UEFA Nations League 2024/25: Format, fixtures, groups and everything you need to know

The UEFA Nations League returns this week following a gripping summer of action at Euro 2024.

Ahead of the fourth iteration of the young competition, we've compiled a complete  overview of everything to come over the next year as Europe's elite sides go head to head battling for a place in next year's final.

Here's everything you need to know about the Nations League, from format to fixtures, ahead of kick off in the coming days.

Everything you need to know about the UEFA Nations League

Tournament format

Introduced in 2016, the UEFA Nations League offers an alternate qualification route to the European Championships, particularly benefitting the lower-ranked sides who previously stood no chance.

European Nations are split into four divisions (A-D), each then further broken up into individual groups (1-4).

Winners of each group will be promoted into a higher division, while team who finish bottom will be relegated into the division below. Winners and runners up of the four groups in Division A then qualify for a knockout tournament at the end of the season to crown a UEFA Nations League champion.

UEFA Nations League Groups

Group A1

• Poland
• Portugal
• Scotland
• Croatia

Group A2

• Belgium
• France
• Israel
• Italy

Group A3

• Germany
• Hungary
• Netherlands
• Bosnia & Herzegovina

Group A4

• Denmark
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Serbia

Group B1

• Albania
• Georgia
• Ukraine
• Czechia

Group B2

• England
• Finland
• Greece
• Rep. Ireland

Group B3

• Austria
• Norway
• Kazakhstan
• Slovenia

Group B4

• Iceland
• Turkiye
• Wales
• Montenegro

Group C1

• Sweden
• Estonia
• Azerbaijan
• Slovakia

Group C2

• Cyprus
• Romania
• Lithuania
• Kosovo

Group C3

• Bulgaria
• Northern Ireland
• Luxemburg
• Belarus

Group C4

• Faroe Islands
• Latvia
• Armenia
• North Macedonia

Group D1

• Liechtenstein
• San Marino
• Gibraltar

Group D2

• Malta
• Moldova
• Andorra

Competition Schedule

League phase

Matchday 1

5–7 September 2024

Matchday 2

8–10 September 2024

Matchday 3

10–12 October 2024

Matchday 4

13–15 October 2024

Matchday 5

14–16 November 2024

Matchday 6

17–19 November 2024

Quarter-final and play offs

First leg

20 March 2025

Second leg

23 March 2025

Finals

Semi-finals

4–5 June 2025

Third place play-off

8 June 2025

Final

8 June 2025

Past winners

Portugal lifted the first-ever Nations League title with a 3-0 win over Switzerland in the semi-final before defeating the Netherlands in the final. England finished third thanks to a penalty shootout win over Switzerland in the third-placed playoff.

France then lifted the title three years after their World Cup success, defeating Spain 2-1 in the final in Italy.

Spain, however, got their own back, lifting the most recent title thanks to a penalty shootout win over Croatia, perhaps a prelude to the dominance that was to come at Euro 2024 .