The UEFA Nations League: How does it work, what’s changed, and why does it matter?

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.

It was created to replace friendly matches on the international match calendar and is designed to give teams of all levels more competitive matches.

The inaugural competition was held in 2018–19, and Portugal won the first Nations League Finals.

How does the Nations League work?

The Nations League is divided into four divisions, with each division containing 12 or 16 teams, based on their UEFA coefficient ranking.

Teams play each other in a round-robin format, with each team playing four or six matches (home and away) in their respective group.

The winners of each group in League A, B, and C are promoted to the next highest division, while the bottom-placed teams in each group are relegated to the next lowest division.

What has changed for the 2022-23 Nations League?

The format of the Nations League has changed slightly for the 2022-23 competition.

The most significant change is that the number of teams in League A has been increased from 12 to 16.

This means that there will be four more teams competing in the Nations League Finals.

Why does the Nations League matter?

The Nations League has been criticized by some for being too complicated and for not providing enough competitive matches for top teams.

However, the Nations League has also been praised for giving smaller teams more opportunities to play against stronger opposition.

The Nations League also provides a pathway to the European Championship, with the four semi-finalists in the 2022-23 Nations League Finals securing a place at the 2024 European Championship.

Conclusion

The UEFA Nations League is a new and innovative competition that has the potential to revolutionize international football.

The format of the competition is still being tweaked, but the Nations League has already had a positive impact on the international game.

The Nations League provides more competitive matches for all teams, and it gives smaller teams a chance to play against stronger opposition.