The official result of the #NationsLeague draw! ✅ pic.twitter.com/H1fPteK7M1
— UEFA Nations League (@UEFAEURO) January 24, 2018
Well, that was relatively straightforward
It turns out that the fear of the Nations League draw is far worse than the Nations League draw itself.
Now that the draw has been made and the groups decided, teams will play each other at home and away. The winners of League A proceed to the finals, while four teams will be relegated from Leagues A to B, B to C and C to D. Four will be promoted from Leagues D to C, C to B and B to A.
The group stage fixtures will take place in September and November 2018.
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Matchday 1: Sep 6-8
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Matchday 2: Sept 9-11
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Matchday 3: Oct 11-13
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Matchday 4: Oct 14-16
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Matchday 5: Nov 15-17
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Matchday 6: Nov 18-20
- Finals: June 5-9, 2019
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League A
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Group 1: Netherlands, France, Germany
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Group 2: Iceland, Switzerland, Belgium
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Group 3: Poland, Italy, Portugal
- Group 4: Croatia, England, Spain
League B
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Group 1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia
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Group 2: Turkey, Sweden, Russia
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Group 3: Northern Ireland, Bosnia & Herzogovina, Austria
- Group 4: Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Wales
League C
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Group 1: Israel, Albania, Scotland
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Group 2: Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary
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Group 3: Cyprus, Bulgaria, Norway, Slovenia
- Group 4: Lithuania, Montenegro, Serbia, Romania
League D
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Group 1: Andorra, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Georgia
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Group 2: San Marino, Moldova, Luxembourg, Belarus
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Group 3: Kosovo, Malta, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan
- Group 4: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Armenia, Macedonia
League A in its entirety ...
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Group 1: Netherlands, France, Germany
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Group 2: Iceland, Switzerland, Belgium
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Group 3: Poland, Italy, Portugal
- Group 4: Croatia, England, Spain
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League A draw ...
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Group 1: Netherlands, France
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Group 2: Iceland, Switzerland
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Group 3: Poland, Italy
- Group 4: Croatia, England
League A draw ...
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Group 1: Netherlands
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Group 2: Iceland
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Group 3: Poland
- Group 4: Croatia
Just one to go ...
Thanks for that Vladimir, putting my brave Republic of Ireland boys in with Wales again ... then teeing us up for another hiding at the hands of Denmark. Yes, thanks very much indeed, Vladimir.
Here are the pots from which the League A groups will be decided, as picked randomly by another of my favourite former internationals: Portuguese legend Deco. Can he get through the draw without upsetting anyone or getting sent off? Here’s hoping he won’t.
- Pot 1: Germany Portugal Belgium, Spain
- Pot 2: France, England, Switzerland, Italy
- Pot 3: Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Holland
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League B in its entirety
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Group 1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia
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Group 2: Turkey, Sweden, Russia
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Group 3: Northern Ireland, Bosnia & Herzogovina, Austria
- Group 4: Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Wales
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League B draw ...
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Group 1: Czech Republic, Ukraine
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Group 2: Turkey, Sweden
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Group 3: Northern Ireland, Bosnia & Herzogovina
- Group 4: Denmark, Republic of Ireland
League B draw ...
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Group 1: Czech Republic,
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Group 2: Turkey,
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Group 3: Northern Ireland
- Group 4: Denmark
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Two down, two to go ...
Now we’re getting to the business end of proceedings and League B will be drawn next. Here are the pots from which the balls will be plucked by the former Czech Republic and Liverpool player Vladimir Smicer.
- Pot 1: Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia
- Pot 2: Sweden Ukraine, Rep of Ireland, Bosnia & Herzogovina
- Pot 3: N Ireland, Denmark, Czech Rep, Turkey
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League C in its entirety
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Group 1: Israel, Albania, Scotland
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Group 2: Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary
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Group 3: Cyprus, Bulgaria, Norway, Slovenia
- Group 4: Lithuania, Montenegro, Serbia, Romania
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League C draw ...
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Group 1: Israel, Albania
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Group 2: Estonia, Finland, Greece
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Group 3: Cyprus, Bulgaria, Norway
- Group 4: Lithuania, Montenegro, Serbia
League C draw ...
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Group 1: Israel
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Group 2: Estonia, Finland
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Group 3: Cyprus, Bulgaria
- Group 4: Lithuania, Montenegro
League C draw ...
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Group 1: [left empty due to odd number of teams]
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Group 2: Estonia
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Group 3: Cyprus
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Group 4: Lithuania
The draw for League C
Here are the pots from which the League C groups will be drawn. Managerless Scotland will be in this group, which will be drawn by one of my favourite players of all time, Finland legend Jari Litmanen.
- Pot 1: Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia
- Pot 2: Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway
- Pot 3: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Montenegro
- Pot 4: Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D in its entirety
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Group 1: Andorra, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Georgia
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Group 2: San Marino, Moldova, Luxembourg, Belarus
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Group 3: Kosovo, Malta, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan
- Group 4: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Armenia, Macedonia
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League D ...
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Group 1: Andorra, Kazakhstan, Latvia
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Group 2: San Marino, Moldova, Luxembourg
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Group 3: Kosovo, Malta, Faroe Islands
- Group 4: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Armenia
League D ...
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Group 1: Andorra, Kazakhstan
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Group 2: San Marino, Moldova
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Group 3: Kosovo, Malta
- Group 4: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein
League D ...
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Group 1: Andorra
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Group 2: San Marino
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Group 3: Kosovo
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Group 4: Gibraltar
Pedro's glamourous assistants ...
Belarusian footballer Alexander Hleb and Uefa director of competitions Giorgio Marchetti are first up on stage to join Pedro. We will, I understand, be starting with League D and work our way up to League A.
The trophy ...
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin is invited on stage to unveil the new Nations League trophy. It’s a big silver number, which looks like three trophies within one. We’ll have a photo of it shortly.
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The action is underway in Lausanne
With typical bombast, it begins with the Lausanne Opera Choir performing the Nations League Anthem in front of a giant screen showing a montage. Occasional Guardian Football Weekly podcast guest and former CNN smoothie turned Uefa PR man Pedro Pinto is in charge of hosting proceedings. Good luck, Pedro. I suspect you might need it.
League A
- Pot 1: Germany Portugal Belgium, Spain
- Pot 2: France, England, Switzerland, Italy
- Pot 3: Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Holland
League B
- Pot 1: Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia
- Pot 2: Sweden Ukraine, Rep of Ireland, Bosnia & Herzogovina
- Pot 3: N Ireland, Denmark, Czech Rep, Turkey
League C
- Pot 1: Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia
- Pot 2: Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway
- Pot 3: Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Montenegro
- Pot 4: Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D
- Pot 1: Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia
- Pot 2: Armenia, Latvia, Fareo Islands, Luxembourg
- Pot 3: Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechenstein, Malta
- Pot 4: Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
The most complicated draw of all time?
Only time will tell, but even by Uefa standards this one looks a real doozie. Anyway, we’ll muddle through as best we can and once the biggest game of bingo in Uefa history is completed, try to make sense of it all. In the meantime, here’s some secret footage from the rehearsal at Lausanne, conducted by the inimitable Alan Partridge.
The Uefa Nations League
Designed to put an end to the one-time international staple that is the “meaningless friendly”, today’s draw for the inaugural Uefa Nations League takes place in Lausanne. As my colleague Nick Ames explained in his guide to What It’s All About, the Nationas League has “to a large extent, flown under the radar so far but from September onwards it will be stitched into the sport’s fabric and replace the majority of friendly games”.
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