UEFA Nations League draws have been announced on Thursday. World Cup finalist France will face the European champions Italy in the group A2. The group also has Belgium and Israel, making it the group of death.
After this year’s European championship, the Nations League is the next tournament for the UEFA member countries. The host of Euros Germany has been drawn with the Netherlands, Hungary, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. England ranked no 3 by FIFA was relegated to the top-tier group and will face Finland, Greece, and Ireland.
England faces a major competition with Nations League draw
England will face their longtime rivals, the Republic of Ireland, in a competitive match for the first time since 1991 in the upcoming Nations League. The last competitive match between the two sides was in the Euro 1992 qualifier at Wembley.
In the last competitive encounter, Lee Dixon opened the goal count by scoring and giving England the lead already in the ninth minute of the game which was leveled by Niall Quinn scoring for Ireland and the game ended as a draw. Their recent meeting was in a friendly match played in November 2020 which England won 3-0.
England and the Republic of Ireland will also face the 2004 Euros winner Greece, and Finland in Group B2. They avoided a long trip to Kazakhstan under UEFA’s excessive travel restriction rules as Kazakhstan has been placed in Group B3.
Full UEFA Nations League draw revealed
It is the fourth season of the UEFA Nations League with the teams participating to win and get a place in the European championship. Portugal won the inaugural season while France won the second edition and Spain is the current champion.
The 2024-25 Nations League will take place in three phases and will commence in September 2024.
The league round will be played between September 5 and November 11, 2024. The quarterfinals and the promotion relegation playoffs will be held between March 20 and March 25, with the finals taking place from June 5 till June 8.
The draw for the 2024-25 Nations League:
League A
Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland.
Group A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel
Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia
Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia
League B
Group B1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia
Group B2: England, Finland, Ireland, Greece
Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Turkey
League C
Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia
Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania/Gibraltar*
Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus
Group C4 : Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia
League D
Group D1: Lithuania/Gibraltar* , San Marino, Lichtenstein
Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra
(*Lithuania and Gibraltar will play a relegation playoff in March to determine which team will be relegated to League D)
Each league contains four groups of four teams except league D which has six teams in total of only two groups.
The Nations League is joined with European qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The four best-ranked group winners who finish outside the top two in their World Cup qualifying group will go into the playoff stage.
Who will emerge as the winner of the Euros and the Nations League? Let us know in the comments section.
