Why are England playing in League B in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League?

England have established themselves as one of the strongest national teams in world soccer in recent years, which is hardly surprising given they can call upon the likes of Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Phil Foden.

Under the now departed Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions reached the 2018 World Cup semifinal and were runners-up in both the 2020 and 2024 European Championships, losing closely-fought finals to Italy and Spain respectively.

That relative recent success has seen them rise to fourth in the FIFA World Ranking (behind Argentina, France and Spain), which potentially makes it all the more bemusing they aren’t in the top league (League A) in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League.

Why aren’t England in the top league in the UEFA Nations League?

In the UEFA Nations League, teams are split into Leagues A, B, C and D based on their performance in the previous edition of the competition, not on how they have fared in World Cups, European Championships or any other tournament.

In the previous three editions of the UEFA Nations League, England were in the top league, starting the inaugural competition in League A due to their UEFA national team coefficient.

They reached the Finals in 2018/19, finishing third overall, but finished bottom of their League A group in 2022/23, the last edition of the tournament.

England picked up only three points from six games, drawing twice against Germany and once with Italy. They lost twice to Hungary, with the low point undoubtedly a 4-0 home thrashing at the hands of the central European nation in Wolverhampton in June 2022.

As a result of being bottom of their group, they were relegated for the first time to League B, which is where they start the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League.

The Euro 2024 runners-up have been drawn in a group alongside the Republic of Ireland, Finland and Greece, and are firm favourites to finish top and earn promotion back to the top league next time around.