Europe's football governing body, UEFA, launched a brand new tournament named the UEFA Nations League in 2018. This is Europe's third men's national team competition apart from the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA EURO. The main objective of organizing this competition is to replace international friendlies with more competitive matches. In addition, the competition serves as a qualifier for the European Championship. The UEFA Nations League 2022–2023 league phase will begin on June 1st, 2022. Portugal won the first edition, while France won the second edition the previous year.
UEFA Nations League Format
All the members of UEFA are eligible to take part in the competition. Therefore, 55 nations compete in the A, B, C, and D leagues based on rankings and previous tournament results.
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The highest tier is League A, where the teams compete for the Nations League trophy. A total of 16 teams each compete in Leagues A, B, and C. In each league of these three, they have four groups. The remaining seven teams are divided into two groups of League D, where one group has four teams and the other has three.
The winners of four groups in League A qualify for the Nations League finals. The final is a knockout tournament where two semi-finals, one third place, and a championship match take place. One of four qualifying teams will host the knockout finals, decided by the UEFA executive committee.
Teams from Leagues A and B that finish fourth in their groups are relegated to League C. The fourth-placed teams in League C's groups go to the play-offs, with the two teams who lose in those ties demoted to League D.
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Teams Competing in League A of the UEFA Nations League 2022–2023
From the League A participants, four national teams will be qualified for the knockout finals in June 2023. Therefore, the League A group stage fixtures are the center of attention. In the group stage, each side will play six matches, with home and away bases. Here are the competing teams and their groupings.
Group A1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group A2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group A3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group A4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales.
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Here are the six matchdays and the Knockout Finals schedule:
Matchdays 1 and 2: Between 1-8 June 1, 2022
Matchdays 1 and 2: Between 1-8 June 1, 2022
Matchdays 1 and 2: Between 1-8 June 1, 2022
Semi-Finals: 14 and 15 June 2023
Third-place and Championship match: 18 June 2023
Bottom Line
Following the success of the previous two seasons, the UEFA Nations League 2022-2023 is likely to engage fans even more. Some of the world's top national teams will participate in League A, and they will give it their all to qualify for the knockout finals next year. The third season of the Nations League will begin with a match between Poland and Wales at Stadion Miejski Wrocław on Wednesday (June 1).
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