DPA
Stuttgart
Euro 2024 champions Spain are also the reigning Nations League champions when the fourth edition of Europe’s newest competition kicks off on Thursday.
The 54 teams are still placed in four different leagues based on their strength and past results, but a new quarter-final stage in the top League A has been introduced along with relegation-promotion play-offs.
Like in the past, good showings in the Nations League can also help teams qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Spain, who face Denmark, Switzerland and Serbia in the group stage which runs until November, are a top contender for the title at the Final Four mini tournament set for June 2025.
Previous winners Portugal and France as well as the Netherlands and resurgent Germany are also fancied, while Euro finalists England have bee relegated to League B where they are up against Finland, Ireland and Greece.
In the past, only the four League A group winners advanced to the finals. But with a quarter-final stage added, to be played home and away in March, runners-up can also make it.
Last-placed teams in Leagues A, B, and C are relegated directly like previously but now there are also two-legged promotion-relegation ties between the third-placed teams from leagues A and B and the runners-up from the leagues below, B and C.
The Nations League also offer a path for four teams to the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The winners from the 12 qualifying groups advance directly, while the 12 runners-up and the four best Nations League group winners who have not finished in the top two play for the remaining four spots in two knock-out rounds in March 2026.