The UEFA Nations League has returned with 54 European nations competing to climb the continental rankings. Two-time champions Portugal are defending their title, while Spain and France aim to regain it and England seek a first triumph, according to ESPN.
The competition is split into four tiers — A, B, C and D — with the highest-ranked teams in League A. Within each tier teams are drawn into four groups of four, except in League D where there are two groups of three, and each side plays every opponent home and away, according to ESPN.
In League A, the top two teams from each group advance to a straight knockout playoff — a mini-tournament that determines the Nations League champion for the season, according to ESPN.
Promotion and relegation operate between the leagues. Teams finishing bottom of their groups in Leagues A, B and C are relegated to the division below, while group winners in B, C and D move up. Teams finishing third in Leagues A, B and C play relegation playoffs against the second-placed teams from the league below; those matches are scheduled alongside the knockout stages during the March and June international windows, according to ESPN.
The Nations League also offers a qualification pathway to Euro 2028. The four best-performing sides in the 2026-27 Nations League that have not already qualified through conventional qualifying will face the four lowest-ranked runners-up from the traditional qualification process for places at Euro 2028, according to ESPN.
ESPN notes the route has produced important results previously: Sweden entered World Cup qualifying playoffs via the Nations League, beat Poland to secure a place at the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and reached the round of 32 before a 3-0 defeat to France.
