The UEFA Nations League is an international football competition for national teams, introduced by UEFA in 2018 to replace friendly matches with more meaningful and competitive games. The tournament is held every two years and features competitions between national teams divided into leagues based on their UEFA coefficients.
The Nations League consists of four leagues (A, B, C and D), each of which is divided into groups. Teams compete in groups on a home-and-away basis. The group winners of League A progress to the final round of the tournament, which includes semi-finals, a third-place match and a final. The teams that win their groups in Leagues B, C and D are promoted to the top league, while the teams that finish bottom in Leagues A and B are relegated.
The first winner of the Nations League was Portugal, who won the 2019 final. Then there is the triumph of the French national team in 2021, who beat Spain 2-1 in the final. These results highlight the importance of the tournament for European football.
An interesting aspect of the tournament is that it provides an opportunity for teams to test different strategies and lineups ahead of the upcoming Euro or World Cup qualifiers. In addition, the Nations League plays a role in the qualification process for the Euros, as four places in the European Championship are reserved for the teams that performed best in their leagues but failed to qualify through the normal qualification process.
Notable moments of the Nations League also include individual achievements of players. For example, in 2019, Bernardo Silva was named the best player of the finals, highlighting his contribution to the success of the Portuguese national team. In 2021, French midfielder Paul Pogba received the same recognition.
The Nations League also has a significant impact on the international rankings of teams, as results in the tournament are taken into account in the official FIFA rankings. This is important for national teams, as the rankings can determine seeding statuses before major tournament draws.
The tournament continues to evolve and change, and new football heroes and exciting competitions emerge from it. With each edition, the Nations League confirms its role in improving the quality and competitiveness of international football, offering teams the chance to prove themselves and raise their position in world football.