Follow all the action from the Nations League when the fourth edition of this international team tournament starts 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 Nations League matchdays run over a period of several days, with two sets of matches taking place during each time frame.
After the first two matchdays, things are beginning to take shape in the Nations League groups.
In the top level ‘A’ groups, Portugal, who won the first edition of the Nations League, head the group after two home wins, one against Croatia and one against Scotland. 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong, having scored in both of Portugal’s victories. The goal against Croatia was Ronaldo’s 900th career goal.
Italy stole a march over the pre-tournament favourites, France, with an opening-round 3-1 win at the Parc des Princes. The Blues followed that with a victory against Israel, and if they defeat Belgium in their next match in Rome, a place in the knockout rounds will be very close. However, with the top two teams now qualifying for the latter stages, France still have it all to play for.
Germany and the Netherlands both look likely qualifiers from Group 3 after they drew 2-2 in Amsterdam. That followed opening-day home victories over Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina respectively, in which they both scored five goals.
Denmark head the final top-level group after successive home 2-0 victories over Switzerland and Serbia. Spain dropped points in an away draw in Serbia but recovered with a convincing 4-1 victory in Switzerland, despite playing for much of the game with 10 men. Spain vs Denmark on Matchday 3 should be a good test of how strong the Danes are.
In the fight to be promoted to the top level, Georgia have followed their good performance in Euro 2024 by winning their opening two matches in Group B1. In Group 2, both England and Greece have maximum points after two games, and they meet at Wembley on Matchday 3. Harry Kane marked his 100th England cap with both goals in his side’s 2-0 victory over Finland.
Slovenia and Norway are tied on four points at the top of Group 3. RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Šeško is enjoying his Nations League so far, having scored all four of Slovenia’s goals, including a hattrick against Kazakhstan.
The final group is the closest, with Turkey, Wales and Iceland all separated by a single point. Turkish winger Kerem Aktürkoğlu is another player to register a hattrick in the opening set of matches, scoring all the goals in his sides 3-1 victory over Iceland.
In the ‘C’ league groups, Sweden and Slovakia look like they will be battling for the top spot in Group 1. They have both opened with two wins, and conceded just a single goal between them across their four matches. They meet in Bratislava on Matchday 3.
In the second group, Romania are looking strong after two victories, in both of which they scored three times, against Kosovo and Lithuania respectively.
The final two groups both look much tighter. In Group 3, Belarus and Bulgaria both have four points. They met in the first game, which finished goalless, and both followed that with 1-0 victories in the lowest scoring four-team group in the competition to date.
In the final group, just one point separates North Macedonia, Armenia and Lativa, with the top placed team to be promoted to the ‘B’ level groups.
The bottom-tier groups have just three teams in each. However, they did produce one moment of note when San Marino beat Liechtenstein 1-0. That was San Marino’s first competitive victory ever, and their first win in any match for 20 years. As the lowest-ranked side in the FIFA world rankings, they had lost 196 of the 205 matches they had played in their 37-year existence prior to that game.
Next up for San Marino is a trip to Gibraltar in Matchday 3. Can they do the unthinkable and win successive games?
After the initial matches, Spain are the new favourites for the Nations League title. France, Germany and Portugal are next in the betting, with all three rated at around the same odds. Then, the Netherlands and Belgium are considered the next most likely to win the trophy.
Check back before the next round of fixtures for our latest Nations League predictions and tips.
Nations League fixtures–Matchday 3 (10th – 12th October)
The matches are listed showing the letter and number of the group in which those teams are competing.
Thursday 10th October
- A2 Israel 🆚 France
- A2 Italy 🆚 Belgium
- B2 England 🆚 Greece
- B2 Finland 🆚 Republic of Ireland
- B3 Austria 🆚 Kazakhstan
- B3 Norway 🆚 Slovenia
- C4 Faroe Islands 🆚 Armenia
- C4 Latvia 🆚 North Macedonia
- D1 Gibraltar 🆚 San Marino
- D2 Moldova 🆚 Andorra
Friday 11th October
- A3 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🆚 Germany
- A3 Hungary 🆚 Netherlands
- B1 Czech Republic 🆚 Albania
- B1 Ukraine 🆚 Georgia
- B4 Iceland 🆚 Wales
- B4 Turkey 🆚 Montenegro
- C1 Estonia 🆚 Azerbaijan
- C1 Slovakia 🆚Sweden
Saturday 12th October
- A1 Croatia 🆚 Scotland
- A1 Poland 🆚 Portugal
- A4 Serbia 🆚 Switzerland
- A4 Spain 🆚 Denmark
- C2 Lithuania 🆚 Kosovo
- C2 Cyprus 🆚 Romania
- C3 Bulgaria 🆚 Luxembourg
- C3 Belarus 🆚 Northern Ireland
Nations League fixtures–Matchday 4 (13th – 15th October)
The matches are listed showing the letter and number of the group in which those teams are competing.
Sunday 13th October
- B2 Finland 🆚 England
- B2 Greece 🆚Republic of Ireland
- B3 Kazakhstan 🆚 Slovenia
- B3 Austria v🆚 Norway
- C4 Armenia 🆚 North Macedonia
- C4 Faroe Islands 🆚 Latvia
- D1 Liechtenstein 🆚 Gibraltar
- D2 Malta 🆚 Moldova
Monday 14th October
- A2 Belgium 🆚 France
- A2 Italy 🆚 Israel
- A3 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🆚 Hungary
- A3 Germany 🆚 Netherlands
- B1 Georgia 🆚 Albania
- B1 Ukraine 🆚Czech Republic
- B4 Iceland 🆚 Turkey
- B4 Wales 🆚 Montenegro
- C1 Azerbaijan 🆚 Slovakia
- C1 Estonia 🆚 Sweden
Tuesday 15th October
- A1 Poland 🆚 Croatia
- A1 Scotland 🆚 Portugal
- A4 Spain 🆚 Serbia
- A4 Switzerland 🆚 Denmark
- C2 Kosovo 🆚 Cyprus
- C2 Lithuania 🆚 Romania
- C3 Belarus 🆚 Luxembourg
- C3 Northern Ireland 🆚 Bulgaria
Nations League fixtures–Matchday 5 (14th – 16th November)
The matches are listed showing the letter and number of the group in which those teams are competing.
Thursday 14th November
- A2 Belgium 🆚 Italy
- A2 France 🆚 Israel
- B2 Greece 🆚 England
- B2 Republic of Ireland 🆚 Finland
- B3 Kazakhstan 🆚 Austria
- B3 Slovenia 🆚 Norway
- C4 Armenia 🆚 Faroe Islands
- C4 North Macedonia 🆚 Latvia
Friday 15th November
- A1 Portugal 🆚 Poland
- A1 Scotland 🆚 Croatia
- A4 Denmark 🆚 Spain
- A4 Switzerland 🆚 Serbia
- C2 Cyprus 🆚 Lithuania
- C2 Romania 🆚 Kosovo
- C3 Luxembourg 🆚 Bulgaria
- C3 Northern Ireland 🆚 Belarus
- D1 San Marino 🆚 Gibraltar
Saturday 16th November
- A3 Germany 🆚 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- A3 Netherlands 🆚 Hungary
- B1 Georgia 🆚 Ukraine
- B1 Albania 🆚 Czech Republic
- B4 Montenegro 🆚 Iceland
- B4 Turkey 🆚 Wales
- C1 Azerbaijan 🆚 Estonia
- C1 Sweden 🆚 Slovakia
- D2 Andorra 🆚 Moldova
Nations League fixtures–Matchday 6 (17th – 19th November)
The matches are listed showing the letter and number of the group in which those teams are competing.
Sunday 17th November
- A2 Israel 🆚 Belgium
- A2 Italy 🆚 France
- B2 England 🆚 Republic of Ireland
- B2 Finland 🆚 Greece
- B3 Austria 🆚 Slovenia
- B3 Norway 🆚 Kazakhstan
- C4 Latvia 🆚 Armenia
- C4 North Macedonia 🆚 Faroe Islands
Monday 18th November
- A1 Croatia 🆚 Portugal
- A1 Poland 🆚Scotland
- A4 Serbia 🆚 Denmark
- A4 Spain 🆚 Switzerland
- C2 Kosovo 🆚 Lithuania
- C2 Romania 🆚 Cyprus
- C3 Bulgaria 🆚 Belarus
- C3 Luxembourg 🆚 Northern Ireland
- D1 Liechtenstein 🆚 San Marino
Tuesday 19th November
- A3 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🆚 Netherlands
- A3 Hungary 🆚 Germany
- B1 Albania 🆚 Ukraine
- B1 Czech Republic 🆚 Georgia
- B4 Montenegro 🆚 Turkey
- B4 Wales 🆚 Iceland
- C1 Slovakia 🆚 Estonia
- C1 Sweden 🆚 Azerbaijan
- D2 Malta 🆚 Andorra
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 – 25th March)
- League A quarter-finals (20th – 25th March)
- Final tournament (4th – 8th June)
UEFA Nations League winner predictions
The first thing to consider is that the outright winner can only come from the 16 teams who contest the four ‘A’ leagues. So, although all the European nations are taking part, the champion can only come from a select few.
With there being promotion and relegation between the different tiers, the four relegated teams from the top 2023/24 Nations League groups will not be able to win this time around. Therefore, Austria, Czech Republic, England and Wales will instead be looking to win their ‘B’ groups and get back to the top level.
However, their loss is Scotland, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia’s gain, as these four nations topped their ‘B’ groups and now get a shot at winning the title.
There is also another major consideration in this year’s Nations League, as the format has now changed. Whereas before only the group winners went through to the semi-finals, now the first two in each group progress to a quarter-final round.
France are the current favourites, despite finishing a distant third in their group in the previous Nations League and exiting to Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2024. In the Euros, France found goals hard to come by, and they are currently on a run of seven matches without scoring more than once. The French are also in what looks like the toughest group, with Italy and Belgium amongst their opponents.
Spain’s success in Euro 2024 was all the more impressive, as they beat Germany, France and England to claim the trophy. They are the current Nations League champions, having beaten Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes in the 2023 final. A friendly draw in the group stage should see the Spanish progress to the knockout stage with ease.
Germany are also amongst the favourites, although their last Nations League campaign was very disappointing. They only won one of their six group matches and were only saved from being relegated by the abject performance of England. Despite having home support at the Euros, the Germans were unable to progress beyond the quarter-finals, as the Spanish ended their trophy hopes.
The inaugural Nations League winners, Portugal, are next in the betting. However, they stuttered through the Euros, with goalless draws in both their round of 16 and quarter-final games. They overcame Slovenia on penalties in the first of those matches, before losing to France in the same manner. Their outright odds don’t appear very generous.
Not for the first time, Belgium were unable to progress into the latter stages of a major tournament at Euro 2024. They scraped through their opening group only to lose 1-0 to France in the round of 16. So often touted as potential winners of a big tournament, Belgium continue to struggle in the big games. With France and Italy drawn in the same group as them in this competition, Belgium’s qualification for the knockout rounds is certainly not guaranteed.
The Netherlands showed glimpses of good form at the Euros, making it all the way to the semi-finals before losing 2-1 to a last-minute goal against England. That continued a decent run of form for the Dutch, who also topped their Nations League group in 2022/23 without losing a match. If you’re looking for a team to upset the favourites, the Netherlands look likely to give you a good run for your money.
Italy lost in the semi-finals of the last Nations League and were less than impressive at Euro 2024, losing 2-0 to Switzerland in the round of 16. With France and Belgium in their group, your money may be better placed on other teams.
A nation that generally performs well in European competitions, Croatia made the last Nations League final before losing on penalties to Spain after a goalless draw. However, they failed to qualify from their Euro 2024 group, drawing twice and losing once, and maybe time is catching up with some of their more experienced star players.
Denmark beat France home and away in the previous Nations League group stage, but fell just short of qualifying for the knockout rounds. At Euro 2024, the Danes drew all three group games to qualify, before a 2-0 loss against Germany in the round of 16 saw them exit the tournament. Whilst they may be hard to beat, Denmark may not have the firepower to challenge for the Nations League trophy.
Switzerland were one of the surprise packages in the Euros. They held hosts Germany to a 1-1 draw in the group stage, after conceding a 92nd-minute equaliser, and then proceeded to knock Italy out at the round of 16 stage with a convincing 2-0 victory. In the quarter-finals, they took England to extra-time before ultimately losing 5-3 on penalties. They could be dark horses to watch at a bigger price.
The other nations competing in the ‘A’ groups, and thus in with a chance of winning the tournament, are:
- Hungary
- Poland
- Serbia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Scotland
- Israel
Nations League outright picks
Predicted winners: Spain
Next best: Netherlands
Lively outsiders: Switzerland
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 first two matchdays.
- 4.50 Spain
- 7.00 France
- 7.10 Germany
- 7.10 Portugal
- 8.50 Italy
- 11.00 Netherlands
- 13.50 Belgium
- 15.75 Croatia
- 17.00 Denmark
- 41.00 Switzerland
- 51.00 Poland
- 51.00 Serbia
- 71.00 Hungary
- 151.00 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 185.00 Israel
- 185.00 Scotland
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)
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