The UEFA Nations League 2022/23
In the run-up to the 2022 World Cup, there have certainly been some great international football matches to enjoy.
As well as the final stages of qualifications, there have been some pretty intense UEFA Nations League games as well. But what are they and what do they mean for the winners? What is the point of playing in the league and what do you get for winning it? Well, apart from being a great opportunity for football betting fans to check out the best online casino guides and sports betting guides to find out how they can make this a money spinner from them, there’s also much to be gained for the teams as well…
What is the UEFA Nations League?
The UEFA Nations League is a competition between the 55 member nations of UEFA. It was originally created because UEFA wanted ‘more sporting meaning in national team football’ and there was a growing opinion that friendly internationals did not provide adequate competition for national teams. Thus, the Nations League came to be – and we are now in its third season.
The 2022/23 season of the competition kicked off in June 2022, with the finals scheduled to take place in June 2023. The tournament is planned to be played out in the same way as the 2020/21 edition. It consists of three leagues of 16 teams and a fourth league of 7 teams. How these are made up is decided by promotions and relegations from the second runnings. The final groupings were set by a draw on 16th December 2021 – and this is what to expect now it has all begun…
How the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League Will Work
Leagues A, B and C all include 16 national teams. These were all then drawn into four groups of four teams for the league phase. Then, the remaining seven teams were divided into two groups – one group of three teams and the other of four teams. In all of these cases, the teams will play their group opponents twice – at home and away, between June 2022 and September 2022.
The four teams who win their groups in League A will reach the knockout finals in June 2023. The group winners of leagues B, C and D will all be promoted to the 2024/25 edition. The teams that finish bottom in Leagues A and B are relegated, whilst the teams that finish bottom of their group in League C will head to the play-outs in March 2024 and the two teams that lose will drop down into League D.
The 2022/23 Leagues and Groups
Here are the leagues and groupings for this year’s tournament:
League A
- Group A1: France, Denmark, Croatia and Austria
- Group A2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic
- Group A3: Italy, Germany, England and Hungary
- Group A4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland and Wales
League B
- Group B1: Ukraine, Scotland, ROI and Armenia
- Group B2: Iceland, Israel, Albania (and Russia*)
- Group B3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Romania and Montenegro
- Group B4: Norway, Sweden, Slovenia and Serbia
*Russia will not be participating in the league and will automatically be ranked overall as fourth in the group
League C
- Group C1: Turkey, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Faroe Islands
- Group C2: Greece, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Kosovo
- Group C3: Belarus, Slovakia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan
- Group C4: Gibraltar, Bulgaria, Georgia and North Macedonia
League D
- Group D1: Andorra, Latvia, Liechtenstein and Moldova
- Group D2: Estonia, Malta and San Marino
2022/23 Important Dates
Matchdays 1 and 2 and played between 1st – 8th June 2022
Matchdays 3 and 4 are played between 9th -14th June 2022
Matchdays 5 and 6 are played between 22nd-27th September 2022
The finals draw will be held at an unconfirmed date and time
The semi-finals are played on 14th and 15th June 2023
Finals and third place match are played on 18th June 2023
The playouts are played on the 21st-23rd and the 24th-26th March 2024
The Nations League Final 2023
The winners of League A groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 will take part in the finals, with one of these teams appointed as host. The semi-finals will take place on the 14th and 15th of June 2023 with the final and playoff for third place taking place on the 18th of June.
UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying
As per the regulations, 3 of the 24 UEFA Euro 2024 places are determined by playoff spots via the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League. So, a good performance here could guarantee qualification for Euro 2024. As well as these three teams, another 12 teams will be selected based on how well they performed in the UEFA Nations League. These will normally include the group winners of leagues A, B and C, but those that have already qualified as one of the top three will be replaced by their group runner-up.