2018?19 UEFA Nations League
The 2018-19 UEFA Nations League will be the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.The competition, which will be held from September to November 2018 (league phase) and June 2019 (Nations League Finals), will also seed teams for the qualification process of UEFA Euro 2020, and will award berths in the play-offs which will decide four of the twenty-four final tournament slots.
Dates
League phase:
6 September - 20 November 2018
Nations League Finals:
5-9 June 2019
Teams
55
Format
The format and schedule of the UEFA Nations League was formally approved by the UEFA Executive Committee on 4 December 2014.According to the approved format, the 55 UEFA national teams will be divided into four divisions (called "leagues"):12 teams in League A, 12 teams in League B, 15 teams in League C, and 16 teams in League D.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.
Each league 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 in June 2019, which will be played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off, and final. The semi-final pairings, along with the administrative home teams for the third place play-off and final, are determined by means of a draw in early December 2018. The host country will be selected among the four qualified teams on 3 December 2018 by the UEFA Executive Committee, 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 league. In each league, 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.