The2022–23 UEFA Nations League A was the top division of the2022–23 edition of theUEFA Nations League, the third season of the internationalfootball competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations ofUEFA. League A culminated with theNations League Finals in June 2023 to determine the champions of the competition.
The Nations League Finals took place in June 2023 and was played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off and final. The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw. The host country was selected among the four qualified teams by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the champions of the UEFA Nations League.
The four group winners were drawn into groups of five teams forUEFA Euro 2024 qualifying (in order to accommodate for the Nations League Finals).
In the 2022–23 access list, UEFA ranked teams based on the2020–21 Nations League overall ranking.[6] The seeding pots for the league phase were confirmed on 22 September 2021,[7] and were based on the access list ranking.[4]
The draw for the league phase took place at the UEFA headquarters inNyon, Switzerland on 16 December 2021, 18:00CET.[8][9] Each group contained one team from each pot.
The four nations fromGroup A4 (Belgium, theNetherlands,Poland andWales) bid to host the Nations League Finals.[63] As the nation that qualified for the finals, the Netherlands was granted hosting rights.[64] The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw on 25 January 2023, 11:00CET, at the UEFA headquarters inNyon, Switzerland. For scheduling purposes, the host team was allocated to semi-final 1 as the administrative home team.[65]
The four best teams in League A according to the overall ranking that failed to qualify forUEFA Euro 2024 through thequalifying group stage were set to compete against each other to win one extra qualification spot through thepath A play-offs. AsPoland andWales were the only unqualified teams from League A, the first available slot for the teams participating in the Path A play-off was allocated to thebest-ranked group winner of League D,Estonia, as they had not already qualified in the qualifying group stage. The remaining available slot was allocated to the best ranked un-qualified team fromleague B (excluding group winners of league B and teams previously chosen to participate in thepath B play-offs),Finland.[71]
^TheFootball Association were ordered to playbehind closed doors due to sanctions by UEFA. They were permitted to distribute tickets to under-14s, with one adult supervising every ten children.[43]
Spain (1st title)
Croatia
Italy
Netherlands
Austria
Czech Republic
England
Wales
Michy Batshuayi
