2022-23 Nations League A featured four groups and Group A1 comprised Croatia, Denmark, France and Austria. Although France went into the tournament as world champions, they struggled to get points on the board, with Les Bleus winning just one of their first five matches and failing to qualify for the finals stage.
Croatia were the 2018 World Cup finalists and fared really well in A1 thanks partly to having such a strong defence ahead of their 2022 World Cup assault, while the Danes also outlined that they’re in strong shape and they could be dark horses for the Qatar tournament now that Christian Eriksen is fit and firing.
Group A2 included Iberian rivals Portugal and Spain, with the former holding the upper hand thanks to a 4-0 win over Switzerland, while they also triumphed at home and away to Czech Republic, with Cristiano Ronaldo proving that there’s life in the old dog yet.
Spain are another 2022 World Cup contender and they drew 1-1 with Portugal before facing the same team in a showdown for top spot on 27 September. Meanwhile, it was Switzerland and Czech Republic who were scrapping it out to maintain their top-flight status.
When it came to Group A3, Hungary were providing all the alarms and all the surprises to top the section after five games played. They were regarded as whipping boys after being cast in a group that also included Germany, Italy and England, although three wins and a draw was beyond their wildest dreams.
Wins away to Germany and England were wholly unexpected and particularly the way in which the Hungarians claimed a 4-0 win at Molineux. That along with a 1-0 defeat in Italy means that the Three Lions have already been relegated to Nations League B and there’s pressure on Gareth Southgate.
Netherlands and Belgium have proved to be the Nations League A4 great entertainers, with the two international rivals clashing on 25 September to determine which side would be going through to the finals. The Dutch are enjoying a rich vein of form under Louis van Gaal who is enjoying his third stint in charge.
The Belgians lost 4-1 at home to Netherlands although eleven goals were scored in their five games played, with Kevin de Bruyne continuing to propel his country to great heights. Meanwhile, Wales were left staring down the barrel unless they were able to overcome Poland in the final game.
Nations League Format and Structure
The first ever Nations League gets underway in September 2018 following France’s victory in the World Cup in July. Games will take place during dates previously allocated to international friendly matches, with the main qualification games for the Euros and World Cup unaffected.
The format is relatively simple but we would expect changes to be made as the competition develops. For the 2018-19 Nations League there will be 55 sides, including Kosovo who became an officially recognised UEFA nation in 2016. There will be four Leagues, with League D the weakest and set to feature 16 sides. League C will have 15, with the top two divisions both consisting of 12 nations.
The divisions for the initial season will be decided using a ranking system based on recent results. League A, the top tier, will include England, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Croatia.
The 12 sides in Leagues A and B are split into four Groups (1-4) and will play each other home and away. League C has four groups of four and one of three, with the 16 teams in Group D divided into four groups of four.
The winners of each group in League A meet in the Nations League semi finals before a final will decide the overall champion. In the other Leagues, the group winners are promoted to the league above, with group losers (the nation finishing bottom), relegated.
Obviously there is no promotion from League A or relegation from League D. Aside from promotion, relegation and the overall title, there are, as said, four spots at the Euros up for grabs. These will be decided using the highest ranked non-qualified sides from each group in order to generate 16 teams. The 16 nations will be split in to four, with semis and a final deciding which four nations will be heading to the European Championships.
This new tournament offers a number of big advantages, guaranteeing the best sides lots of high class friendly games that should prove easy to market. In addition, the lesser nations will benefit as the TV contract with UEFA is centralised. Moreover, such sides will have an extra chance to qualify for the Euros.
Some may argue this latter points is a negative, devaluing the main qualification process. However, all in all we think the early signs about the Nations League are positive. The tournament should definitely serve to make friendly games far more interesting and, hopefully, make betting on them a little more predictable.