This is the second version of UEFA's most recent international competition. Portugal secured the first title on home turf in 2019, the epitome of a competition that drew acclaim from all over the country. The 2020/21 version will hope to expand on that achievement, with two or three changes this time around. The 55 associations or countries were split into four Leagues according to their position in the UEFA National Team Rankings (1–16 in League A, 17–32 in League B, 33-48 in League C, 49–55 in League D). Within each League, teams were subdivided into two pots (League D) or four (for Leagues A, B and C), again according to the rankings.
The Teams
League A
Group 1: Netherlands, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland
Group 2: England, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland
Group 3: Portugal, France, Sweden, Croatia
Group 4: Switzerland, Spain, Ukraine, Germany
League B
Group 1: Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland, Romania
Group 2: Czech Republic, Scotland, Slovakia, Israel
Group 3: Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary
Group 4: Wales, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria
League C
Group 1: Montenegro, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan
Group 2: Georgia, North Macedonia, Estonia, Armenia
Group 3: Greece, Kosovo, Slovenia, Moldova
Group 4: Albania, Belarus, Lithuania, Kazakhstan
League D
Group 1: Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra, Malta
Group 2: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino
Matchdays
Matchday 1: 3–5 September 2020
Matchday 2: 6–8 September 2020
Matchday 3: 8–10 October 2020
Matchday 4: 11–13 October 2020
Matchday 5: 12–14 November 2020
Matchday 6: 15–17 November 2020
Finals: 2, 3, 6 June 2021
Relegation play-offs: 24, 25, 28, 29 March 2022
A New Method of International Competitions
Teams will play each other home and away, with the four group winners of League A qualifying for the UEFA Nations League Finals in June 2021, which feature semi-finals, a third-place match and the final. The group winners in Leagues B, C and D gain promotion and those who finish bottom of the groups in Leagues A and B will be relegated.
As League C has four groups while League D has only two, the two League C teams to be relegated will be determined by two-leg play-offs in March 2022. If a team due to participate in the play-offs qualifies for the 2022 FIFA World Cup play-offs (more on that below), the League C teams ranked 47th and 48th in the overall UEFA Nations League rankings are automatically relegated.
