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The UEFA Nations League returns this week with the opening round of fixtures in the fourth edition of the tournament.

The competition was created to remove the unpopular friendlies from the calendar by replacing them with meaningful fixtures – and as before, it will be partially linked with European qualification for the next World Cup in 2026.

England interim boss Lee Carsley faces Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday in Heimir Hallgrimsson’s first game in charge at the Aviva Stadium in League B.

Scotland are preparing for a League A Group 1 opener against Poland at Hampden Park on Thursday before a trip to play Portugal in Lisbon next Sunday, with Croatia also in the group.

Craig Bellamy begins his Wales reign against Turkey, who were Euro 2024 quarter-finalists this summer, at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday. Wales then visit Montenegro in League B three days later, the game having been switched to Niksic at short notice after the Podgorica National Stadium pitch was deemed unplayable by UEFA.

In 16 games to date, League C hopefuls Northern Ireland still have only one victory in the competition – a 2-1 come-from-behind triumph over Kosovo in September 2022 in which Josh Magennis scored a stoppage-time winner.

Sky Sports takes a look at what is different to UEFA’s newest competition and provides everything you need to know about the latest edition…

How does the league phase work?

Forget about the new Champions League format – the Nations League still follows the conventional system whereby each team will play six matches in their group, one home and one away against the other three nations in the group.

The 54 UEFA member associations participating were divided into four leagues based on their results in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League. Two years ago, England and Wales were relegated to League B while Scotland were promoted to League A. Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland remain in Leagues B and C respectively.

The fourth-placed teams in Leagues A and B are automatically relegated to League B and C respectively. As before, the four group winners in Leagues B and C, as well as the two group winners in League D, are automatically promoted to Leagues A, B and C respectively.

The two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League C, meanwhile, are relegated to League D.

And the winners of the four League A groups progress to the final?

No – that’s changed since the last edition. Now, the Nations League has been expanded with an additional knockout round to be played in March 2025.

The League A group winners and runners-up will participate in home-and-away quarter-finals between March 20-25, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the finals next June.

Any other changes to the format?

Furthermore, the third-ranked teams of League A and the runners-up of League B, as well as the third-ranked teams of League B and the runners-up of League C, will play a home-and-away promotion/relegation play-off.

There will also be play-offs between the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams from League C and the two runners-up from League D.

So when are the Nations League finals?

The finals – to be staged by one of the four nations that qualify – are set to take place in June 2025.

The semi-finals will take place on June 4/5. The winners progress to the final on June 8, while the two beaten semi-finalists will face off for third place earlier on the same day.

When is the draw for the promotion/relegation play-offs?

The draw for the promotion/relegation play-offs will be held on November 22 2024 in Nyon, Switzerland, along with the draw for the League A quarter-finals.

For the League A/B and B/C ties, the first legs will be played on March 20, and the second legs will be played on March 23. For the League C/D ties, the first legs will take place on March 26 2026 with the return legs on March 31 2026.

Do teams qualify for World Cup 2026 through Nations League?

The road to Canada, Mexico, and the United States technically starts here. When it comes to the draw for World Cup qualification, each national team involved will also be placed in a ranked table, based on the performance in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League.

Essentially, the four highest ranked teams who do not then secure an automatic place at the 2026 World Cup will be granted a playoff safety net.

For 2026 World Cup qualifying, there will be 12 groups of either four or five teams. Only the group winners will qualify automatically for the tournament.

The 12 group runners-up and four best Nations League group winners, based on the Nations League overall ranking, will be drawn into four play-off paths, playing two rounds of single-match play-offs (semi-finals with the seeded teams to host, followed by finals, with the home teams to be drawn).

The four path winners will qualify for the World Cup finals.

Nations League 2024/25 draw in full

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.

League B

• Group B1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia.
• Group B2: England, Finland, Republic of 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.
• Group C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus.
• Group C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia.

League D

• Group D1: Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein.
• Group D2: Moldova, Malta, Andorra.

Scotland fixtures

Scotland vs Poland – 05/09/24
Portugal vs Scotland – 08/09/24
Croatia vs Scotland – 12/10/24
Scotland vs Portugal – 15/10/24
Scotland vs Croatia – 15/11/24
Poland vs Scotland – 18/11/24

England fixtures

Republic of Ireland vs England – 07/09/24
England vs Finland – 10/09/24
England vs Greece – 10/10/24
Finland vs England – 13/10/24
Greece vs England – 14/11/24
England vs Republic of Ireland – 17/11/24

Republic of Ireland fixtures

Republic of Ireland vs England – 07/09/24
Republic of Ireland vs Greece – 10/09/24
Finland vs Republic of Ireland – 10/10/24
Greece vs Republic of Ireland – 13/10/24
Republic of Ireland vs Finland – 14/11/24
England vs Republic of Ireland – 17/11/24

Wales fixtures

Wales vs Turkey – 06/09/24
Montenegro vs Wales – 09/09/24
Iceland vs Wales – 11/10/24
Wales vs Montenegro – 14/10/24
Turkey vs Wales – 16/11/24
Wales vs Iceland – 19/11/24

Northern Ireland fixtures

Northern Ireland vs Luxembourg – 05/09/24
Bulgaria vs Northern Ireland – 08/09/24
Belarus vs Northern Ireland – 12/10/24
Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria – 15/10/24
Northern Ireland vs Belarus – 15/11/24
Luxembourg vs Northern Ireland – 18/11/24

Nations League 2024/25 schedule

• Matchday 1: September 5-7 2024
• Matchday 2: September 8-10 2024
• Matchday 3: October 10-12 2024
• Matchday 4: October 13-15 2024
• Matchday 5: November 14-16 2024
• Matchday 6: November 17-19 2024
• Knockout round play-off draw: November 2024
• Knockout round play-offs: March 20-25 2025
• League A quarter-finals: March 20-25 2025
• Final tournament: June 4-8 2025