UEFA Nations League: What next for England? When are play-off and quarter-final draws? Who could Scotland face?
Published 19/11/2024 at 09:33 GMT
The group stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League is almost complete and the draws for the quarter-finals and promotion/relegation play-offs will take place this week. England and Northern Ireland have secured promotion, but Scotland and the Republic of Ireland will be in the play-off draws and could be joined by Wales. We run through all you need to know about what's next in the Nations League.
'Always a challenging window' - Carsley denies growing rift with clubs over absent stars
Video credit: SNTV
Who’s going up? Who’s going down? Who’s playing in the quarter-finals?
The league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League is almost wrapped up, with the quarter-final line-up complete and teams set to be promoted or relegated.
England secured their return to Nations League A with back-to-back wins in their last two games while Scotland earned a League A lifeline with a dramatic late winner.
The Republic of Ireland are also set for a relegation play-off after victory in their final game and Northern Ireland have been promoted as League C group winners.
We run through everything you need to know about what comes next in the Nations League, including the dates for the play-off draw…
Quarter-final and promotion/relegation draws
Once the final round of group matches are played on Tuesday evening, attention will turn to four draws on Friday, November 22, which start at 10:00 UK time.
The draws are for the Nations League quarter-finals, semi-finals and the three promotion/relegation play-offs.
The quarter-finals will be contested by Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.
The teams in the promotion/relegation play-offs are yet to be confirmed in full, but Scotland and the Republic of Ireland will be among them as they look to avoid relegation.
Wales could be in a promotion play-off from League B.
Craig Bellamy's side are second in Group B4 ahead of their final match against Iceland, sitting two points behind Turkey who finish their group stage with a match against Montenegro.
Wales could also finish in the relegation play-off place, should they lose to Iceland in Cardiff on Tuesday evening.
How do the draws work?
The quarter-final draw will see the four League A group winners - Spain, Germany, France and Portugal - paired against the four League A group runners-up - Croatia, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands.Â
Teams from the same group can’t be drawn to face each other in the last eight, while the semi-final draw will also be made on Friday.
- Robertson's late winner secures Scotland play-off spot
- When is Tuchel’s first game as England boss? Who do England play in 2025?
There are three separate promotion/relegation play-off draws.
They will see the four third-placed teams in League A drawn against the four runners-up in League B, and the four third-placed teams in League B drawn against the four runners-up in League C.
Meanwhile, the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams from League C will be drawn against the two runners-up from League D for play-offs held in March 2026.
The promotion/relegation play-offs will either see one team promoted and one relegated if the team from the lower league wins the play-off, or both teams stay in the same league if the team from the higher league wins the play-off.
The quarter-finals and the promotion/relegation play-offs will all be played over two legs.
Who are in the quarter-finals and play-offs?
Quarter-finals
League A Group winners (Pot 1): Portugal, France, Germany, Spain
League A Runners-up (Pot 2): Croatia, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark
League A vs League B play-offs
League A third place (Pot 1): Scotland, Belgium, Hungary, Serbia
League B second place (Pot 2): Greece, Austria, TBC, TBC
League B vs League C
League B third place (Pot 1): Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, TBC, TBC
League C second place (Pot 2): Slovakia, Armenia, Bulgaria, TBC
League C vs League D
League C fourth place (Pot 1): Latvia, TBC
League D second place (Pot 2): Malta, Gibraltar
When are the quarter-finals and play-offs?
The two-legged Nations League quarter-finals will be played on Thursday, March 20 and Sunday, March 23 with the semi-finals and final in early June, 2025.
The League A/B and B/C play-offs share the same dates as the quarter-finals, on March 20 and 23.
The League C/D play-offs will be held a year later, on Thursday, March 26 and Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
- - -
Stream the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Serie A and more on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Related Topics
Thoughts?
Advertisement
Advertisement