What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League is an official competition created by UEFA so that European national teams play competitive matches against opponents of a similar level, replacing many low-stakes friendlies. It began in the 2018–19 season and runs on a two-year cycle (group stage in autumn of even years, finals the following year).

Leagues A, B, C and D

All participating nations are split by strength into four tiers — League A (top) down to League D. Each league is divided into groups (usually four teams) that play home-and-away round robins, so every tier produces competitive, closely matched games.

Promotion and relegation

Top teams in each group are promoted to the league above, while bottom teams are relegated. Some editions also include promotion/relegation play-offs between adjacent leagues.

The finals (quarter-finals to final)

The champion comes from League A. Since 2024–25, the League A group winners and runners-up meet in two-legged quarter-finals in March, and the four winners advance to the "Final Four" (semi-finals and final) held in June.

Past winners

2018–19: Portugal · 2020–21: France · 2022–23: Spain · 2024–25: Portugal.

Link to World Cup & EURO qualifying

Nations League results feed into play-off places for World Cup and EURO qualifying, giving teams a second route to major tournaments. It is competitive football, not just friendlies.

Watch official highlights (spoiler-free)

We gather only official, rights-holder highlights and hide scores by default. Open the Nations League hub below to browse match highlights.