Follow all the action from the Nations League.
The fourth edition of this international team tournament started in September 2024. There were six rounds of league matches between then and November, before the playoff rounds took place in March 2025. The final will take place on the 8th of June 2025.
In this article, you’ll find all the information on the Nations League you need, including the match schedules, the format of the competition and much more.
The three previous winners of the Nations League were Portugal, France and Spain, and all three of those sides have reached the semi-finals of the current tournament. Will one of these nations become the first to win the Nations League for a second time, or can Germany add their name to the trophy in 2025?
The Germans will have home advantage, as the semi-finals and final will be played in their own country.
UEFA Nations League semi-final matches:
The semi-finals of the Nations League will take place across the 4th and 5th of June, with the final and third-place playoff taking place on the 8th of June.
Semi-Finals
🇩🇪 Germany 🆚 Portugal 🇵🇹
4th June, 18:45 GMT, Allianz Arena, Munich.
Germany held off a spirited fightback from Italy in the quarter-final, having held a 5-1 aggregate advantage at half time in the second leg. Three second-half goals from Italy brought the scoreline back to 5-4, but the Azzurri couldn’t find an equaliser.
Portugal needed extra-time to see off Denmark after their match finished 3-3 on aggregate at the end of both legs. The Portuguese recovered from an early missed penalty by Cristiano Ronaldo in regular play, although the evergreen striker did get on the scoresheet in the second half.
These sides last met in the group stage of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament. On that occasion, Germany won 4-2, before both sides were eliminated in the round of 16. The Germans have also won the previous four matches between these sides, in a sequence dating back to 2006.
🇪🇸 Spain 🆚 France 🇫🇷
5th June, 18:45 GMT, MHPArena, Stuttgart.
Spain needed a penalty shootout to eliminate the Netherlands at the quarter-final stage, after both legs finished in draws. A 5-5 aggregate scoreline was indicative of the excitement of both matches. The Spaniards won the shootout 5-4.
The France vs Croatia match also went to penalties after each side won their respective home leg 2-0. France scraped through 5-4 on penalties to set up a repeat of the 2021 Nations League final, as they will now face Spain.
France were victorious in that 2021 Nations League final, defeating the Spanish 2-1, with Kylian Mbappé scoring the winning goal 10 minutes from full-time. However, Spain avenged that loss when they defeated France in the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
Third place playoff
8th June: 13:00 GMT: MHPArena, Stuttgart
Nations League final
8th June: 18:45 GMT: Allianz Arena, Munich
Nations League promotion/relegation playoffs
The promotion/relegation playoffs for the top two leagues in the Nations League took place on the 20th and 23rd March 2025.
League A vs League B
These were the aggregate scores over the two legs. The winning sides will be playing in League A in the next Nations League, whilst the losing teams will be competing in League B.
Turkey 6-1 Hungary
Belgium 4-3 Ukraine
Serbia 3-1 Austria
Greece 3-1 Scotland
League B vs League C
These were the aggregate scores over the two legs. The winning sides will be playing in League B in the next Nations League, whilst the losing teams will be competing in League C.
Kosovo 5-2 Iceland
Republic of Ireland 4-2 Bulgaria
Georgia 9-1 Armenia
Slovenia 1-0 Slovakia
League C vs League D
The league C vs League D playoffs will not take place until 2026. The first-leg matches will take place on 26th March 2026, with the second-leg matches on 31st March 2026.
Gibraltar 🆚 Latvia
These sides met in a World Cup qualifying group in 2021. Latvia won both the home and away match by a score of 3-1.
Malta 🆚 Luxembourg
Malta have not played Luxembourg in a competitive match since 1995. They have met in friendlies four times since then, with Malta having won twice, Luxembourg having won once, and one match having been drawn.
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 quarter-final stage is now over with four teams remaining in the running for the title of Nations League champions 2024/25.
The four remaining teams are:
Portugal
France
Germany
Spain
The four teams eliminated at the quarter-final stage were:
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 ahead of the semi-finals:
| Nation | Odds |
|---|---|
| Germany | 2.83 |
| Spain | 3.24 |
| France | 3.86 |
| Portugal | 6.60 |
Latest Nations League betting odds. All odds are correct as at 15:00 GMT on 24/03/2025, but are subject to fluctuation thereafter.
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.
Discover our Champions League, Europa League and Conference League predictions and tips articles on the blog, as well as our weekly predictions for the English Premier League.
