The new season of the Nations League kicks off today, September 5. The format of the tournament has changed this year, although the basic rules remain the same. Let’s find out why the Nations League has an even greater influence on the World Cup this time around.
Traditionally, there are two parallel World Cup qualifiers on our continent (in addition to the European Championship). The classic qualifiers will not start until March 2025. And in 2024, the group stage of the Nations League will take place. The 54 teams are divided into four levels: Leagues A, B and C have 16 teams each, and League D has six. There would have been 55 teams, but Russia was excluded.
In Leagues A, B and C, teams are divided into groups of four participants. League D has two groups of three teams. The teams will play six matches in the group stage (four in Group D) over the next three international windows (September, October and November 2024). As before, the result in the group will affect the rotation between Leagues. For example, the last places in the groups of League A will start next season in League B. And the third teams in the group will go to the playoffs for the right to remain in League A (to do so they will need to defeat one of the second teams from League B in a two-legged match).
The top two teams from four groups in League A will advance to the playoffs. Starting this season, there will be no longer four teams but eight. Play-off matches for the quarter-finals will be played in March 2025. The semi-finals, the match for third place and the final will then be played in one country (which one will be known in December 2024). The last time the final matches of the Nations League were held in the Netherlands and then the tournament was won by Spain.
Spain’s Marco Asensio with the Nations League trophy
Photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images
And now about the importance of the Nations League for the 2026 World Cup. Since then, not 32 but 48 teams will compete at the World Cup, and European representation has been expanded from 13 to 16 teams. As a result, the number of teams that can qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the Nations League has also increased.
The classic selection begins in March 2025. In it, the teams will be divided into 12 groups. The first places will go directly to the World Cup, and the 12 second places and the four best teams according to the Nations League ranking will compete for the remaining four tickets. To do so, the 16 teams will be divided into four separate playoff phases. All teams will start from the semi-finals. The winners of each of the four paths will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
What will France and Mbappé show in the Nations League?
Photo: Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images
In qualifying for the last World Cup, only two Nations League teams (Austria and the Czech Republic) made it to the knockout stage, and now there will be four. To qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the ranking of the Nations League countries will be taken into account. The teams in it will be placed as follows:
four group winners in League A (order depends on group stage results); four second-placed teams in League A; four third-placed teams in League A;
It is important to note that through the classic selection, 12 teams will immediately qualify for the World Cup and another 12 participants will be determined in the play-offs; these 24 teams will not be taken into account in the Nations League rankings. Therefore, even the worst teams in League A have a good chance of making it to the playoffs. If in the classic selection the best teams finish at the top, the mere fact of being in League A practically guarantees access to the playoffs. For example, teams such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and Denmark, which previously made it to League A.
And the coach is about to make his debut with the England national team:
A coach with minimal experience has joined the England squad. Now they are waiting for Guardiola
There is another important nuance regarding the influence of the Nations League on the 2026 World Cup. It is not yet clear which teams will make it (except for the hosts: Mexico, the USA and Canada), but qualification also depends on their performance in the Nations League. There is an opinion that this is like a friendly tournament. As you can understand from this text, this is far from the case.
