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UEFA Nations League:


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I'm quite liking the sound of this UEFA Nations League thing.

 

England seem to be in the toughest group (A4), along with Spain and Croatia.

 

How it works:

https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/video/videoid=2568500.html (Video explanation, with sound..... in case you're watching at work)!!

 

https://www.uefa.com/uefanationsleague/news/newsid=2079553.html?iv=true (written explanation).

 

Fixtures:

England v Spain (Sat 8th Sept, 19:45).

Croatia v England (Fri 12th Oct, 19;45).

Spain v England (Mon 15th Oct, 19:45).

England v Croatia (Sun 18th Nov, 14:00).

 

The bottom team from the four groups A1, A2, A3, A4 all get relegated to Division B for the next iteration of the competition, which is in 2020 apparently. (Presumably at the end of the year). Seems pretty harsh that a quarter of the teams in the top division get relegated!

 

League A

Group A1: Germany, France, Netherlands

Group A2: Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland

Group A3: Portugal, Italy, Poland

Group A4: Spain, England, Croatia

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This has completely passed me by. I assumed the international break was just for a couple of standard friendlies (shows how much I take notice - I'm defo a club over country man!).

 

So is this a competition to qualify for the next Euros? IE, does it actually have a point to it?

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This has completely passed me by. I assumed the international break was just for a couple of standard friendlies (shows how much I take notice - I'm defo a club over country man!).

 

So is this a competition to qualify for the next Euros? IE, does it actually have a point to it?

 

Yes some of the European qualification spots will be taken by the winners of the competition. Then it is back to normal qualifying for basically everyone who didn't win.

 

Edit: Normal qualification will determine 20 spots. Then the 4 left are decided based on the Nations league. In effect it will act as a play-off system for the best nations from the Nations league, that have not qualified in the normal way. Got it the wrong way round!

 

It is quite a complex system they have implemented, but it does eventually make sense. From my understanding this will replace some friendlies during the calendar year with competitive fixtures.

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This has completely passed me by. I assumed the international break was just for a couple of standard friendlies (shows how much I take notice - I'm defo a club over country man!).

 

So is this a competition to qualify for the next Euros? IE, does it actually have a point to it?

 

Yes some of the European qualification spots will be taken by the winners of the competition. Then it is back to normal qualifying for basically everyone who didn't win.

 

It is quite a complex system they have implemented, but it does eventually make sense. From my understanding this will replace some friendlies during the calendar year with competitive fixtures.

 

Cheers - I suppose competitive games (albeit probably not 'jump out of chair with clenched fist when we score' types) are better than dreary friendlies.

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I think it's that if you get promoted/relegated, you get put into the pot above/below you. i.e. if you're relegated from A4, you get put into pot B and pot B is drawn from all the teams who didn't move, all the teams relegated from A and all the teams promoted from C.

 

Either that or it's a link to the number, i.e. A4 relegated to B4, C4 promoted to B4.

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I had a read up earlier as it’d past me by too.

 

The way I understood it was that each of the sub groups (a4 in our case) play each other and the four bottom teams from each subgroup (a1-4 etc) get relegated to the next group (which would be B in our case) and the winners get promoted with the exception of the winners in the Agroup gointo a standard semi final/final setup.

 

I think when you get relegated the subgroup you end up in is based on Fifa ranking.

 

We’ll still have friendlies while we’re in a group consisting of 3 teams (the ‘A’ groups) - hence the Switzerland game. Plus we’ll still want to warm up for WCs against the opposition we’re going to face in our group, like the Costa Rica/Nigeria games

 

From what I’ve read I like the idea, not as demanding/exciting as a WC/euro tournement but infinitely better than watching us try and break down a flat back 9 with a 47 year old striker miling about in front of them.

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I'm hoping at some point it will be expanded to become the ONLY method of qualification for Euro 2022. Seems a more exciting way of doing it than the usual Qualifiers...

 

The cynic in me thinks that the method of qualification into the Euros that brings EUFA the most income will be the one that will be used...

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i looked it up a week or so ago and tbh its a bit puddly.  the draw for the group stage of euro 2020 competition is being held in december   

 

 European Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2020: how it works

Monday 25 September 2017

 

 

All 24 finalists for UEFA EURO 2020 will come from European Qualifiers; 20 will earn their places via conventional groups and the four remaining teams come through a changed play-off system.

 

©UEFA.com

  • None of the 12 UEFA EURO 2020 host countries qualify automatically
  • 24 teams to reach finals through European Qualifiers (draw: 2 December 2018, Dublin)
  • Qualifying group stage: ten groups, top two from each qualify (20 places)
  • Play-offs: 16 teams in four paths of four from UEFA Nations League, one qualifier from each path (4 places)

Qualifying for UEFA EURO 2020 remains largely the same (with 24 finalists in all), although the European Qualifiers will now begin in the March after a major tournament instead of immediately in September (i.e. March 2019 rather than September 2018 in this case). No team will gain automatic qualification as hosts (there are 12 host nations in all).

 

 

Qualifying group stage (20 teams qualify)

 

The 55 teams will be split into ten groups of five or six. Four of the five groups of five will contain one team that has qualified for the UEFA Nations League finals (to be played June 2019). The top two from each group will qualify for the final tournament, determining the first 20 places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[align=center]

 

 

 

 

 

 

00:03

01:41

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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European Qualifiers play-offs explained

Play-offs (4 teams qualify) 

The last four EURO places will be won through the European Qualifiers play-offs, which will be contested by the 16 UEFA Nations League group winners(i.e. the four group winners in each of the four divisions).

HOW THE UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE WILL WORK

  • Each league will have a path of its own and each path will feature two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final, drawn on 22 November 2019, played in single venues from 26–31 March 2020.  The winner of each path will win a ticket to UEFA EURO 2020.
  • If a UEFA Nations League group winner has already qualified via the European Qualifiers, then their spot will go to the next best-ranked team in their league. If a league does not have four teams to compete, the remaining slots are allocated to teams from another league, according to the overall UEFA Nations League rankings.

 

UEFA EURO 2020 final tournament

 

Format: Like UEFA EURO 2016, the 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four. The top two in each group and four best third-placed teams advance to the knockout phase.

Venues

Final and semi-finals

London, England: Wembley Stadium

Three group games, one quarter-final

Baku, Azerbaijan: Olympic Stadium

Munich, Germany: Football Arena Munich

Rome, Italy: Stadio Olimpico

Saint Petersburg, Russia: Saint Petersburg Stadion

Three group games, one round of 16 game

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam Arena

Bilbao, Spain: San Mamés Stadium

Bucharest, Romania: National Arena

Budapest, Hungary: Puskás Ferenc Stadion

Copenhagen, Denmark: Parken Stadium

Dublin, Republic of Ireland: Dublin Arena

Glasgow, Scotland: Hampden Park

London, England: Wembley Stadium

The pairing of venues for the group stage and allocation of matches up to the quarter-finals is to be confirmed.

 

European Qualifiers & UEFA EURO 2020 timetable

 

20 November 2018: UEFA Nations League ends, group winners decided (16 teams guaranteed at least a UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying play-off)

2 December 2018: European Qualifiers group stage draw, Dublin

21–26 March, 7–8 & 10–11 June, 5–10 September, 10–15 October & 14–19 November 2019: European Qualifiers group stage (ten matchdays)

22 November 2019: European Qualifiers play-off draw

1 December 2019: UEFA EURO 2020 final tournament draw

26–31 March 2020: European Qualifiers play-offs

1 April 2020: Additional final tournament draw if required

12 June–12 July 2020 (provisional): UEFA EURO 2020 final tournament

 

 

 

Any clearer ...... :cheese:

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Good info Essuuaitch, but I'm still not clear.

 

I'll read it through again.

 

It SEEMED to be saying that the final Euro 2020 qualifying spots were going to come from the four division winners in the UEFA Nations League?

 

How can a division D team qualify... when they're basically garbage??

 

Edit: OK, I just re read it. It's the 16 group winners from the 4 divisions. (A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2 etc)... They then play off for the last four places, so in all likelihood they'll come from A & B divisions.

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Good info Essuuaitch, but I'm still not clear.

 

I'll read it through again.

 

It SEEMED to be saying that the final Euro 2020 qualifying spots were going to come from the four division winners in the UEFA Nations League?

 

How can a division D team qualify... when they're basically garbage??

 

Edit: OK, I just re read it. It's the 16 group winners from the 4 divisions. (A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2 etc)... They then play off for the last four places, so in all likelihood they'll come from A & B divisions.

 

My understanding is that it will be the four winners of groups A to fight it out for 1 spot. The winners of B for 1, C for 1 and D for 1.

But in all likelihood most league A teams will have already qualified for the tournament through the normal qualifying process.

 

UEFA have a series of videos on it.

The link below explains the playoffs.

 

https://youtu.be/slqy1rjQJaY

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Basically it’s yet another vote winner for the uefa president (aleksander ceferin) - a bit like expanding the European champs to 24 teams. The system gives the smaller countries a chance of qualifying through the playoffs, by guaranteeing the winners of a playoff for each of the A, B, C and D levels/winners of the sets of groups (for teams that that have not already qualified) a spot at the finals. The result is a far better chance that a small team, (e.g. Estonia) will make it. It’s one country one vote on UEFA elections, so this pretty much secures Ceferin for the next decade, and allows him to have a go at something less popular with the larger countries (European super league?..). It may be more competitive than friendlies initially, but I think the top teams will treat the matches as friendlies pretty quickly and we’ll get a fair few players withdrawing from games.

 

But maybe i’m just being cynical...

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Basically it’s yet another vote winner for the uefa president (aleksander ceferin) - a bit like expanding the European champs to 24 teams. The system gives the smaller countries a chance of qualifying through the playoffs, by guaranteeing the winners of a playoff for each of the A, B, C and D levels/winners of the sets of groups (for teams that that have not already qualified) a spot at the finals. The result is a far better chance that a small team, (e.g. Estonia) will make it. It’s one country one vote on UEFA elections, so this pretty much secures Ceferin for the next decade, and allows him to have a go at something less popular with the larger countries (European super league?..). It may be more competitive than friendlies initially, but I think the top teams will treat the matches as friendlies pretty quickly and we’ll get a fair few players withdrawing from games.

 

But maybe i’m just being cynical...

 

I’m not sure that would be true. The thing that will give smaller teams the chance of qualifying is the increase in numbers in the World Cup

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