The fifth edition of the UEFA Nations League will run from September 2026 until June 2027, with 54 national teams competing across four leagues. The league phase begins today and concludes in November, before the League A quarter-finals, promotion and relegation play-offs and the final tournament take place in 2027.
Portugal are the defending champions after beating Spain on penalties in the 2025 final in Munich. They will begin their title defence against Wales on Thursday.
How the Nations League works
The 54 participating teams are divided into League A, League B, League C and League D according to their position in the Nations League structure.
League A contains Europe's top 16 nations, divided into four groups of four. League B and League C also contain 16 teams each, while League D contains eight teams split between two groups.
Teams in Leagues A, B and C play six matches during the league phase — home and away against the other three teams in their group. League D teams play four matches. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat.
The League A groups
Group A1
France, Italy, Belgium and Türkiye
Group A2
Germany, Netherlands, Serbia and Greece
Group A3
Spain, Croatia, England and Czechia
Group A4
Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Wales
League A contains several heavyweight groups, with France vs Italy, Germany vs Netherlands, England vs Spain and Portugal vs Denmark among the fixtures that have attracted particular attention.
UEFA has also highlighted England vs Spain, Germany vs Netherlands and Italy vs France among the standout encounters of the campaign.
The League B groups
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
The League C groups
Group C1: Albania, Finland, Belarus, San Marino
Group C2: Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus, Latvia
Group C3: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group C4: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembourg
The League D groups
Group D1: Gibraltar, Malta, Andorra
Group D2: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein
Matchday 1 fixtures
The opening round takes place from 24 to 26 September.
Thursday, 24 September
• Netherlands vs Germany: 8:45pm CET
• Serbia vs Greece: 8:45pm CET
• Norway vs Denmark: 8:45pm CET
• Portugal vs Wales: 8:45pm CET
• Austria vs Israel: 8:45pm CET
• Kosovo vs Republic of Ireland: 8:45pm CET
• Andorra vs Malta: 8:45pm CET
• Liechtenstein vs Lithuania: 8:45pm CET
For Nigerian viewers, the 8:45pm CET kick-offs are 7:45pm WAT.
Friday, 25 September
The programme continues with Georgia vs Northern Ireland and Armenia vs Latvia at 6:00pm CET, before several evening fixtures including Italy vs Belgium and Türkiye vs France.
Saturday, 26 September
The headline fixture is England vs Spain, while Czechia face Croatia in the other Group A3 encounter.
Other matches include Slovenia vs Scotland, North Macedonia vs Switzerland, Slovakia vs Moldova and Albania vs Belarus.
What is at stake?
The Nations League is more than a collection of international friendlies. Teams are competing for a trophy, promotion to a higher league and survival in their current division.
In League A, the four group winners and four runners-up qualify for the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals will be played over two legs in March 2027, with the four winners advancing to the Nations League Finals in June.
The semi-finals, third-place play-off and final will all be single-leg matches.
Promotion and relegation
The 2026/27 edition has an adjusted promotion and relegation system because UEFA is changing the Nations League structure from 2028/29.
League A group winners are guaranteed a quarter-final place, while League B and League C group winners earn automatic promotion.
There will also be promotion/relegation play-offs involving teams from Leagues A and B, and Leagues B and C.
The lowest-ranked teams in the relevant groups can therefore face relegation, making every league-phase fixture important.
When are the important dates?
The league phase will be played over six matchdays:
• Matchday 1: 24–26 September 2026
• Matchday 2: 27–29 September 2026
• Matchday 3: 30 September–3 October 2026
• Matchday 4: 4–6 October 2026
• Matchday 5: 12–14 November 2026
• Matchday 6: 15–17 November 2026
The League A quarter-finals and promotion/relegation play-offs are scheduled for 25–30 March 2027, while the Nations League Finals will take place from 9–13 June 2027.
How does it affect Euro 2028 qualification?
The 2026/27 Nations League also has an important connection to UEFA EURO 2028 qualification.
The EURO 2028 qualifying group stage will begin in March 2027. The 12 group winners and eight best runners-up will qualify directly for the tournament.
Some teams that do not qualify through the conventional qualifying groups can still have a route into the EURO 2028 play-offs through their performance in the 2026/27 Nations League, particularly among the best-ranked Nations League group winners who have not already qualified.
The EURO 2028 qualifying draw is scheduled for 6 December 2026 in Belfast, with qualifying matches beginning in March 2027.
Who are the defending champions?
Portugal are the reigning UEFA Nations League champions.
They defeated Spain in the 2025 final after a 2-2 draw following extra time, winning 5-3 on penalties.
Portugal had previously won the inaugural Nations League in 2019, making them the competition's first and most recent two-time champions. Spain won the 2023 edition, while France lifted the trophy in 2021.
Why this edition is particularly important
This Nations League campaign comes at an interesting point in the European international football calendar.
There is no men's UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup taking place during the 2026/27 season, meaning the Nations League provides Europe's leading national teams with a major competitive tournament between World Cup and EURO cycles.
It is also one of the final editions of the Nations League in its current four-league structure.
From the 2028/29 edition, UEFA has approved a new system featuring three leagues of 18 teams, with further changes to the European Qualifiers.
The 2026/27 tournament therefore combines the traditional Nations League battle for the trophy with promotion, relegation and a potential route towards EURO 2028 qualification.
With Portugal defending their title, heavyweight clashes such as England vs Spain, Germany vs Netherlands and Italy vs France, and several promotion and relegation battles across the lower leagues, the new campaign promises a busy period of international football from September through June.