Mark your calendars: These are the UEFA Nations League group stage matchday 1 games

The 2026 World Cup may still be fresh in the memory and club soccer has yet to fully get back up and running, but the international game will be back before you know it.

FIFA’s next international break runs from September 21 to October 6, and in Europe, that means the return of everyone’s favorite new competition, the UEFA Nations League.

For many countries away from the spotlight, the Nations League has been genuinely revolutionary, offering realistic chances to qualify for major tournaments for some and opportunities to record rare victories for others.

Certain bigger nations, all but guaranteed to reach World Cups and European Championships through “regular” qualification, still appear unsure of how seriously to take the Nations League, which was introduced to reduce the number of meaningless international friendlies.

However, that tends to change if and when they reach the Finals.

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League is a tournament in its own right, although it is usually linked to World Cup or European Championship qualifying, depending on the edition.

UEFA has not yet confirmed how the Nations League will work for qualification for Euro 2028, which will be held in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. However, it is expected that the best-performing teams in the 2026-27 Nations League who do not qualify through the regular process will be given an additional chance to reach the tournament through a playoff.

2026/27 UEFA Nations League: How it works

Fifty-four teams (Russia remain suspended due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine) are split into Leagues A, B, C and D.

Generally, Europe’s strongest teams compete in League A, while the continent’s lower-ranked nations go head to head in League D. However, the exact makeup of each league depends partly on performance in the previous edition of the Nations League.

Leagues A, B and C all contain 16 teams, divided into four groups of four, while League D has six teams, split into two groups of three. In each group, teams face each other twice, once at home and once away.

In League A, the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage, which begins with two-legged quarterfinals.

The four winners progress to the Nations League Finals, which consist of single-leg semifinals and a one-off final played in one host country, which has yet to be decided.

The countries that finish bottom of their groups in Leagues A and B are relegated to the league below for the next edition of the Nations League.

The two worst fourth-placed teams in League C are also relegated to League D, while the other two fourth-placed teams face a playoff against the two second-placed teams from League D.

The winners of each group in Leagues B, C and D are promoted to the league above for the next edition of the Nations League.

Additionally, the third-placed teams in Leagues A and B take on the second-placed teams in Leagues B and C respectively in promotion/relegation playoffs.

2026-27 UEFA Nations League: September and October 2026 schedule

Matchday 1

Thursday, September 24

• D1 Andorra vs Malta (18:00)
• A2 Netherlands vs Germany
• A2 Serbia vs Greece
• A4 Norway vs Denmark
• A4 Portugal vs Wales
• B3 Austria vs Israel
• B3 Kosovo vs Republic of Ireland
• D2 Liechtenstein vs Lithuania

Friday, September 25

• B2 Georgia vs Northern Ireland (18:00)
• C2 Armenia vs Latvia (18:00)
• A1 Italy vs Belgium
• A1 Türkiye vs France
• B2 Hungary vs Ukraine
• B4 Poland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
• B4 Sweden vs Romania
• C2 Montenegro vs Cyprus

Saturday, September 26

• B1 Slovenia vs Scotland (15:00)
• C1 San Marino vs Finland (18:00)
• C3 Faroe Islands vs Kazakhstan (18:00)
• C4 Bulgaria vs Luxembourg (18:00)
• C4 Iceland vs Estonia (18:00)
• A3 Czechia vs Croatia
• A3 England vs Spain
• B1 North Macedonia vs Switzerland
• C1 Albania vs Belarus
• C3 Slovakia vs Moldova

Because of a change in the length of FIFA windows, countries will now play four games during the first international break of the season between September 21 and October 6.

In Europe, all of those matches will be UEFA Nations League fixtures, meaning Matchdays 2, 3 and 4 will follow immediately after Matchday 1.

Matchday 2

Sunday, September 27

• D2 Lithuania vs Azerbaijan (9:00am ET)
• A2 Serbia vs Netherlands (12:00pm ET)
• A4 Denmark vs Wales (12:00pm ET)
• B3 Austria vs Kosovo (12:00pm ET)
• D1 Gibraltar vs Andorra (12:00pm ET)
• A2 Germany vs Greece
• A4 Norway vs Portugal
• B3 Israel vs Republic of Ireland

Monday, September 28

• B2 Georgia vs Ukraine (12:00pm ET)
• C2 Armenia vs Montenegro (12:00pm ET)
• C2 Latvia vs Cyprus (12:00pm ET)
• A1 Türkiye vs Italy
• B2 Northern Ireland vs Hungary
• B4 Romania vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
• B4 Sweden vs Poland

Tuesday, September 29

• C1 Finland vs Belarus (12:00pm ET)
• C3 Moldova vs Faroe Islands (12:00pm ET)
• A3 Czechia vs England
• A3 Spain vs Croatia
• B1 Scotland vs Switzerland
• B1 Slovenia vs North Macedonia
• C1 San Marino vs Albania
• C3 Slovakia vs Kazakhstan
• C4 Bulgaria vs Estonia
• C4 Luxembourg vs Iceland

Matchday 3

Thursday, October 1

• D2 Azerbaijan vs Liechtenstein (12:00pm ET)
• A2 Germany vs Serbia
• A2 Greece vs Netherlands
• A4 Denmark vs Portugal
• A4 Wales vs Norway
• B3 Israel vs Kosovo
• B3 Republic of Ireland vs Austria
• D1 Malta vs Gibraltar

Friday, October 2

• C3 Kazakhstan vs Moldova (10:00am ET)
• C2 Cyprus vs Armenia (12:00pm ET)
• C2 Latvia vs Montenegro (12:00pm ET)
• A1 Belgium vs Türkiye
• A1 France vs Italy
• B2 Hungary vs Georgia
• B2 Ukraine vs Northern Ireland
• B4 Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Sweden
• B4 Poland vs Romania
• C3 Faroe Islands vs Slovakia

Saturday, October 3

• C1 Finland vs Albania (9:00am ET)
• A3 Croatia vs England (12:00pm ET)
• C1 Belarus vs San Marino (12:00pm ET)
• C4 Estonia vs Luxembourg (12:00pm ET)
• C4 Iceland vs Bulgaria (12:00pm ET)
• A3 Spain vs Czechia
• B1 North Macedonia vs Scotland
• B1 Switzerland vs Slovenia

Matchday 4

Sunday, October 4

• D2 Azerbaijan vs Lithuania (9:00am ET)
• B3 Kosovo vs Austria (12:00pm ET)
• D1 Malta vs Andorra (12:00pm ET)
• A2 Greece vs Germany
• A2 Netherlands vs Serbia
• A4 Portugal vs Norway
• A4 Wales vs Denmark
• B3 Republic of Ireland vs Israel

Monday, October 5

• C2 Cyprus vs Latvia (12:00pm ET)
• A1 France vs Belgium
• A1 Italy vs Türkiye
• B2 Northern Ireland vs Georgia
• B2 Ukraine vs Hungary
• B4 Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Poland
• B4 Romania vs Sweden
• C2 Montenegro vs Armenia

Tuesday, October 6

• C3 Kazakhstan vs Faroe Islands (10:00am ET)
• A3 Croatia vs Spain
• A3 England vs Czechia
• B1 Scotland vs Slovenia
• B1 Switzerland vs North Macedonia
• C1 Albania vs San Marino
• C1 Belarus vs Finland
• C3 Moldova vs Slovakia
• C4 Estonia vs Iceland
• C4 Luxembourg vs Bulgaria

Don’t get too used to the Premier League, Champions League, LaLiga and the rest. Another feast of international soccer is on its way!

Full 2026-27 UEFA Nations League schedule: key dates

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