The new UEFA Nations League: Will these changes affect your bets?
The UEFA Nations League was launched with the need for more exciting matches during the international breaks. The 2024-25 season launches a new update that ups the ante and makes the competition more intense for the national squads.
While it’s not as celebrated as the Champions League (that also underwent a few changes this season), the Nations League is still important to national teams since its overall ranking system is tied to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. With a more intense competitive format, can defending champions Spain still dominate the tournament in this new edition?
Learn more about the Nations League’s exciting changes below:
What is the new Nations League format?
The initial Nations League format in 2018 features the familiar four-league format, with 55 teams playing. Now, in the 2024-25 campaign, the tournament only has 54 teams playing, grouped in Leagues A, B, C, and D.
The format across four leagues
The new Nations League format retains the four leagues labelled A, B, C, and D. There are 16 teams in Leagues A to C, while the remaining six teams are in League D. Every League from A to C is split into four groups, while D has two groups.
Each team must play six games, one being at home and one away, against all the other teams. That is important to look into when you want to watch and bet on matches because the dynamics of having a home-ground advantage is strong, especially in football.
How the group stage shakes up
By winning the group in Leagues B, C, and D, they can get promoted to League A. Since promotions are happening, expect relegation as well for the worst-performing teams, four in Leagues A and B. The four teams in League C participate in a relegation play-off, as the two worst squads get relegated to Group D.
The knockout rounds
Now, the knockout rounds will be determined in November 2024 when the play-off draw happens. The knockout round playoffs include teams from League A where first and second-placed teams face off in two-legged ties.
The Nations League Finals phase will kick off in June 2025 where the semi-finals, third-place playoff, and the final take place to determine the Nations League champion.
UEFA created this format to emphasise the competitiveness at every level in the Nations League. It makes the format more intense since some people found the initial edition of the event to be dull. Now, it has become more exciting and will continue to have implications for European football, as teams could qualify for the European Championships and the World Cup from this event.
Tournament dates and schedule
The new knockout round in March is one of the biggest updates in the current edition of the Nations League. Winners and runners-up of League A will play against each other in the quarter-finals, and the winners of this playoff will be the Final Four.
Here are the dates to take note of for the 2024-24 Nations League campaign:
League phase: 5 September - 19 November 2024 (A total of 6 Matchdays)
League A quarter-finals: March 20-25, 2025
Semi-finals: June 4-5, 2025
Final: June 8, 2025
Where are the teams in their respective leagues?
The Nations League has 54 teams playing across the four leagues from A to D. With 16 teams apiece in Leagues A to C, there are six left for League D. Have a look into these Leagues and how they are separated into groups.
Who are the favourites for the upcoming Nations League?
This competition is filled with some of the most competitive nations in the European region. Since this is seen as the pinnacle of football nowadays, you can see some top teams having a big shot at winning the tournament. Here are the favourites to win the Nations League in 2025:
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Spain - As they are fresh off winning the Euros and the Olympics, Spain is on a fiery run with their tournament wins over the past year. Expect them to keep competing for trophies, especially with this Nations League, as they want to defend their championship here, with players like Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams leading the way.
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France - The French have always been a top team, and over the past decade, they have won the World Cup and come second in the latest one in 2022. France was also the silver medallist at the Olympics, so it is fair to say that they are ready to compete against all the other top nations, as they have won this event before. They have a brilliant squad headlined by Kylian Mbappé and William Saliba.
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Portugal - The Portuguese have been on some sort of rough patch over the years, but they are one of the three teams that have won this tournament. While they have some talented players like Bruno Fernandes and Rafael Leão, they must keep battling to win another one.
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Germany - The German national team has been superb throughout its history, but they want more trophies to their names after the 2014 World Cup triumph. With players like Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, and Antonio Rüdiger, this team is in good hands.
How do these Nations League updates affect your betting?
When betting on the Nations League, you should also be aware of the massive shifts that have happened due to the changes in the format. They might look like some minuscule changes to you, but there are some implications in the betting world.
Here are some of the biggest changes you should know about:
Dynamics between teams have changed with promotion and relegation
By having promotion and relegation, expect the teams to be more driven to win games. The national teams do not want to suffer relegation, so by performing better, they can go higher in the standings.
Betting on this event makes it more fun and challenging to predict because of the ever-changing dynamics of nations having to play in an event where there are new implications that could change their mindsets.
Teams will be playing harder since this could lead to qualification
With the new changes, there are still implications for the UEFA Euros and the FIFA World Cup. Teams will be more motivated to play since there is a chance to get to the next stage of international football. It will be challenging for the teams, but it makes for an exciting betting experience for the bettor by watching every match possible.
A hyper-competitive Final Four in League A
Now that there is a playoff after the group stage, League A has its group winner and runners-up competing in a new quarter-final round. With this, bettors have more games to bet on, and they can expect some high-level matches because these games involve the best teams in the continent.
Smaller nations are even bigger underdogs
The format changes have led to some underdogs having more chances to compete, but they are even bigger underdogs now, especially if they get promoted to the next league. It can be challenging to bet on them, but there are more ways to earn money in betting and one of the most profitable ones is trusting the underdogs to get a result.
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