is over.