2022–23 UEFA Nations League

The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League will be the third season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.[1] The competition will be held from June to September 2022 (league phase), June 2023 (Nations League Finals), and March 2024 (relegation play-outs).[2]

2022–23 UEFA Nations League
Tournament details
DatesLeague phase:
1 June – 27 September 2022
Nations League Finals:
14–18 June 2023
Relegation play-outs:
21–26 March 2024
Teams55

France are the defending champions.

Format

The 55 UEFA national teams will be divided into four leagues, with Leagues A, B and C featuring 16 teams each, divided into four groups of four teams. League D will feature 7 teams divided into two groups, with one containing four teams and the other containing three. The teams are allocated to leagues based on the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League overall ranking. Each team will play six matches within their group, except for one group in League D which will play four, using the home-and-away round-robin format in June (quadruple matchdays) and September 2022 (double matchdays).[3]

In the top division, League A, teams compete to become the UEFA Nations League champions. The four group winners of League A qualify for the Nations League Finals in June 2023, which is 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. The host country will be selected among the four qualified teams by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the Nations League champions.

Teams also compete for promotion and relegation to a higher or lower league. In Leagues B, C and D, the group winners are promoted, while the last-placed teams of each group in Leagues A and B are relegated. As League C has four groups while League D has only two, the two League C teams which are to be relegated will be determined by play-outs in March 2024. Based on the Nations League overall ranking of the fourth-placed teams, the first-ranked team will face the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team will face the third-ranked team. Two ties will be played over two legs, with the higher-ranked team hosting the second leg. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs will remain in League C, while the loser will be relegated to League D. If the aggregate score is level, extra time is played (the away goals rule is not applied). If the score remains level after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner.[2]

Tiebreakers for group ranking

If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:[2]

  1. Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
  2. Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
  3. Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
  4. If, after having applied criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings.[lower-alpha 1] If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 11 apply;
  5. Superior goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Higher number of wins in all group matches;
  9. Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
  10. Lower disciplinary points total in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card).
  11. Position in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League access list.

Notes

  1. When there are two or more teams tied in points, criteria 1 to 3 are applied. After these criteria are applied, they may define the position of some of the teams involved, but not all of them. For example, if there is a three-way tie on points, the application of the first three criteria may only break the tie for one of the teams, leaving the other two teams still tied. In this case, the tiebreaking procedure is resumed, from the beginning, for those teams that are still tied.

Criteria for league ranking

Individual league rankings are established according to the following criteria:[2]

  1. Position in the group;
  2. Higher number of points;
  3. Superior goal difference;
  4. Higher number of goals scored;
  5. Higher number of goals scored away from home;
  6. Higher number of wins;
  7. Higher number of wins away from home;
  8. Lower disciplinary points total (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card).
  9. Position in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League access list.

In order to rank teams in League D, which is composed of different sized groups, the results against the fourth-placed team in Group D1 are not taken into account for the purposes of comparing teams placed first, second and third in their respective groups.[2]

The ranking of the top 4 teams in League A are determined by their finish in the Nations League Finals.[2]

Criteria for overall ranking

The overall UEFA Nations League rankings are established as follows:[2]

  1. The 16 League A teams are ranked 1st to 16th according to their league rankings.
  2. The 16 League B teams are ranked 17th to 32nd according to their league rankings.
  3. The 16 League C teams are ranked 33rd to 48th according to their league rankings.
  4. The 7 League D teams are ranked 49th to 55th according to their league rankings.

Schedule

Below is the schedule of the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.[2] Due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar taking place at the end of the year, the league phase will be played in June and September 2022.

Stage Round Dates
League phase Matchday 1 1–4 June 2022[note 1]
Matchday 2 5–8 June 2022
Matchday 3 9–11 June 2022
Matchday 4 12–14 June 2022
Matchday 5 22–24 September 2022
Matchday 6 25–27 September 2022
Finals Semi-finals 14–15 June 2023
Third place play-off 18 June 2023
Final
Relegation play-outs First leg 21–23 March 2024
Second leg 24–26 March 2024

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 17 December 2021, the day following the draw.[5][6] The fixture list for groups A4 and B1 were amended due to the postponement of Path A of UEFA qualifying for the World Cup.[4]

The relegation play-outs of League C are scheduled on the same dates as the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs. If one or more of the teams due to participate in the relegation play-outs also qualifies for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs, the relegation play-outs will be cancelled and the teams in League C ranked 47th and 48th in the Nations League overall ranking will be automatically relegated.[2]

Seeding

Map showing the leagues each national team will participate in.
  League A
  League B
  League C
  League D

All 55 UEFA national teams will enter the competition. The teams which finished bottom of their group in Leagues A and B, as well as the losers from the relegation play-outs of League C, from the 2020–21 season will move down a league, while the group winners of Leagues B, C and D will move up. The remaining teams will stay in their respective leagues.[7]

In the 2022–23 access list, UEFA ranked teams based on the 2020–21 Nations League overall ranking,[8] with a slight modification: teams that were relegated in the previous season were ranked immediately below those who were promoted.[2] The seeding pots for the league phase were based on the access list ranking. The seeding pots, draw procedure and fixture list procedures were confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Chișinău, Moldova, on 22 September 2021.[9]

Key
Promoted in previous season
Relegated in previous season
League A
Pot Team Prv Rank
1  France (title holders) 1
 Spain 2
 Italy 3
 Belgium 4
2  Portugal 5
 Netherlands 6
 Denmark 7
 Germany 8
3  England 9
 Poland 10
  Switzerland 11
 Croatia 12
4  Wales 13
 Austria 14
 Czech Republic 15
 Hungary 16
League B
Pot Team Prv Rank
1  Ukraine 17
 Sweden 18
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 19
 Iceland 20
2  Finland 21
 Norway 22
 Scotland 23
 Russia 24
3  Israel 25
 Romania 26
 Serbia 27
 Republic of Ireland 28
4  Slovenia 29
 Montenegro 30
 Albania 31
 Armenia 32
League C
Pot Team Prv Rank
1  Turkey 33
 Slovakia 34
 Bulgaria 35
 Northern Ireland 36
2  Greece 37
 Belarus 38
 Luxembourg 39
 North Macedonia 40
3  Lithuania 41
 Georgia 42
 Azerbaijan 43
 Kosovo 44
4  Kazakhstan[lower-alpha 1] 45
 Cyprus[lower-alpha 1] 46
 Gibraltar 47
 Faroe Islands 48
League D
Pot Team Prv Rank
1  Estonia[lower-alpha 1] 49
 Moldova[lower-alpha 1] 50
 Liechtenstein 51
 Malta 52
2  Latvia 53
 San Marino 54
 Andorra 55
  1. The identity of the winners and losers of the League C relegation play-outs (involving Cyprus, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Moldova) was unknown at the time of the draw.

The draw for the league phase took place at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on 16 December 2021, 18:00 CET.[10][11] The draw, originally planned to take place in Montreux, was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12][13]

As the league phase will be played in June and September 2022, no winter venue restrictions were applied in the draw. For political reasons, Russia and Ukraine (due to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine) could not be drawn in the same group. Due to restrictions of excessive travel, any group could contain a maximum of one of the following pairs: Andorra and Kazakhstan, Malta and Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland and Kazakhstan, Gibraltar and Azerbaijan, Armenia and Iceland, Israel and Iceland.[9]

League A

Group A1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to Nations League Finals 3 Jun 13 Jun 22 Sep
2  Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 Sep 10 Jun 13 Jun
3  Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Jun 22 Sep 3 Jun
4  Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League B 10 Jun 6 Jun 25 Sep
First match(es) will be played on 3 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group A2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to Nations League Finals 2 Jun 24 Sep 12 Jun
2  Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 Sep 5 Jun 9 Jun
3   Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Jun 12 Jun 27 Sep
4  Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League B 5 Jun 24 Sep 2 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group A3

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to Nations League Finals 4 Jun 23 Sep 7 Jun
2  Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Jun 7 Jun 23 Sep
3  England 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Jun 26 Sep 14 Jun
4  Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League B 26 Sep 11 Jun 4 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 4 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group A4

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to Nations League Finals 3 Jun 8 Jun 22 Sep
2  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 Sep 11 Jun 14 Jun
3  Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Jun 22 Sep 1 Jun
4  Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League B 11 Jun 8 Jun 25 Sep
First match(es) will be played on 1 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Nations League Finals

The host of the Nations League Finals will be selected from the four qualified teams. The four associations of Group A4 (Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Wales) declared interest in hosting the tournament.[14] The semi-final pairings will be determined by means of an open draw. For scheduling purposes, the host team is allocated to semi-final 1 as the administrative home team.

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
14 June – TBD
 
 
Winners Group 4 (host)
 
18 June – TBD
 
Winners Group 1/2/3
 
Winners Match 1
 
15 June – TBD
 
Winners Match 2
 
Winners Group 1/2/3
 
 
Winners Group 1/2/3
 
Third place play-off
 
 
18 June – TBD
 
 
Losers Match 1
 
 
Losers Match 2

Semi-finals

Winners Group 4 (host)Match 1Winners Group 1/2/3

Winners Group 1/2/3Match 2Winners Group 1/2/3

Third-place play-off

Losers Match 1Match 3Losers Match 2

Final

Winners Match 1Match 4Winners Match 2

League B

Group B1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1  Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League A 27 Sep 14 Jun 11 Jun
2  Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 Sep 24 Sep 8 Jun
3  Republic of Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Jun 11 Jun 27 Sep
4  Armenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League C 24 Sep 14 Jun 4 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 4 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group B2

As Russia were suspended from UEFA on 28 February 2022 due to their country's invasion of Ukraine, their participation remains in question.[15]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1  Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League A 24 Sep 13 Jun 6 Jun
2  Russia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun 27 Sep 13 Jun
3  Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Jun 6 Jun 24 Sep
4  Albania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League C 27 Sep 2 Jun 10 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group B3

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League A 14 Jun 7 Jun 23 Sep
2  Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Jun 23 Sep 7 Jun
3  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 Sep 11 Jun 14 Jun
4  Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League C 11 Jun 26 Sep 4 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 4 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group B4

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1  Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League A 5 Jun 9 Jun 27 Sep
2  Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Jun 27 Sep 9 Jun
3  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 Sep 2 Jun 5 Jun
4  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League C 2 Jun 24 Sep 12 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022. Source: UEFA

League C

Group C1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1  Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League B 22 Sep 14 Jun 4 Jun
2  Luxembourg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Jun 25 Sep 14 Jun
3  Lithuania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Jun 4 Jun 22 Sep
4  Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to relegation play-outs 25 Sep 7 Jun 11 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 4 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group C2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1  Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League B 2 Jun 24 Sep 12 Jun
2  Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 Sep 12 Jun 9 Jun
3  Kosovo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Jun 5 Jun 27 Sep
4  Cyprus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to relegation play-outs 5 Jun 24 Sep 2 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group C3

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League B 3 Jun 22 Sep 6 Jun
2  Belarus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 Sep 6 Jun 10 Jun
3  Azerbaijan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun 13 Jun 25 Sep
4  Kazakhstan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to relegation play-outs 13 Jun 22 Sep 3 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 3 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group C4

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1  Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League B 2 Jun 5 Jun 23 Sep
2  North Macedonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 Sep 9 Jun 12 Jun
3  Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Jun 23 Sep 2 Jun
4  Gibraltar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to relegation play-outs 9 Jun 5 Jun 26 Sep
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Relegation play-outs

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
4th ranked fourth-placed team 1st ranked fourth-placed team 21–23 Mar '24 24–26 Mar '24
3rd ranked fourth-placed team 2nd ranked fourth-placed team 21–23 Mar '24 24–26 Mar '24

League D

Group D1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1  Liechtenstein 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League C 3 Jun 22 Sep 14 Jun
2  Moldova 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 Sep 14 Jun 10 Jun
3  Andorra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun 6 Jun 25 Sep
4  Latvia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Jun 22 Sep 3 Jun
First match(es) will be played on 3 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Group D2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1  Malta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League C 9 Jun 12 Jun
2  Estonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 Sep 2 Jun
3  San Marino 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Jun 26 Sep
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022. Source: UEFA

Overall ranking

The results of each team are used to calculate the overall ranking of the competition.[2]

League A League B
Rnk Team Pld Pts
1 Nations League Finals 1st place 0 0
2 Nations League Finals 2nd place 0 0
3 Nations League Finals 3rd place 0 0
4 Nations League Finals 4th place 0 0
5 1st best group 2nd place 0 0
6 2nd best group 2nd place 0 0
7 3rd best group 2nd place 0 0
8 4th best group 2nd place 0 0
9 1st best group 3rd place 0 0
10 2nd best group 3rd place 0 0
11 3rd best group 3rd place 0 0
12 4th best group 3rd place 0 0
13 1st best group 4th place 0 0
14 2nd best group 4th place 0 0
15 3rd best group 4th place 0 0
16 4th best group 4th place 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022.
Source: UEFA
Rnk Team Pld Pts
17 1st best group 1st place 0 0
18 2nd best group 1st place 0 0
19 3rd best group 1st place 0 0
20 4th best group 1st place 0 0
21 1st best group 2nd place 0 0
22 2nd best group 2nd place 0 0
23 3rd best group 2nd place 0 0
24 4th best group 2nd place 0 0
25 1st best group 3rd place 0 0
26 2nd best group 3rd place 0 0
27 3rd best group 3rd place 0 0
28 4th best group 3rd place 0 0
29 1st best group 4th place 0 0
30 2nd best group 4th place 0 0
31 3rd best group 4th place 0 0
32 4th best group 4th place 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022.
Source: UEFA
League C League D
Rnk Team Pld Pts
33 1st best group 1st place 0 0
34 2nd best group 1st place 0 0
35 3rd best group 1st place 0 0
36 4th best group 1st place 0 0
37 1st best group 2nd place 0 0
38 2nd best group 2nd place 0 0
39 3rd best group 2nd place 0 0
40 4th best group 2nd place 0 0
41 1st best group 3rd place 0 0
42 2nd best group 3rd place 0 0
43 3rd best group 3rd place 0 0
44 4th best group 3rd place 0 0
45 1st best group 4th place 0 0
46 2nd best group 4th place 0 0
47 3rd best group 4th place 0 0
48 4th best group 4th place 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022.
Source: UEFA
Rnk Team Pld Pts
49 1st best group 1st place 0 0
50 2nd best group 1st place 0 0
51 1st best group 2nd place 0 0
52 2nd best group 2nd place 0 0
53 1st best group 3rd place 0 0
54 2nd best group 3rd place 0 0
55 Group D1 4th place 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 2 June 2022.
Source: UEFA

Notes

  1. Following the postponement of Path A of UEFA qualifying for the World Cup, UEFA reversed the Group B1 fixtures for matchdays 1 and 2. As part of the change, one fixture (Scotland v Ukraine) corresponding to Group B1's new matchday 1 was moved to 21 September 2022.[4]

References

  1. "UEFA Nations League receives associations' green light". UEFA. 27 March 2014.
  2. "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League, 2022/23". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 September 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  3. "2022/23 UEFA Nations League: All you need to know". UEFA.com. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. "New match schedule for European Qualifiers Play-offs and several UEFA Nations League matches agreed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  5. "2022/23 Nations League: all the fixtures". UEFA.com. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  6. "UEFA Nations League 2022–23: Fixture list per league" (PDF). UEFA. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  7. "How the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League will line up". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  8. "Overall ranking of the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  9. "2022/23 UEFA Nations League – league phase draw procedure" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. September 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  10. "2022/23 UEFA Nations League: League phase draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  11. "2022/23 UEFA Nations League: League phase draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  12. "UEFA Women's EURO 2022 prize money doubled". UEFA. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  13. "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for December meeting". UEFA. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  14. "Four bidders declare interest in hosting 2022/23 UEFA Nations League finals". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  15. "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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