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When does the 2024-25 Nations League begin and what’s the format? What number of nations are taking part in? Al Jazeera has the solutions.
The primary spherical of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League begins on September 5, when Spain open their title defence with an away match towards Serbia in Belgrade.
This is all the things it’s essential to know concerning the fourth version of the match:
What’s the UEFA Nations League?
The Nations League is a biennial worldwide males’s soccer competitors involving 54 groups which can be members of the Union of European Soccer Associations (UEFA).
The primary version of the Nations League befell in 2018–19. The competitors is performed in a league construction with promotion and relegation.
Based on UEFA, the governing physique for European soccer, the match is meant to “minimise pointless friendlies and supply nations with aggressive encounters with groups on an equal footing”.
Which groups will play within the 2024-2025 Nations League?
The 54 taking part groups have been divided into 4 competitions primarily based on their leads to the 2022-2023 Nations League, the newest version of the competitors.
The groups have been then divided into teams, once more primarily based on their 2022-23 UEFA Nations League rankings:
League A
Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland Group A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia
Division B
Group B1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia Group B2: England, Finland, Eire, Greece Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Turkey
Division C
Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Eire, Belarus Group C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia
Division D
Group D1: Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra Spain received the 2022-23 Nations League title by beating Croatia within the remaining in Rotterdam, Netherlands on June 18, 2023. La Roja go into this yr’s competitors as heavy favorites after just lately profitable Euro 2024. (Martin Meissner/AP)
When is the match held?
The competitors part consists of six rounds.
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 Knockout Spherical Play-Offs Draw: November 2024 Knockout Spherical Play-Offs: 20-25 March 2025 League A Quarter-Finals: 20-25 March 2025 Ultimate Match: 4-8 June 2025
What’s the measurement?
Every crew in Leagues A, B and C will play six matches of their group, whereas groups in League D will play 4. All matches will likely be on a home-and-away foundation. The League A gaggle winners and runners-up will play in two-legged quarter-finals, with the winners of those matches qualifying for the final 4. The groups that end in fourth place in League A and B will likely be robotically relegated to Leagues B and C respectively. The underside two groups that end in fourth place in League C will likely be relegated to League D, the underside tier. The 4 group winners in Leagues B and C and the 2 group winners in League D will likely be robotically promoted to Leagues A, B and C respectively. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin (left) presents the inaugural UEFA Nations League trophy to Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo after his crew defeated the Netherlands within the remaining in Porto on 9 June 2019. Portugal have been given a beneficial draw within the League A gaggle stage this time round (Armando Franca/AP)
Which crew doesn’t play within the Nations League?
Russia is the one crew not taking part within the 2024-25 Nations League.
Each UEFA and the worldwide soccer governing physique, the Federation Internationale de Soccer Affiliation (FIFA), determined in February 2022 that every one Russian groups (each nationwide and membership) could be banned from taking part following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Who’re the favourites to win the 2024-2025 Nations League?
Spain, who received the Nations League in 2022-23 and the European Championship in 2024, are among the many match favourites.
Former champions France and Portugal, together with Germany and England, are thought of robust contenders.
Which nations have received the UEFA Nations League?
2018-19: Portugal – beat Netherlands 1-0 within the remaining 2020-21: France – beat Spain 2-1 within the remaining 2022-23: Spain – beat Croatia 5-4 on penalties within the remaining France’s 2021 UEFA Nations League triumph got here three years after they received the World Cup in Russia. They face a tricky group in League A after being drawn alongside Euro 2020 winners Italy (Luca Bruno/AP)
How a lot is the prize cash for profitable the UEFA Nations League?
The precise prize cash for the 2024-2025 Nations League has but to be introduced.
In the course of the 2022-23 Nations League, Spain acquired 10.5 million euros ($11.7 million) for profitable the occasion, whereas runner-up Croatia acquired 9 million euros ($10 million).
How is World Cup qualifying linked to the UEFA Nations League?
The 2024-25 Nations League will likely be partly linked to European qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
The 12 group winners after the primary spherical (group stage) qualify instantly for the World Cup, whereas the runners-up from every group advance to the World Cup play-offs.
The 4 highest-ranked Nations League group winners who fail to qualify by both methodology can even advance to the World Cup play-offs.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will likely be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The worldwide showpiece is the primary version of the quadrennial match with 48 groups taking part (Noah Ok. Murray/AP)
All through the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League season, you’ll be able to hold updated with the newest soccer information and get dwell commentary on choose matches through Al Jazeera Sport’s soccer web page.
UEFA Nations League 2024-2025: Groups, teams, format, schedule, prize cash | Soccer Information
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