The UEFA Nations League continues with two decisive matches on the agenda. The goal is “simple” for the French team; the Blues are aiming for qualification for the quarter-finals of the Nations League. To achieve this, they must finish in the top two spots with the visit of Israel and a trip to Italy this Sunday. A simple draw could secure qualification for the Blues. However, a win at the Stade de France on Thursday, coupled with a slip-up from the Italians (currently first with 10 points) who will face Belgium (third with 4 points), could see France arrive in Milan as group leaders. This is a crucial factor since it would grant them the seed status, giving them the advantage of hosting the second leg in the quarter-finals. Even if it’s hard to envision the Blues losing, if Belgium does not beat Italy, France would also be qualified.
The fourth edition of the Nations League began in September 2024, featuring several significant changes. While the league organization mirrors previous editions, with four leagues A, B, C, and D in order of level, quarter-finals and promotion/relegation playoffs have been added to the format.
For the first time in this 2024-2025 edition, quarter-finals have been scheduled before the Final Four, bringing together the top four teams of the tournament. The knockout phase has been reserved for the top two teams from each group in League A, whereas previously only the group winner could participate.
The quarter-finals of the 2025 Nations League, involving the eight qualified teams, have been planned as traditional home-and-away matches, ahead of the semi-finals and final, which are organized as single matches in a host country, as in previous editions.
Also new this time are the playoffs for promotion and relegation between the leagues. As in the first three editions, the last team in each group is relegated to the lower league, while the first-placed team is promoted to the higher league. The novelty lies in the playoff between the third-placed teams from each group against the second-placed teams from the lower league groups, still following the home-and-away format. League D consists of only six teams, so only the top two teams have a chance to move up to the higher league, while the two weakest fourth-placed teams from League C face relegation.
To add further stakes, four tickets for the 2026 World Cup playoffs have also been reserved for the best teams from this Nations League not already qualified via the qualifiers.
Here’s the standings for the 2024-2025 Nations League, organized by league and group. France is placed in Group 2 of League A alongside Belgium, Italy, and Israel. The standings are updated after each matchday.
The schedule for the 2024-2025 Nations League is divided into several matchdays from September 5, 2024, to June 10, 2025, the date of the final of the competition. The group stage commenced in September 2024, quarter-finals are programmed for March 2025, and the Final Four is set for June 2025.
Here is the complete schedule for the Nations League 2022-2023:
Check out the latest results from the Nations League below. Match results are updated at the end of each matchday. Search for a team in the search engine to view all its scores.
The UEFA Nations League is organized into four leagues. The top four and four runners-up from the League A groups qualify for the quarter-finals in home-and-away matches, after which the winners compete in the Final Four (semi-finals + final).
The winners of the groups from Leagues B, C, and D are promoted to the higher leagues, while the last-placed teams from Leagues A and B are relegated to the lower leagues. Each third-placed team in their group plays a playoff in home-and-away matches to maintain their status against a second-placed team from a lower league aiming for promotion.
As League D contains only six teams, only the top two teams that finished first in their groups get promoted, while the two weakest fourth-placed teams in League C face relegation.
The Nations League 2024-2025 awards four precious tickets for the 2026 World Cup playoffs. The four best nations in the overall Nations League standings (for example, a fourth-placed team in League A is ranked just ahead of a first-placed team in League B) that are not already directly qualified for the World Cup or the playoffs via the qualifiers earn these tickets. These four teams will join the twelve teams that finish as group runners-up in the qualifiers to be distributed into four paths of four teams in a single-match semi-final and final format, with each path winner qualifying for the World Cup.
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