The fourth edition of the Nations League will be drawn in Paris on Thursday. The DFB team could face difficult opponents.
As part of the UEFA Congress in Paris, the groups for the fourth edition of the Nations League will be drawn on Thursday (6 p.m.). 54 of the 55 UEFA member associations are in the pots. Russia is still excluded because of the war of aggression against Ukraine. t-online answers your most important questions.
Which league does Germany play in?
National coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team plays in the top league A. But on Thursday they are only in draw pot three. Group duels with Spain, Italy or the Netherlands are therefore possible. But there could also be a comparatively easy group with Croatia, Denmark and Israel.
What do the individual draw pots for League A look like?
Pot 1: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Netherlands
Pot 2: Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary
Pot 3: Switzerland, GERMANY, Poland, France
Pot 4: Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Scotland
Why is England missing from the top league?
The 1966 world champion was relegated from the third edition as bottom of the group behind Italy, Hungary and Germany.
How important is the Nations League for the DFB?
Not a big one at first. Nagelsmann, sports director Rudi Völler and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf are on site in the French capital, but the full focus is on the home European Championship. Völler will quit after that anyway, and Nagelsmann’s contract only runs until the end of the European Championship.
When do the Nations League games take place?
The matches start after the European Championships in September. The remaining match days in the group phase will take place in October and November. The newly created quarter-finals of the A-League will take place in March 2025, the Final Four tournament will take place in June next year.
What influence does the Nations League have on qualification for the 2026 World Cup?
UEFA has a total of 16 starting places available for the finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The twelve group winners of the European World Cup qualification (starting in March 2025) are qualified directly. The playoffs are about the remaining four starting places. The second-placed teams in the qualifying groups play there. These twelve nations are joined by the four best group winners in the Nations League who did not make it into the top two in their qualifying groups. The playoffs consist of two knockout rounds, at the end of which four World Cup tickets are awarded.
Where will the Nations League be broadcast?
RTL shows half of the German games, the others are split between ARD and ZDF. RTL will also broadcast all games in the final round (from the quarter-finals onwards) without German participation. Group games without the DFB team are on DAZN.