The fourth edition of this international team tournament started in September 2024. There were six rounds of league matches between then and November, before the playoff rounds took place in March 2025. The final will take place on the 8th of June 2025.
In this article, you’ll find all the information on the Nations League you need, including the match schedules, the format of the competition and much more.
The three previous winners of the Nations League were Portugal, France and Spain. Portugaul and Spain have reached the final again, which one of those nations become the first to win the Nations League for a second time?
UEFA Nations League Final
🇵🇹 Portugal vs Spain 🇪🇸
Allianz Arena, Germany. 19:00 GMT, Sunday 8th June.
The Nations League final should be an enthralling affair, as football fans will be treated to an Iberian Derby when Portugal face Spain in Germany on Sunday evening.
Portugal overcame the host nation, Germany, in their semi-final, with the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winning goal. That was the seventh goal the 40-year-old Portuguese striker has scored in this tournament, three more than any other player from the ‘A’ groups.
Spain looked to be qualifying comfortably when they were leading France 4-0 and 5-1, before a late comeback from Les Bleus saw the match end 5-4. Talented youngster Lamine Yamal scored twice in that victory, and he remains the second favourite in the betting to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.
These sides last met in the group stage of the 2022/23 Nations League. On that occasion, Spain won 1-0 in Portugal and were held to a 1-1 draw on home territory. Prior to that, these sides met in friendly internationals in both 2020 and 2021, with both matches finishing goalless.
The matches between these sides have not always been low scoring. They met in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup and produced a thrilling 3-3 draw. Cristiano Ronaldo was again the figurehead for Portugal as he scored a hat-trick in that match.
The semi-final victory extended Spain’s unbeaten run all competitions to 21 matches. Meanwhile, Portugal have lost just one of their previous nine matches.
Both of these sides have already won the Nations League. Will it be Portugal or Spain who become the first nation to win the competition twice?
Although recent matches between these sides have been short of goals, Spain displayed a magnificent attacking force in the semi-final, coupled with a shaky defence. This match could follow a similar pattern, with the Spanish emerging victorious but unable to keep a clean sheet.
Best Bet: Spain to Win + Both Teams to Score @3.30
Nations League Third-Place match
🇩🇪 Germany vs France 🇫🇷
MHP Arena, Stuttgart, Germany. 13:00 GMT, Sunday 8th June.
Third-place matches can often be underwhelming games, with both teams wishing they were playing in the final instead.
Germany’s semi-final defeat was their first in this Nations League, having previously won five and drawn three of their eight matches. Across those opening eight matches, Julian Nagelsmann’s side scored 23 goals. However, despite Florian Wirtz giving Germany the lead against Portugal in the semi-final, they could not hold on to their advantage.
France had 24 shots, with nine on target, in their 5-4 semi-final defeat against Spain. However, despite their attacking prowess, the frailties of their defence, which was missing several key players through injury, meant that France lost their fourth match from their last 10 games.
The last two matches between these sides have been friendlies, which were both won by Germany. Prior to that, France had won four of the previous six matches, with the other two games having been drawn.
Home advantage could give Germany the lift they need to win the third-place match. It will be harder for the French players to lift themselves after they scored four goals and still lost their semi-final at the end of a long season.
Best Bet: Germany to Win @2.47
Note: Both selections are based on the match result at the end of normal time and do not include extra-time or penalty shootouts. Prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change thereafter.
Nations League promotion/relegation playoffs
The promotion/relegation playoffs for the top two leagues in the Nations League took place on the 20th and 23rd March 2025.
League A vs League B
These were the aggregate scores over the two legs. The winning sides will be playing in League A in the next Nations League, whilst the losing teams will be competing in League B.
Turkey 6-1 Hungary
Belgium 4-3 Ukraine
Serbia 3-1 Austria
Greece 3-1 Scotland
League B vs League C
These were the aggregate scores over the two legs. The winning sides will be playing in League B in the next Nations League, whilst the losing teams will be competing in League C.
Kosovo 5-2 Iceland
Republic of Ireland 4-2 Bulgaria
Georgia 9-1 Armenia
Slovenia 1-0 Slovakia
League C vs League D
The league C vs League D playoffs will not take place until 2026. The first-leg matches will take place on 26th March 2026, with the second-leg matches on 31st March 2026.
Gibraltar 🆚 Latvia
These sides met in a World Cup qualifying group in 2021. Latvia won both the home and away match by a score of 3-1.
Malta 🆚 Luxembourg
Malta have not played Luxembourg in a competitive match since 1995. They have met in friendlies four times since then, with Malta having won twice, Luxembourg having won once, and one match having been drawn.
Full Nations League match schedule
2024
- Matchday 1 (5th – 7th September) ✅
- Matchday 2 (8th – 10th September) ✅
- Matchday 3 (10th – 12th October) ✅
- Matchday 4 (13th – 15th October) ✅
- Matchday 5 (14th – 16th November) ✅
- Matchday 6 (17th – 19th November) ✅
2025
- Knockout round playoffs (20th – 23rd March) ✅
- League A quarter-finals (20th – 23rd March) ✅
- Final tournament (4th – 8th June)
UEFA Nations League playoff rounds
The semi-finals are now over with Spain and Portugal remaining in the running for the title of Nations League champions 2024/25.
The two teams eliminated at the semi-final stage were:
France
Germany
The four teams eliminated at the quarter-final stage were:
Croatia
Italy
Netherlands
Denmark
What is the UEFA Nations League format?
The Nations League will comprise four leagues. Leagues A, B, and C will feature 16 teams each, divided into four groups of four teams, whilst League D will feature six teams divided into two groups of three teams.
In the top division, Group A, the top two teams will progress to the knockout stages. This quarter-final round will comprise the four group winners playing a second-placed team from a different group over a two-legged tie.
The four quarter-final winners will progress to the Nations League finals, which retain the previous format, consisting of one-legged semi-finals and a final.
There is also promotion between each tier of groups. The four winners of the ‘B’ and ‘C’ groups are promoted, whilst the nations finishing bottom in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ groups are relegated accordingly.
As there are four ‘C’ level groups and just two ‘D’ level groups, the top nation in each of the ‘D’ groups gets promoted, whilst the two worst-ranked bottom teams of the ‘C’ groups get relegated.
In a further change in format, there are also promotion and relegation playoffs. The teams finishing in third place in the ‘A’ level groups will play the runners-up in the ‘B’ level groups, whilst the teams finishing in third place in the ‘B’ level groups will play the runners-up in the ‘C’ level groups. The two best-ranked fourth-placed teams in the ‘C’ level groups will play the two runners-up of the ‘D’ level groups. All these matches will be played home-and-away, over two legs.
If this sounds overly complicated, remember that the idea of the Nations League is to give teams more competitive matches, rather than the previous rounds of ‘friendly’ matches which filled many international breaks.
Where will the Nations League final be held?
The semi-finals and final of the 2024/25 Nations League will be held in Germany. The final will be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Sunday 8th June and will kick-off at 19:00 GMT. The Third-Place match will be held at the MHPArena in Stuttgart and will take place in the afternoon on the same day.
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
The Nations League will also affect the European qualifying places for the 2026 World Cup. There will be 12 European qualifying groups, from which the 12 winners will directly qualify for the World Cup.
Then, the 12 runners-up in the qualifying groups will be joined by the best four Nations League group winners who did not finish in the top-two places in their European qualifying group.
Those 16 teams will contest playoffs, after which four additional teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
UEFA Nations League winner odds
What are the odds to win the Nations League?
| Nation | Match Odds (90 minutes) |
|---|---|
| Portugal | 3.85 |
| Draw | 3.82 |
| Spain | 1.909 |
| To Win the Trophy | |
| Portugal | 2.65 |
| Spain | 1.48 |
Latest Nations League betting odds. All odds are correct as at 09:30 GMT on 06/06/2025, but are subject to fluctuation thereafter.
2024/25 Nations League groups
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
Group B1
- Czech Republic
- Ukraine
- Albania
- Georgia
Group B2
- England
- Finland
- Republic of Ireland
- Greece
Group B3
- Austria
- Norway
- Slovenia
- Kazakhstan
Group B4
- Wales
- Iceland
- Montenegro
- Turkey
Group C1
- Sweden
- Azerbaijan
- Slovakia
- Estonia
Group C2
- Romania
- Kosovo
- Cyprus
- Lithuania
Group C3
- Luxembourg
- Bulgaria
- Northern Ireland
- Belarus
Group C4
- Armenia
- Faroe Islands
- North Macedonia
- Latvia
Group D1
- Gibraltar
- San Marino
- Liechtenstein
Group D2
- Moldova
- Malta
- Andorra
Previous Nations League finals
There have been three previous Nations League tournaments. Here are the results of the finals of each one:
2022/23
Host country: Netherlands
Final: Spain 0-0 Croatia (Spain won 5-4 on penalties)
Third place playoff: Italy 3-2 Netherlands (Goalscorers: Italy: Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi, Federico Chiesa. Netherlands: Steven Bergwijn, Georginio Wijnaldum)
2020/21
Host country: Italy
Final: France 2-1 Spain (Goalscorers: France: Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé. Spain: Mikel Oyarzabal)
Third place playoff: Italy 2-1 Belgium (Goalscorers: Italy: Nicolò Barella, Domenico Berardi (pen). Belgium: Charles De Ketelaere)
2018/19
Host country: Portugal
Final: Portugal 1-0 Netherlands (Goalscorer: Gonçalo Guedes)
Third place playoff: England 0-0 Switzerland (England won 6-5 on penalties)
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