In the 2014 Congress, the UEFA(Union of European Football Associations) decided to hold a new international tournament for the senior men's national teams which are the member associations of UEFA. The tournament name is the UEFA Nations league that called UNL in short. The first tournament starts in the 2018-19 season, and it will be held from each even-numbered years to next year after the first season(So next season will be in 2020-21).
All European countries that UEFA membered plus Israel, so 55 teams will play in the tournament with separate into four leagues.
What are the "Leagues"?
The 55 teams are split into 4 "Leagues" - League A, League B, League C and D. The teams have been put into the 4 different "leagues" based on their UEFA Ranking, for example, France are in League A and The Faroe Islands are in League D.
Each League has 4 groups.
League A has 4 groups with 3 teams in each group.
League B has 4 groups with 3 teams in each group.
League C has 3 groups with 4 teams and 1 group with 3 teams.
League D has four groups with 4 teams in each group.
Who is in which league and group for the 2018/19 tournament?
In League A
Group 1 has France, Germany and The Netherlands (Holland)
Group 2 has Belgium, Iceland and Switzerland
Group 3 has Italy, Poland and Portugal
Group 4 has Croatia, England and Spain
In League B
Group 1 has Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine
Group 2 has Russia, Sweden and Turkey
Group 3 has Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland
Group 4 has Denmark, Republic of Ireland and Wales
In League C
Group 1 has Albania, Israel and Scotland
Group 2 has Estonia, Finland, Greece and Hungary
Group 3 has Bulgaria, Cyprus, Norway and Slovenia
Group 4 has Lithuania, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia
In League D
Group 1 has Andorra, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Latvia
Group 2 has Belarus, Moldova, Luxemburg and San Marino
Group 3 has Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Kosovo and Malta
Group 4 has Armenia, FYR Macedonia, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein
Format and match schedule
The UNL is a whole new tournament, the system is a little complicated. First, all team has two matches against other teams in the same group (home and away round robin).
The 2018-19 season match schedules are below:
League phase
Matchday 1 6–8 Sep 2018
Matchday 2 9–11 Sep 2018
Matchday 3 11–13 Oct 2018
Matchday 4 14–16 Oct 2018
Matchday 5 15–17 Nov 2018
Matchday 6 18–20 Nov 2018
Finals
Semi-finals 5–6 Jun 2019
Final and Third place play-off 9 Jun 2019
Each country will play twice in September and October. Teams in League A and League B and League C group 1 will play once in November. Teams in League C groups 2, 3 and 4 and teams in League D will play twice in November. The first round of games called “Matchday 1” will be played from Friday 7th of September to Sunday 9th of September. (For a list of the fixtures and odds for “Matchday 1” please go to our EUFA Nations Betting tips page.) The semi-finals and final will be played in June 2019.
How do teams qualify for the semi-finals stage?
Only teams that are in League A can qualify for the semi-finals. The four teams that win their respective groups in League A qualify for the semi-finals to be held on the 5th and 6th of June 2019.
The teams that win their respective groups in Leagues B, C and D get promoted to the league above them. The teams that finish bottom (and the third worst team in Group C) of their respective groups in Leagues A, B and C get relegated to the league below them.
How is it connected to the European Championship qualifying?
Eight teams will be given an opportunity from this tournament to qualify for the European Championships if they haven’t qualified already and these will be determined by their league and group position. These teams will play a play off for the final 4 places after the first 20 places for the European Championships have been determined.
What about tournament betting?
The markets are already available for gambling on this tournament so please check betplanet’s UEFA Nations betting tips for information regarding markets available, gambling tips and recommended bets. Regularly check the sports media reports to find out which teams can qualify for the European Championships as and when they come up as this can have an effect on your betting selections and the prices.
