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2018–19 UEFA Nations League

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2018–19 UEFA Nations League
Tournament details
DatesSeptember – November 2018 (group stage)
5–9 June 2019 (Nations League Finals)
Teams55 (from 1 confederation)

The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League will be the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, a planned international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.[1] The competition, which will be held from September to November 2018 (group stage) and June 2019 (Nations League Finals), will also serve as part of the qualification process for UEFA Euro 2020, awarding berths in the play-offs which will decide four of the twenty-four final tournament slots.

Format

The format and schedule of the UEFA Nations League was formally approved by the UEFA Executive Committee on 4 December 2014.[2][3] According to the approved format,[1][4][5] the 55 UEFA national teams will be divided into four divisions (called "Leagues"):[4] 12 teams in League A, 12 teams in League B, 15 teams in League C, and 16 teams in League D.[4] For the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, teams will be divided according to their UEFA national team coefficients after the conclusion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (play-off results will not be included), with the highest-ranked teams playing in League A, etc.[6]

Each division will be divided into four groups of three or four teams, so each team will play four or six matches within their group (using the home-and-away round-robin format), on double matchdays in September, October and November 2018.

In the top division League A, teams will compete to become the UEFA Nations League champions. The four group winners of League A will qualify for the Nations League Finals, which includes four matches played in knockout format (two semi-finals decided by draw, third place play-off, and the final) in June 2019 at a host country (two venues) to be selected among the four qualified teams,[7] with the winners of the final crowned as the Nations League champions.

Teams will also compete for promotion and relegation to a higher or lower division. In each division, the four group winners (except League A) will be promoted, while the last-placed teams of each group (except League D) will be relegated; however, in League C, due to different sized groups, the three fourth-placed teams and the lowest-ranking third-placed team will be relegated.

Group ranking (tiebreakers)

If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:[6]

  1. Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
  2. Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
  3. Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
  4. Higher number of goals scored away from home in the matches played among the teams in question;
  5. If, after having applied criteria 1 to 4, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings.[note 1] If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
  6. Superior goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Higher number of wins in all group matches;
  10. Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
  11. Fair play conduct in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  12. Position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system;[note 2]

To determine the worst third-placed team in League C, the results against the teams in fourth place are discarded. The following criteria are applied:

  1. Higher number of points;
  2. Superior goal difference;
  3. Higher number of goals scored;
  4. Higher number of goals scored away from home;
  5. Higher number of wins;
  6. Higher number of wins away from home;
  7. Fair play conduct in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  8. Position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system;[note 2]

League ranking

Individual league rankings are established according to the following criteria:[6]

  1. Position in the group;
  2. Higher number of points;
  3. Superior goal difference;
  4. Higher number of goals scored;
  5. Higher number of goals scored away from home;
  6. Higher number of wins;
  7. Higher number of wins away from home;
  8. Fair play conduct in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  9. Position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system;[note 2]

In order to rank teams in leagues composed of different sized groups, the following procedure applies:[6]

  1. The results against fourth-placed teams are not taken into account for the purposes of comparing teams placed first, second and third in their respective groups.
  2. All results are taken into account for the purposes of comparing teams placed fourth in their respective groups.

The results of the Nations League Finals are impacted on the Nations League A rankings as follows:[6]

  1. The winner is ranked 1st;
  2. The runner-up is ranked 2nd;
  3. The third-placed team is ranked 3rd;
  4. The fourth-placed team is ranked 4th;

Overall ranking

For the purposes of the European Championship qualifying group stage draw and the European qualifying play-offs, overall UEFA Nations League rankings are established as follows:[6]

  1. The 12 League A teams are ranked 1st to 12th according to their league rankings.
  2. The 12 League B teams are ranked 13th to 24th according to their league rankings.
  3. The 15 League C teams are ranked 25th to 39th according to their league rankings.
  4. The 16 League D teams are ranked 40th to 55th according to their league rankings.

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League will be linked with UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020. The main qualifying process will now begin in March 2019 instead of immediately in September 2018 following the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and will end in November 2019.

The format will remain largely the same, although only 20 of the 24 spots for the finals tournament will be decided from the main qualifying process, leaving four spots still to be decided. The 55 teams will be drawn into 10 groups after the completion of the UEFA Nations League (five groups of five teams and five groups of six teams, with the four UEFA Nations League Finals participants guaranteed to be drawn into groups of five teams), with the top two teams in each group qualifying.[2][3] The qualifiers will be played on double matchdays in March, June, September, October and November 2019.[8]

Each Nations League division will be allocated one of the four remaining UEFA Euro 2020 places. Four teams from each division which have not already qualified for the European Championship finals will compete in the play-offs for each division, to be played in March 2020. The play-off berths will be first allocated to the group winners, and if any of the group winners have already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best ranked team of the division, etc. If in any division, there are fewer than four teams which have not already qualified for the European Championship finals, the play-off berths will be allocated to the next best ranked team of the following division, etc.

The play-offs will consist of two "one-off" semi-finals (best-ranked team vs. fourth best-ranked team and second best-ranked team vs. third best-ranked team, played at home of higher-ranked teams) and one "one-off" final between the two semi-final winners (venue drawn in advance). The four division winners will join the 20 teams which have already qualified for the European Championship finals. This means at least one team from each Nations League division will qualify for the European Championship finals.[2][3]

Schedule

Below is the schedule of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League and UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.[9]

Date Nations League European Qualifiers
6–8 September 2018 Matchday 1
9–11 September 2018 Matchday 2
11–13 October 2018 Matchday 3
14–16 October 2018 Matchday 4
15–17 November 2018 Matchday 5
18–20 November 2018 Matchday 6
21–23 March 2019 Matchday 1
24–26 March 2019 Matchday 2
5–6 June 2019 Semi-finals
7–8 June 2019 Matchday 3
9 June 2019 Third place play-off
Final
10–11 June 2019 Matchday 4
5–7 September 2019 Matchday 5
8–10 September 2019 Matchday 6
10–12 October 2019 Matchday 7
13–15 October 2019 Matchday 8
14–16 November 2019 Matchday 9
17–19 November 2019 Matchday 10
26–28 March 2020 Play-off semi-finals
29–31 March 2020 Play-off finals
12 June – 12 July 2020 — UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament —

Seeding

All 55 UEFA national teams are eligible to compete in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. The 55 members at the time would be divided into the four "Leagues" (12 teams in League A, 12 teams in League B, 15 teams in League C, and 16 teams in League D) according to their UEFA national team coefficients after the conclusion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (not including the play-offs), with the highest-ranked teams playing in League A, etc.[10][11]

League A
Team Coeff Rank
 Germany 40,747 1
 Portugal 38,656 2
 Belgium 38,123 3
 Spain 37,311 4
 France 36,617 5
 England 36,231 6
  Switzerland 34,986 7
 Italy 34,426 8
 Poland 32,982 9
 Iceland 31,155 10
 Croatia 31,139 11
 Netherlands 29,866 12
League B
Team Coeff Rank
 Austria 29,419 13
 Wales 29,269 14
 Russia 29,258 15
 Slovakia 28,554 16
 Sweden 28,487 17
 Ukraine 28,286 18
 Republic of Ireland 28,249 19
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 28,200 20
 Northern Ireland 27,127 21
 Denmark 27,052 22
 Czech Republic 27,028 23
 Turkey 26,538 24
League C
Team Coeff Rank
 Hungary 26,486 25
 Romania 26,057 26
 Scotland 25,662 27
 Slovenia 25,148 28
 Greece 24,931 29
 Serbia 24,847 30
 Albania 24,430 31
 Norway 24,208 32
 Montenegro 23,912 33
 Israel 22,791 34
 Bulgaria 22,091 35
 Finland 20,501 36
 Cyprus 19,491 37
 Estonia 19,441 38
 Lithuania 18,101 39
League D
Team Coeff Rank
 Azerbaijan 17,761 40
 North Macedonia 17,071 41
 Belarus 16,868 42
 Georgia 16,523 43
 Armenia 15,846 44
 Latvia 15,821 45
 Faroe Islands 15,490 46
 Luxembourg 14,231 47
 Kazakhstan 13,431 48
 Moldova 13,131 49
 Liechtenstein 10,950 50
 Malta 10,870 51
 Andorra 10,240 52
 Kosovo 9,950 53
 San Marino 8,190 54
 Gibraltar 7,550 55

The draw for the group stage is scheduled take place at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 January 2018.[12]

League A

Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A

Group 1

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification[a] Netherlands France Germany
1  Netherlands 4 2 1 1 8 4 +4 7[b] Qualification for Nations League Finals — 2–0 3–0
2  France 4 2 1 1 4 4 0 7[b] 2–1 — 2–1
3  Germany 4 0 2 2 3 7 −4 2 2–2 0–0 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head goal difference: Netherlands +1, France −1.

Group 2

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification[a] Switzerland Belgium Iceland
1   Switzerland 4 3 0 1 14 5 +9 9[b] Qualification for Nations League Finals — 5–2 6–0
2  Belgium 4 3 0 1 9 6 +3 9[b] 2–1 — 2–0
3  Iceland 4 0 0 4 1 13 −12 0 1–2 0–3 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head goal difference: Switzerland +2, Belgium −2.

Group 3

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification[a] Portugal Italy Poland
1  Portugal 4 2 2 0 5 3 +2 8 Qualification for Nations League Finals — 1–0 1–1
2  Italy 4 1 2 1 2 2 0 5 0–0 — 1–1
3  Poland 4 0 2 2 4 6 −2 2 2–3 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

Group 4

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification[a] England Spain Croatia
1  England 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 7 Qualification for Nations League Finals — 1–2 2–1
2  Spain 4 2 0 2 12 7 +5 6 2–3 — 6–0
3  Croatia 4 1 1 2 4 10 −6 4 0–0 3–2 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

Nations League Finals

Semi-finals

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Winners Group 1/2/3/4 Semi-final 1 Winners Group 1/2/3/4
Winners Group 1/2/3/4 Semi-final 2 Winners Group 1/2/3/4

Third place play-off

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Losers semi-final 1 Losers semi-final 2

Final

League B

Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B

Group 1

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Ukraine Czech Republic Slovakia
1  Ukraine (P) 4 3 0 1 5 5 0 9 Promotion to League A — 1–0 1–0
2  Czech Republic 4 2 0 2 4 4 0 6 1–2 — 1–0
3  Slovakia 4 1 0 3 5 5 0 3 4–1 1–2 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

Group 2

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Sweden Russia Turkey
1  Sweden (P) 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7[b] Promotion to League A — 2–0 2–3
2  Russia 4 2 1 1 4 3 +1 7[b] 0–0 — 2–0
3  Turkey 4 1 0 3 4 7 −3 3 0–1 1–2 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Sweden 4, Russia 1.

Group 3

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Bosnia and Herzegovina Austria Northern Ireland
1  Bosnia and Herzegovina (P) 4 3 1 0 5 1 +4 10 Promotion to League A — 1–0 2–0
2  Austria 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1 7 0–0 — 1–0
3  Northern Ireland 4 0 0 4 2 7 −5 0 1–2 1–2 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

Group 4

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Denmark Wales Republic of Ireland
1  Denmark (P) 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3 8 Promotion to League A — 2–0 0–0
2  Wales 4 2 0 2 6 5 +1 6 1–2 — 4–1
3  Republic of Ireland 4 0 2 2 1 5 −4 2 0–0 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

League C

Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C

Group 1

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Scotland Israel Albania
1  Scotland (P) 4 3 0 1 10 4 +6 9 Promotion to League B — 3–2 2–0
2  Israel (P) 4 2 0 2 6 5 +1 6 2–1 — 2–0
3  Albania 4 1 0 3 1 8 −7 3 0–4 1–0 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.

Group 2

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Finland Hungary Greece Estonia
1  Finland (P) 6 4 0 2 5 3 +2 12 Promotion to League B — 1–0 2–0 1–0
2  Hungary (P) 6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10 2–0 — 2–1 2–0
3  Greece 6 3 0 3 4 5 −1 9 1–0 1–0 — 0–1
4  Estonia 6 1 1 4 4 8 −4 4 0–1 3–3 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.

Group 3

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Norway Bulgaria Cyprus Slovenia
1  Norway (P) 6 4 1 1 7 2 +5 13 Promotion to League B — 1–0 2–0 1–0
2  Bulgaria (P) 6 3 2 1 7 5 +2 11 1–0 — 2–1 1–1
3  Cyprus 6 1 2 3 5 9 −4 5 0–2 1–1 — 2–1
4  Slovenia 6 0 3 3 5 8 −3 3 1–1 1–2 1–1 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.

Group 4

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Serbia Romania Montenegro Lithuania
1  Serbia (P) 6 4 2 0 11 4 +7 14 Promotion to League B — 2–2 2–1 4–1
2  Romania (P) 6 3 3 0 8 3 +5 12 0–0 — 0–0 3–0
3  Montenegro 6 2 1 3 7 6 +1 7 0–2 0–1 — 2–0
4  Lithuania 6 0 0 6 3 16 −13 0 0–1 1–2 1–4 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.

Ranking of third-placed teams

League D

Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D

Group 1

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Georgia (country) Kazakhstan Latvia Andorra
1  Georgia (P) 6 5 1 0 12 2 +10 16 Promotion to League C — 2–1 1–0 3–0
2  Kazakhstan (P) 6 1 3 2 8 7 +1 6 0–2 — 1–1 4–0
3  Latvia 6 0 4 2 2 6 −4 4[b] 0–3 1–1 — 0–0
4  Andorra 6 0 4 2 2 9 −7 4[b] 1–1 1–1 0–0 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, the second-placed teams in each group and the best third-placed team among all groups were also promoted.
  2. ^ a b Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.

Group 2

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Belarus Luxembourg Moldova San Marino
1  Belarus (P) 6 4 2 0 10 0 +10 14 Promotion to League C — 1–0 0–0 5–0
2  Luxembourg (P) 6 3 1 2 11 4 +7 10 0–2 — 4–0 3–0
3  Moldova (P) 6 2 3 1 4 5 −1 9 0–0 1–1 — 2–0
4  San Marino 6 0 0 6 0 16 −16 0 0–2 0–3 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, the second-placed teams in each group and the best third-placed team among all groups were also promoted.

Group 3

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] Kosovo Azerbaijan Faroe Islands Malta
1  Kosovo (P) 6 4 2 0 15 2 +13 14 Promotion to League C — 4–0 2–0 3–1
2  Azerbaijan (P) 6 2 3 1 7 6 +1 9 0–0 — 2–0 1–1
3  Faroe Islands 6 1 2 3 5 10 −5 5 1–1 0–3 — 3–1
4  Malta 6 0 3 3 5 14 −9 3 0–5 1–1 1–1 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, the second-placed teams in each group and the best third-placed team among all groups were also promoted.

Group 4

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion[a] North Macedonia Armenia Gibraltar Liechtenstein
1  Macedonia (P) 6 5 0 1 14 5 +9 15 Promotion to League C — 2–0 4–0 4–1
2  Armenia (P) 6 3 1 2 14 8 +6 10 4–0 — 0–1 2–1
3  Gibraltar 6 2 0 4 5 15 −10 6 0–2 2–6 — 2–1
4  Liechtenstein 6 1 1 4 7 12 −5 4 0–2 2–2 2–0 —
Source: UEFA
(P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, the second-placed teams in each group and the best third-placed team among all groups were also promoted.

Play-offs

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs

Teams which fail in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying group stage may still qualify for the final tournament via the play-offs. Each league in the UEFA Nations League will be allocated one of the four remaining UEFA Euro 2020 places. Four teams from each league which have not already qualified for the European Championship finals will compete in the play-offs of their league, to be played in March 2020. The play-off berths will be first allocated to each group winner, and if any of the group winners have already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best ranked team of the division, etc.

Notes

  1. ^ When there are two or more teams tied in points, criteria 1 to 4 are applied. After these criteria are applied, they may define the position of some of the teams involved, but not all of them. For example, if there is a three-way tie on points, the application of the first four criteria may only break the tie for one of the teams, leaving the other two teams still tied. In this case, the tiebreaking procedure is resumed, from the beginning, for those teams that are still tied.
  2. ^ a b c If two or more associations have the same reference period coefficient, the following criteria are applied to the most recent half cycle:[6]
    1. Coefficient;
    2. Average goal difference;
    3. Average number of goals scored;
    4. Average number of away goals scored;
    5. Average fair play conduct (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
    6. Drawing of lots;

References

  1. ^ a b "UEFA Nations League receives associations' green light". UEFA.org. 27 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "UEFA Nations League format and schedule approved". UEFA.com. 4 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "UEFA Nations League format and schedule confirmed". UEFA.org. 4 December 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "UEFA Nations League: all you need to know". UEFA.com. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  5. ^ "UEFA Nations League/UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League 2018/19" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Lyon to host 2018 UEFA Europa League final". UEFA. 9 December 2016.
  8. ^ "UEFA Nations League: all you need to know". UEFA.com.
  9. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League 2018/19" (PDF). uefa.com. UEFA. p. 48. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  10. ^ "UEFA Nations League: all you need to know". UEFA.com. 21 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Confirmed: How the UEFA Nations League will line up". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  12. ^ "UEFA Nations League format confirmed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
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