| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | League phase: 24 September – 17 November 2026 League A quarter-finals and League A/B and B/C play-offs: 25–30 March 2027 Nations League Finals: 7–15 June 2027 League C/D play-offs: 23–28 March 2028 |
| Teams | Up to 55 |
2028–29 → | |
The2026–27 UEFA Nations League will be the fifth season of theUEFA Nations League, an internationalassociation football competition involving the men's national teams of the member associations ofUEFA. The competition will be held from September to November 2026 (league phase), March 2027 (League A quarter-finals, and League A/B and B/C play-offs), June 2027 (Nations League Finals) and March 2028 (League C/D play-offs).
Portugal are the defending champions, having won the2025 finals.
The UEFA national teams will be divided into four leagues, with Leagues A, B, and C featuring sixteen teams each, divided into four groups of four teams, while League D features six teams divided into two groups of three. The teams will be allocated to leagues based on the2024–25 UEFA Nations League final overall ranking. Each team will play six matches within their group, except for teams in League D which will play four, using the home-and-awayround-robin format on matchdays from September to November 2026.
In the top division, League A, the group winners and runners-up will advance to the quarter-finals, played home-and-away overtwo legs in March 2027. In each tie, group winners will face a runner-up from a different group, with the group winner hosting the second leg. The four quarter-final winners will qualify for the Nations League Finals, which is played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off and final. The semi-final pairings are determined by means of a draw. The host country will be selected, preferably from among the four qualified teams, by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the Nations League champions.[1][2]
Teams also compete forpromotion and relegation to a higher or lower league. The group winners in Leagues B, C, and D are directly promoted, while the last-placed teams of each group in Leagues A and B are directly relegated. As League C has four groups while League D has only two, the two worst-ranked League C teams will automatically be relegated. The competition will also feature promotion/relegation play-offs following the league phase, with the third-placed teams of League A facing the runners-up of League B, the third-placed teams of League B facing the runners-up of League C, and the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams of League C facing the runners-up of League D. The matches will be played home-and-away over two legs in March 2027 (League A/B and B/C) and another window if necessary (League C/D), with the winners going to the higher league and the losers entering the lower league.[3]
In all two-legged ties, the higher-ranked teams host the second leg. The team that scores more goals on aggregate is the winner. If the aggregate score is level,extra time is played (theaway goals rule is not applied). If the score remains level after extra time, apenalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner.[4]
The 2026–27 UEFA Nations League is expected to be linked withUEFA Euro 2028 qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify forUEFA Euro 2028. However, this is pending the formal approval of the format and regulations of UEFA Euro 2028.
Below is the schedule of the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League.[3]
| Stage | Round | FIFA window[5] |
|---|---|---|
| League phase | Matchday 1 | 24 September – 6 October 2026 |
| Matchday 2 | ||
| Matchday 3 | ||
| Matchday 4 | ||
| Matchday 5 | 12–17 November 2026 | |
| Matchday 6 | ||
| League A quarter-finals and League A/B andB/C play-offs | First leg | 25–30 March 2027 |
| Second leg | ||
| Finals | Semi-finals | 7–15 June 2027 |
| Third place play-off | ||
| Final | ||
| League C/D play-offs | First leg | 23–28 March 2028 |
| Second leg |
All 55 UEFA national teams are able to submit an entry into the competition. However, on 28 February 2022Russia were suspended indefinitely from participating in UEFA and FIFA competitions due totheir country's invasion of Ukraine.[6] Therefore, it is unclear whether they will compete in this edition of the Nations League.
The teams which finished bottom of their group in Leagues A and B, as well as the bottom two fourth-placed teams of League C, from the2024–25 season will move down a league, while the group winners of Leagues B, C, and D will move up. Additionally, the winners of the promotion/relegation play-off ties will enter the higher respective league, while the losers will play in the lower league. The remaining teams will stay in their respective leagues.[3]
For the 2026–27 draw, teams will be seeded based on the2024–25 Nations League final overall ranking, which took into account the results from the league stage, League A knockout stage, and promotion/relegation play-offs.[4]
 | Promoted after previous season |
|---|---|
 | Relegated after previous season |
| * | Participated in promotion/relegation play-offs |
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