Spain is seeking to prolong their golden generation in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League. Luis de la Fuente’s team clinched their fourth European championship by winning all seven matches at Euro 2024 held in Germany. Now Spain is trying to keep the momentum. Should we go by what the history portends, any upsurge that might last as long as the period of three-row major tournament wins for Spain in 2008-2012 may be traced back to the 2022/23 Nations League. In that edition, Spain bounced back from a disappointing 2022 FIFA World Cup it topped a group composed of Portugal, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. They went on to beat Italy in the semi-finals and then won against Croatia in a tense penalty shootout after 120 minutes of no-goal action in the final played at De Kuip in Rotterdam against the Netherlands.
For the 2024/25 Nations League, for the first time, UFFA will apply a new knockout stage that may influence the qualification for the World Cup in 2026.
New Structure in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League
There are Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and Stage 4 which is a system of four divisions in the UEFA Nations League. All the members will play home and away matches during the group stage. In stage A for example and in leagues B and C, the A section is also divided into 4 rounds each with 4 teams, however, the winners in this league will be battling for the overall crown Within the League Slong quartet.
Sponsoring teams on a leasing basis finish in the last position in their respective fuselage leagues A and B will be demoted to the lower league whereas the winners of the groups on the leaguers B and C will be elevated on the addition for the 2026/27 edition.
The most notable difference for 2024/25 when compared to the other editions is that there will be the incorporation of quarterfinals and playoff rounds, this rounds would take place during the March 2025 international break. This period was previously used to play qualifying rounds of either the World Cup or the European championship. In this new format, every top two team in each of the League A groups will go to the quarterfinals played over two legs contrary to the previous system where the winners of groups went straight to the final stage.
Clubs that end in third place in the A and B leagues will fill the cross-relegation/ promotion playoffs with the second placers of the B and C leagues. These matches are also scheduled for the March 2025 international break.
The division known as League D comprises two groups of three teams each. The playoffs are different in this league and schedule. The winners of League D1 and League D2 will directly move up to League C, and two last-placed teams in League C will go down. The other last-placed teams of League C will have a promotion/relegation playoffs against the second-placed teams from League D in March 2026.
Nations League and 2026 World Cup Qualification
The previously announced plans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup stood increased slots from 13 to 16 for the UEFA member’s participation. Since this change was adopted by the UEFA, the qualifying format had to be adjusted, and from March 2025 there will be two concurrent competition systems for qualification to the Euro Cup and the Nations League quarterfinals and the playoffs.
A total of 12 teams will be formed for the World Cup qualifying rounds divisions, and out of these, only the group winners will book a ticket to attend the 2026 World Cup. Runners-up in the group will be able to take part in the playoffs against four of the top group winners from the 2024/25 Nations League who did not make it to the qualifying group of two teams.
This care-free approach to the achievement is similar to past tournaments of the Nations League. The only difference is that the teams who made it to the Quarterfinals of the Nations League or the playoffs of promotion and relegation will not feature in those countries for the World Cup qualifying process; they will be drawn into groups of four for the World Cup qualifying rounds. These countries will begin their qualification process in September 2025, while those who are not participants in these extra nations league rounds, will have already completed 4 of their qualifiers by that time, having comprised the five groups formed in March and June 2025.
Kick-off times are 20:45 CET unless otherwise stated.
Matchday 1
Thursday 5 September
- A1: Portugal 2-1 Croatia
- A1: Scotland 2-3 Poland
- A4: Denmark 2-0 Switzerland
- A4: Serbia 0-0 Spain
- C1: Azerbaijan 1-3 Sweden
- C1: Estonia 0-1 Slovakia
- C3: Belarus 0-0 Bulgaria
- C3: Northern Ireland 2-0 Luxembourg
- D1: San Marino 1-0 Liechtenstein
Friday 6 September
- A2: Belgium 3-1 Israel
- A2: France 1-3 Italy
- B3: Kazakhstan 0-0 Norway
- B3: Slovenia 1-1 Austria
- B4: Iceland 2-0 Montenegro
- B4: Wales 0-0 Türkiye
- C2: Kosovo 0-3 Romania
- C2: Lithuania 0-1 Cyprus
Saturday 7 September
- A3: Germany 5-0 Hungary
- A3: Netherlands 5-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- B1: Georgia 4-1 Czechia
- B1: Ukraine 1-2 Albania
- B2: Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
- B2: Greece 3-0 Finland
- C4: Faroe Islands 1-1 North Macedonia
- C4: Armenia 4-1 Latvia
- D2: Moldova 2-0 Malta
Matchday 2
Sunday 8 September
- A1: Croatia 1-0 Poland
- A1: Portugal 2-1 Scotland
- A4: Denmark 2-0 Serbia
- A4: Switzerland 1-4 Spain
- C1: Slovakia 2-0 Azerbaijan
- C1: Sweden 3-0 Estonia
- C3: Luxembourg 0-1 Belarus
- C3: Bulgaria 1-0 Northern Ireland
- D1: Gibraltar 2-2 Liechtenstein
Monday 9 September
- A2: France 2-0 Belgium
- A2: Israel 1-2 Italy
- B3: Norway 2-1 Austria
- B3: Slovenia 3-0 Kazakhstan
- B4: Montenegro 1-2 Wales
- B4: Türkiye 3-1 Iceland
- C2: Cyprus 0-4 Kosovo
- C2: Romania 3-1 Lithuania
Tuesday 10 September
- A3: Hungary vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
- A3: Netherlands vs Germany
- B1: Albania vs Georgia
- B1: Czechia vs Ukraine
- B2: England vs Finland
- B2: Republic of Ireland vs Greece
- C4: Latvia vs Faroe Islands (18:00)
- C4: North Macedonia vs Armenia
- D2: Andorra vs Malta
Matchday 3
Thursday 10 October
- A2: Israel vs France
- A2: Italy vs Belgium
- B2: England vs Greece
- B2: Finland vs Republic of Ireland
- B3: Austria vs Kazakhstan
- B3: Norway vs Slovenia
- C4: Faroe Islands vs Armenia
- C4: Latvia vs North Macedonia (18:00)
- D1: Gibraltar vs San Marino
- D2: Moldova vs Andorra (18:00)
Friday 11 October
- A3: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Germany
- A3: Hungary vs Netherlands
- B1: Czechia vs Albania
- B1: Ukraine vs Georgia
- B4: Iceland vs Wales
- B4: Türkiye vs Montenegro
- C1: Estonia vs Azerbaijan (18:00)
- C1: Slovakia vs Sweden
Saturday 12 October
- A1: Croatia vs Scotland (18:00)
- A1: Poland vs Portugal
- A4: Serbia vs Switzerland
- A4: Spain vs Denmark
- C2: Lithuania vs Kosovo (15:00)
- C2: Cyprus vs Romania
- C3: Bulgaria vs Luxembourg (18:00)
- C3: Belarus vs Northern Ireland
Matchday 4
Sunday 13 October
- B2: Finland vs England (18:00)
- B2: Greece vs Republic of Ireland
- B3: Kazakhstan vs Slovenia (15:00)
- B3: Austria vs Norway
- C4: Armenia vs North Macedonia (18:00)
- C4: Faroe Islands vs Latvia
- D1: Liechtenstein vs Gibraltar (18:00)
- D2: Malta vs Moldova (18:00)
Monday 14 October
- A2: Belgium vs France
- A2: Italy vs Israel
- A3: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Hungary
- A3: Germany vs Netherlands
- B1: Georgia vs Albania (18:00)
- B1: Ukraine vs Czechia
- B4: Iceland vs Türkiye
- B4: Wales vs Montenegro
- C1: Azerbaijan vs Slovakia (18:00)
- C1: Estonia vs Sweden
Tuesday 15 October
- A1: Poland vs Croatia
- A1: Scotland vs Portugal
- A4: Spain vs Serbia
- A4: Switzerland vs Denmark
- C2: Kosovo vs Cyprus
- C2: Lithuania vs Romania
- C3: Belarus vs Luxembourg
- C3: Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria
Matchday 5
Thursday 14 November
- A2: Belgium vs Italy
- A2: France vs Israel
- B2: Greece vs England
- B2: Republic of Ireland vs Finland
- B3: Kazakhstan vs Austria (16:00)
- B3: Slovenia vs Norway
- C4: Armenia vs Faroe Islands (18:00)
- C4: North Macedonia vs Latvia
Friday 15 November
- A1: Portugal vs Poland
- A1: Scotland vs Croatia
- A4: Denmark vs Spain
- A4: Switzerland vs Serbia
- C2: Cyprus vs Lithuania (18:00)
- C2: Romania vs Kosovo
- C3: Luxembourg vs Bulgaria
- C3: Northern Ireland vs Belarus
- D1: San Marino vs Gibraltar
Saturday 16 November
- A3: Germany vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
- A3: Netherlands vs Hungary
- B1: Georgia vs Ukraine (18:00)
- B1: Albania vs Czechia
- B4: Montenegro vs Iceland (18:00)
- B4: Türkiye vs Wales (18:00)
- C1: Azerbaijan vs Estonia (15:00)
- C1: Sweden vs Slovakia
- D2: Andorra vs Moldova (18:00)
Matchday 6
Sunday 17 November
- A2: Israel vs Belgium
- A2: Italy vs France
- B2: England vs Republic of Ireland (18:00)
- B2: Finland vs Greece (18:00)
- B3: Austria vs Slovenia (18:00)
- B3: Norway vs Kazakhstan (18:00)
- C4: Latvia vs Armenia (15:00)
- C4: North Macedonia vs Faroe Islands (15:00)
Monday 18 November
- A1: Croatia vs Portugal
- A1: Poland vs Scotland
- A4: Serbia vs Denmark
- A4: Spain vs Switzerland
- C2: Kosovo vs Lithuania
- C2: Romania vs Cyprus
- C3: Bulgaria vs Belarus
- C3: Luxembourg vs Northern Ireland
- D1: Liechtenstein vs San Marino
Tuesday 19 November
- A3: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Netherlands
- A3: Hungary vs Germany
- B1: Albania vs Ukraine
- B1: Czechia vs Georgia
- B4: Montenegro vs Türkiye
- B4: Wales vs Iceland
- C1: Slovakia vs Estonia
- C1: Sweden vs Azerbaijan
- D2: Malta vs Andorra
