The UEFA Nations League 2026/27 is the fifth edition of UEFA’s international football competition for European national teams. The league phase began on September 24, 2026, and runs until November 17, 2026, with 54 national teams competing across four leagues. The tournament features promotion and relegation between leagues and a knockout stage for the leading League A teams.
Portugal enter the competition as the defending champions after winning the 2025 UEFA Nations League final against Spain. Portugal are attempting to become the first nation to win the competition three times.
UEFA Nations League 2026/27 Teams
The 54 participating countries are divided into League A, League B, League C and League D. League A contains Europe’s top 16 teams, while the other nations compete in the lower divisions.
League A Groups
Group A1: France, Italy, Belgium, Türkiye
Group A2: Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Greece
Group A3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czechia
Group A4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales
These groups include several of Europe’s biggest international football teams, including France, Spain, England, Germany, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands.
League B, C and D
League B includes teams such as Scotland, Switzerland, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, Austria and the Republic of Ireland.
League C features nations including Albania, Finland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Iceland and Bulgaria.
League D consists of Gibraltar, Malta, Andorra, Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.
UEFA Nations League Schedule 2026/27
The league phase is divided into six matchdays.
- Matchday 1: September 24–26, 2026
- Matchday 2: September 27–29, 2026
- Matchday 3: September 30–October 3, 2026
- Matchday 4: October 4–6, 2026
- Matchday 5: November 12–14, 2026
- Matchday 6: November 15–17, 2026
The League A quarter-finals and promotion/relegation play-offs will take place from March 25–30, 2027. The UEFA Nations League Finals are scheduled for June 9–13, 2027.
UEFA Nations League Format
Teams play a league-phase competition within their groups. In Leagues A, B and C, teams generally play six matches, facing each group opponent once at home and once away. League D contains two groups of three teams, so each team plays four league-phase matches.
In League A, the top two teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals are played over two legs in March 2027. The four winners then advance to the final tournament, where the semi-finals, third-place match and final are played as single-leg matches.
Promotion and Relegation
The UEFA Nations League also provides a system of promotion and relegation. League B group winners move up to League A, while League C group winners move up to League B. League D group winners are promoted to League C.
The 2026/27 edition has additional promotion and relegation arrangements because UEFA is transitioning to a new three-league structure for the 2028/29 Nations League.
Key Teams and Players
The 2026/27 competition features many internationally recognised players representing Europe’s leading national teams. Portugal, Spain, France, England, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Croatia are among the major football nations competing in League A.
Portugal’s title defence will be one of the major storylines, while Spain, France, England and Germany are also competing in League A. The group-stage fixtures include several high-profile matches such as England vs Spain, Czechia vs Croatia, Belgium vs France, Germany vs Greece and Norway vs Portugal.
UEFA Nations League Final 2027
The 2027 UEFA Nations League Finals are scheduled for June 9–13, 2027. The final tournament will feature four teams: the winners of the four League A quarter-finals.
The host and exact venues for the final tournament had not yet been confirmed by UEFA at the time of the latest schedule information.
The UEFA Nations League 2026/27 brings together 54 European national teams across four competitive leagues. With Portugal defending the title, and major football nations such as Spain, France, England, Germany and Italy competing, the tournament provides a packed international football calendar from September 2026 through June 2027.
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