Follow all the action from the Nations League. The fourth edition of this international team tournament started in September 2024. There are six rounds of league matches between then and November, before the playoff rounds next year. The final will take place on the 8th of June 2025.
In this article, you’ll find our predictions for the Nations League, tips for selected games, the match schedule, the format of the competition and much more.
The three previous winners of the Nations League were Portugal, France and Spain. Will there be a new name on the trophy in 2025?
UEFA Nations League matches: predictions and tips
The draw for the Nations league Finals, as well as the promotion and relegation playoffs, took place on the 22nd November. Check back for previews and predictions on the upcoming matches.
Here is the schedule for the finals and the playoff matches.
Nations League Finals – Quarter-Finals
Netherlands 🆚 Spain
Croatia 🆚 France
Denmark 🆚 Portugal
Italy 🆚 Germany
1st leg matches 20th March 2025, 2nd leg matches 23rd March 2025
Nations League promotion/relegation playoffs
League A vs League B
Turkey 🆚 Hungary
Ukraine 🆚 Belgium
Austria 🆚 Serbia
Greece 🆚 Scotland
1st leg matches 20th March 2025, 2nd leg matches 23rd March 2025
League B vs League C
Kosovo 🆚 Iceland
Bulgaria 🆚 Republic of Ireland
Armenia 🆚 Georgia
Slovakia 🆚 Slovenia
1st leg matches 20th March 2025, 2nd leg matches 23rd March 2025
League C vs League D
Gibraltar 🆚 Latvia
Malta 🆚 Luxembourg
1st leg matches 26th March 2026, 2nd leg matches 31st March 2026
Full Nations League match schedule
2024
- Matchday 1 (5th – 7th September)
- Matchday 2 (8th – 10th September)
- Matchday 3 (10th – 12th October)
- Matchday 4 (13th – 15th October)
- Matchday 5 (14th – 16th November)
- Matchday 6 (17th – 19th November)
2025
- Knockout round playoffs (20th – 23rd March)
- League A quarter-finals (20th – 23rd March)
- Final tournament (4th – 8th June)
UEFA Nations League winner predictions
The group stage is now over with eight teams remaining in the running for the title of Nations League champions 2024/25.
The eight qualified teams are:
Group Winners
Portugal
France
Germany
Spain
Group Runners-up
Croatia
Italy
Netherlands
Denmark
What is the UEFA Nations League format?
The Nations League will comprise four leagues. Leagues A, B, and C will feature 16 teams each, divided into four groups of four teams, whilst League D will feature six teams divided into two groups of three teams.
In the top division, Group A, the top two teams will progress to the knockout stages. This quarter-final round will comprise the four group winners playing a second-placed team from a different group over a two-legged tie.
The four quarter-final winners will progress to the Nations League finals, which retain the previous format, consisting of one-legged semi-finals and a final.
There is also promotion between each tier of groups. The four winners of the ‘B’ and ‘C’ groups are promoted, whilst the nations finishing bottom in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ groups are relegated accordingly.
As there are four ‘C’ level groups and just two ‘D’ level groups, the top nation in each of the ‘D’ groups gets promoted, whilst the two worst-ranked bottom teams of the ‘C’ groups get relegated.
In a further change in format, there are also promotion and relegation playoffs. The teams finishing in third place in the ‘A’ level groups will play the runners-up in the ‘B’ level groups, whilst the teams finishing in third place in the ‘B’ level groups will play the runners-up in the ‘C’ level groups. The two best-ranked fourth-placed teams in the ‘C’ level groups will play the two runners-up of the ‘D’ level groups. All these matches will be played home-and-away, over two legs.
If this sounds overly complicated, remember that the idea of the Nations League is to give teams more competitive matches, rather than the previous rounds of ‘friendly’ matches which filled many international breaks.
Where will the Nations League final be held?
At this stage, the venue is still to be determined. Once the final four nations are determined, the host country will be decided from amongst those four teams.
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
The Nations League will also affect the European qualifying places for the 2026 World Cup. There will be 12 European qualifying groups, from which the 12 winners will directly qualify for the World Cup.
Then, the 12 runners-up in the qualifying groups will be joined by the best four Nations League group winners who did not finish in the top-two places in their European qualifying group.
Those 16 teams will contest playoffs, after which four additional teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
UEFA Nations League winner odds
What are the odds to win the Nations League?
These are the updated odds after the group stage.
| Nation | Odds |
|---|---|
| Spain | 4.20 |
| Germany | 4.60 |
| France | 5.10 |
| Portugal | 5.30 |
| Italy | 7.60 |
| Netherlands | 13.75 |
| Croatia | 16.00 |
| Denmark | 16.25 |
There is each-way betting on these selections to finish in the first two places at 1/2 the odds.
You can place an each-way bet on any of these teams. It will cost you twice the base stake (i.e., a €5 each-way bet will cost €10), but you get €5 on your selected team to win the tournament and a separate bet of €5 on that team to reach the final.
You can read more about each-way betting in our sports betting help section.
2024/25 Nations League groups
Group A1
- Croatia
- Portugal
- Poland
- Scotland
Group A2
- Italy
- Belgium
- France
- Israel
Group A3
- Netherlands
- Hungary
- Germany
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group A4
- Spain
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Serbia
Group B1
- Czech Republic
- Ukraine
- Albania
- Georgia
Group B2
- England
- Finland
- Republic of Ireland
- Greece
Group B3
- Austria
- Norway
- Slovenia
- Kazakhstan
Group B4
- Wales
- Iceland
- Montenegro
- Turkey
Group C1
- Sweden
- Azerbaijan
- Slovakia
- Estonia
Group C2
- Romania
- Kosovo
- Cyprus
- Lithuania
Group C3
- Luxembourg
- Bulgaria
- Northern Ireland
- Belarus
Group C4
- Armenia
- Faroe Islands
- North Macedonia
- Latvia
Group D1
- Gibraltar
- San Marino
- Liechtenstein
Group D2
- Moldova
- Malta
- Andorra
Previous Nations League finals
There have been three previous Nations League tournaments. Here are the results of the finals of each one:
2022/23
Host country: Netherlands
Final: Spain 0-0 Croatia (Spain won 5-4 on penalties)
Third place playoff: Italy 3-2 Netherlands (Goalscorers: Italy: Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi, Federico Chiesa. Netherlands: Steven Bergwijn, Georginio Wijnaldum)
2020/21
Host country: Italy
Final: France 2-1 Spain (Goalscorers: France: Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé. Spain: Mikel Oyarzabal)
Third place playoff: Italy 2-1 Belgium (Goalscorers: Italy: Nicolò Barella, Domenico Berardi (pen). Belgium: Charles De Ketelaere)
2018/19
Host country: Portugal
Final: Portugal 1-0 Netherlands (Goalscorer: Gonçalo Guedes)
Third place playoff: England 0-0 Switzerland (England won 6-5 on penalties)
Follow all the Nations League matches in the Sportsbook. With a huge range of pre-match markets and full live coverage of every game, check the odds with Marathonbet first.
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