The UEFA Nations League has been announced and teams have been placed into their pots and leagues, so what is it and will it replace the Qualifiers? We Investigate UEFA’s new exciting idea.
What is the UEFA Nations League?
The UEFA Nations League is an exciting new idea that aims to make friendlies more competitive and will also give an opportunity to smaller countries to compete at the European Championships. Although the road to Euro 2020 will now seem confusing, the new format will make it fun and thrilling.
The format of the UEFA Nations League
55 teams will compete in the UEFA Nations League and these teams will be divided into four leagues. League A will have the highest ranked teams, with League D having the lowest ranked teams. These Leagues will have four groups in each, Leagues A and B will have four groups of three teams. League C will one group of three and three groups of four teams. While League D will have four groups of four teams. In each league there will be four group winners, these group winners of Leagues B, C and D will be promoted to the above league. While the group winners of League A will qualify for the UEFA Nations League Finals. In addition, the winners of each group will qualify for the Play-Offs for the 2020 European Championships. The four teams that finish bottom of their group will be relegated for the next edition of the UEFA Nations League.
When does it all begin and who will be in what League?
The draw for the Nations League will be on the 24th of January and the actual competition will take place in September, October and November of 2018. While the finals of the UEFA Nations League will take place between the 5th and the 9th of June.
Here are the teams in their pots and leagues:
League A
Pot 1 : Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain
Pot 2 : England, France, Switzerland, Italy
Pot 3 : Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B
Pot 1 : Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia
Pot 2 : Sweden, Ukraine, Republic Of Ireland, Bosnia
Pot 3 : Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C
Pot 1 : Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia
Pot 2 : Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway
Pot 3 : Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland
Pot 4 : Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D
Pot 1 : Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia
Pot 2 : Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg
Pot 3 : Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta
Pot 4 : Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
Will traditional qualifying still exist?
The answer is yes. There will still be the traditional qualifying as there will be ten groups. Five groups of five and five groups of six and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the European Championships in 2020. However unlike last year the third placed teams won’t be competing in the Play-Offs, this goes to the Nations League winners.
So how do the Play-Offs work?
The 16 teams who won their group in the Nations League will qualify for the Play-Offs. However if that team has qualified for the European Championships automatically, then their place will go to the next ranked team in their league. If everyone in that league has qualified then it will go to the next best team in the League below. In each league there will be a two legged Semi-Final followed by a one-legged final. The four winners of the Play-Off final will take the final spot at the European Championships.
So, how do we determine who the next best team is in each league?
Here is how rankings of each league are calculated:
- Position in Group
- Points
- Goal Difference
- Goals Scored
- Away Goals Scored
- Wins
- Away Wins
- Disciplinary Points
- Coefficient
Does a host country qualify and when does traditional qualifying start?
No host country qualifies as 13 different cities will host the European Championships in 2020. Traditional qualifying will start in March 2019 and ending in November of the same year. The play-offs will take place in March 2020.
Why are UEFA doing this and will this disturb club football?
UEFA have made this competition to do three things. One is to make friendlies more competitive and less experimental. Another reason is to make Euro qualifying more streamlined and clearer, by getting rid of the third placed teams receiving a Play-Off place. The third reason is to give smaller teams a chance of making a major championship as they saw what it meant to someone like Albania at the 2016 Euros. This new competition means that one of the teams in League D will make the European Championships. UEFA also claim it won’t disturb club football as it will stick to the original international calendar.
Let the games begin!
The Controversialist 