Nations League draw: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland discover opponents

Time for the Nations League draw with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland discovering who their opponents will be.

It was made from 5pm, all 55 European countries involved and each team will play four group games between the 2nd and 14th of June, then a final two games from 22-27 September 2022.

The four group winners from League A (the top division) will play in the finals in June 2023 while the teams who win each group in the lower three divisions win promotion, with most of the teams who finish bottom getting relegated.

The only two winners we have had of the Nations League since it’s creation are Portugal and France.

Who could the home nations face?

Wales were promoted to League A last campaign and have a one in four chance of facing England.

There are four teams in each group – one from each pot (based on teams’ 2020-21 finishes) – playing each other home and away.

England (pot 3) and Wales (pot 4) will end up in a group with France, Spain, Italy or Belgium and Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark or Germany.

Scotland are in League B, where the Republic of Ireland are among their potential opponents, as are Euro 2020 quarter-finalists Ukraine.

Northern Ireland, relegated last time, are a top seed in League C. The four teams who finish bottom in that division will play off for two relegation places, with only seven teams (including San Marino and Andorra) in League D.

League A
Pot 1: France, Spain, Italy, Belgium
Pot 2: Portugal, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany
Pot 3: England, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia
Pot 4: Wales, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary

League B
Pot 1: Ukraine, Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland
Pot 2: Finland, Norway, Scotland, Russia
Pot 3: Israel, Romania, Serbia, Republic of Ireland
Pot 4: Slovenia, Montenegro, Albania, Armenia

League C
Pot 1: Turkey, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland
Pot 2: Greece, Belarus, Luxembourg, North Macedonia
Pot 3: Lithuania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kosovo
Pot 4: Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, tbc, tbc*

League D
Pot 1: Liechtenstein, Malta, tbc, tbc*
Pot 2: Latvia, San Marino, Andorra

*Kazakhstan play Moldova and Cyprus play Estonia in March 2022 play-offs. The winners will be in League C and the losers in League D

As of writing this, UEFA have not decided if there will be major tournament play-off spots up for grabs. That should be announced by June 2022 when the Euro 2024 qualification format is finalised.

The first edition of the Nations League, in 2018-19, produced all 16 play-off teams for Euro 2020, with Scotland one of four teams progressing to the tournament.

The 2020-21 Nations League provided two teams for the 12-team World Cup qualifying play-offs, which take place in early 2022.

👇 NATIONS LEAGUE DRAW: 👇

It was three weeks ago that England manager Gareth Southgate signed a new contract through to December 2024.

Southgate said: “It remains an incredible privilege to lead this team. We have a great opportunity in front of us.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the players and support team for their hard work.

“I know they and the fans are all excited about what this squad could achieve in future.”

SOUTHGATE’S CAREER:

Middlesbrough – 7 June 2006 until 21 October 2009 – 151 games, 45 won, 43 drew, 63 lost, 29.8 win %
England U21 – 22 August 2013 until 27 September 2016 – 37 games, 27 won, 5 drew, 5 lost, 73.0 win %
England – 27 September 2016 until Present – 68 games, 44 won, 14 drew, 10 lost, 64.7 win %
Total – 256 games, 116 won, 62 drew, 78 lost, 45.3 win %

HONOURS:

Player

Crystal Palace
Football League First Division: 1993–94

Aston Villa
Football League Cup: 1995–96

Middlesbrough
Football League Cup: 2003–04
UEFA Cup runner-up: 2005–06

Individual
Premier League Player of the Month: January 2000

Manager

England
UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2020
UEFA Nations League third place: 2018-19

England U21
Toulon Tournament: 2016

Individual
Premier League Manager of the Month: August 2008
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2018
FWA Tribute Award: 2019
Sky Sports/Kick It Out Award for Equality & Diversity at British Sports Awards: 2021

Orders
Officer of the Order of the British Empire: 2019
Freedom of the Borough of Middlesbrough: 28 July 2021