UEFA Nations League Playoffs Previews
March 2025 will see the culmination of the biannual UEFA Nations League, as well as the start of World Cup Qualifying for a number of teams across Europe.
Let’s now take a closer look at the key UEFA Nations League games coming up over the next week or so that will decide how the tournament will look from 2026-27 and who will be crowned the next champions after Portugal, France and Spain claimed the first three in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Nations League – Promotion/Relegation Playoffs
In these playoffs, the team finishing third in the higher league plays their first leg away to the team that finished second in the lower league. The second leg sees the reverse fixture with the top league team at home. All fixtures shown below will be played on the 20th and 23rd March.
The winner over the two legs takes part in the top league for the 2026-27 Nations League, while the loser takes place in the lower of the two leagues in that tournament.
League A vs League B
20th March
- Turkey v Hungary
- Ukraine v Belgium
- Austria v Serbia
- Greece v Scotland
23rd March
- Hungary v Turkey
- Belgium v Ukraine
- Serbia v Austria
- Scotland v Greece
League B vs League C
20th March
- Kosovo v Iceland
- Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland
- Armenia v Georgia
- Slovakia v Slovenia
23rd March
- Iceland v Kosovo
- Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria
- Georgia v Armenia
- Slovenia v Slovakia
*League C vs League D playoffs will not be played until March 2026.
Nations League – Quarterfinals
Eight teams have qualified for the quarterfinals of the Nations League, which will be contested over two legs on the 20th and 23rd March. The winner of each of the quarterfinals over two legs progresses into the Finals tournament, which will be held in either Italy (Turin) or Germany (Munich & Stuttgart) in early June this year.
The Finals Tournament will see two semifinals contested over one leg, followed by a third-place match and a final on the 4th (first semifinal), 5th (second semifinal) and 8th (3rd place match & Final) of June.
Nations League Quarterfinals
1st Leg – 20th March
- Netherlands v Spain
- Croatia v France
- Denmark v Portugal
- Italy v Germany*
2nd Leg – 23rd March
- Spain v Netherlands
- France v Croatia
- Portugal v Denmark
- Germany v Italy*
*The winner of the Germany v Italy quarterfinal will be the host for the Finals tournament in June.
Quarterfinals Previews
Netherlands v Spain
The current European Champions Spain are the favourites against a tricky Netherlands side. The Dutch have lost just once in the last eight games against Spain, the 2010 World Cup Final, winning five and drawing two. However, over two legs, expect Spain to do enough to come out on top.
Croatia v France
The most famous meeting between these two teams came in the 2018 World Cup Final, with France winning 4-2. The French have won six of the ten games between the two, drawing three, but Croatia’s sole win was in the last match between the two, a 1-0 win back in 2022. Over two legs though, a youthful French side should emerge victorious.
Denmark v Portugal
Portugal have won 11 of the 16 matches they have played against Denmark, including all of the last three. This promises to be the tightest contest in the quarterfinals with both teams solid defensively and it may be the case that a single goal could be enough to win the tie. We’re backing Portugal to do just enough to claim the win.
Italy v Germany
These two teams have a long history, and it is Italy that has the better of the meetings between the two, winning 15 to Germany’s 10 with 12 games drawn. One of those matches was in a World Cup Final, a 3-1 win for Italy in 1982 but they have also played out numerous exciting clashes before and after. The winner gets to host the Finals tournament in June and we’re backing Germany to continue their good recent form over Italy.
