How promotion, relegation and the knockouts operate in the 2026-27 Uefa Nations League
England will move closer to qualifying for the 2026-27 Uefa Nations League quarter-finals if they beat Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday night, with Thomas Tuchel's side sitting second in Group A3 after three matches. A win would all but confirm their place in the last eight to be played next March.
Tuesday's fixtures complete the fourth round of group-stage matches, with two full rounds remaining in November's international window. The eight teams that finish in the top two of the four League A groups will advance to the knockout phase beginning in March 2027, with quarter-finals staged across two legs that month.
Promotion and relegation follow a league-by-league structure: group winners in Leagues B and C earn automatic promotion, while second-placed teams in those leagues play a promotion/relegation play-off against the third-placed team from the league above. Losers of those play-offs, together with bottom-placed finishers in groups from League A and League B, are relegated.
Uefa has confirmed format changes for the next Nations League cycle across 2028 and 2029: every League D team in this cycle will be promoted to League C, no teams from League C will be relegated, and the competition will move to three larger leagues so there will be no League D in the next campaign.
Portugal are currently the only side guaranteed a quarter-final place after winning their opening four matches in Group A4. Spain can join them from Group A3 on Tuesday if they beat Croatia and Czech Republic fail to beat England; should both England and Spain win their games, England would need only one point from their final two matches against Croatia and Spain next month to secure a last-eight berth.
In Group A1, France and Italy occupy the top two positions with Belgium one point behind Italy in third, meaning two of that trio will progress. Group A2 sees Netherlands and Greece top the table, three points clear of Germany in third, with Serbia bottom on zero points; two of the current top three will advance. In A4, Denmark sit second and are three points clear of Wales and Norway, with one of that trio set to join Portugal.
Wales have collected three points from four games after a 2-1 win over Norway in Cardiff and face a challenging finish to their group, needing near-maximum points from matches against Norway and Portugal to retain quarter-final hopes; a third-place finish would place them in a play-off to avoid relegation in March, while bottom spot would guarantee a drop to League B. Scotland, third in League B1 and level with Slovenia on goal difference, meet Slovenia at Hampden Park on Tuesday; a win would move Sebastien Pocognoli's side up to second behind Switzerland ahead of the November break.
Northern Ireland have recorded two wins and two draws with no goals conceded in four matches in Group B2 and sit top by a point, with remaining fixtures against Georgia and second-placed Hungary; a victory over Georgia combined with Hungary failing to beat Ukraine in November's first round would secure top spot and promotion. The Republic of Ireland lie third in Group B3 on five points from four matches and have remaining fixtures against Austria and Kosovo; wins in both would guarantee a top-two finish and strengthen their chances of winning the group, contingent on goal difference and the result of Austria's meeting with Israel.
Once the Nations League ends, Uefa will rank all 54 nations on their performance in this edition and that ranking will feed into qualification for the 2028 European Championships in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. Regular Euro qualifying is scheduled between March and November 2027, with play-offs to fill remaining places in March 2028; Uefa has said up to two places may be allocated to the best-ranked co-hosts that fail to qualify via the standard route, with scenarios prepared for two, one or zero co-hosts receiving automatic entry. Depending on which play-off format is required, eight or 12 teams will enter the play-offs.
A total of 24 teams will compete at Euro 2028: 12 qualifying-group winners and the eight best runners-up will take 20 places, while remaining runners-up will enter the play-offs alongside Nations League group winners from Leagues A, B and C who did not finish in the top two of their Euro qualifying group. If additional teams are required, the best-ranked League D group winner will enter the play-offs and any further spots will be passed down to the next-highest ranked Nations League finishers until all play-off places are filled.
Quarter-final ties in the Nations League will be played over two legs in March 2027; winners progress to single-match semi-finals on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 June 2027, with the final scheduled for Sunday, 13 June.
