In this guide
Home-and-away group contestsLeague A supplies the title routeOther play-offs concern the next editionThe 2026/27 movement rules are transitionalNational teams are not club entrantsThe UEFA Nations League is a European national-team competition organised into performance-based leagues. In 2026/27 those are Leagues A, B, C and D, with groups inside each league.
League and group are different levels of the structure. A programme marked League B, Group 2 identifies both the team’s tier and its immediate set of opponents, rather than two separate competitions being played at once.
Home-and-away group contests
Each team plays its group opponents at home and away. Wins earn three points and draws one. The group table is therefore built from repeated meetings within that group, unlike a UEFA club league phase with a different opponent in every fixture.
League A supplies the title route
The League A group winners and runners-up advance to quarter-finals. Their winners reach the four-team finals, which contain semi-finals, a third-place match and final. A League B group win concerns movement toward a higher league, not immediate entry to the same title quarter-finals.
Other play-offs concern the next edition
League A/B and B/C play-offs establish league allocations for the following competition. Their purpose differs from the League A quarter-finals. A short Nations League play-off title needs the full stage before its consequence can be explained.
The 2026/27 movement rules are transitional
UEFA’s current guide describes a move to three leagues of eighteen for 2028/29. The 2026/27 promotion and relegation routes are arranged around that change, so older automatic-movement summaries should not be reused indiscriminately.
| Stage | Main consequence |
|---|---|
| Group phase | Group rank and progression |
| League A quarter-final | Place in the title finals |
| A/B or B/C play-off | Next-edition league allocation |
National teams are not club entrants
France or Italy here identifies a national side, not a club in Ligue 1 or Serie A. Preserve men’s competition, edition, league and group in an archive title. That context explains why a match can matter to promotion even when it is outside the title route.