England to face Spain and Croatia in Nations League

Spain beat England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final

England will face Spain, Croatia and the Czech Republic in the 2026-27 Uefa Nations League group stage, while Wales are in the same group as champions Portugal.

England and Wales, who will also play Denmark and Norway in a bid to qualify for the knockout stages, both secured promotion to League A in the 2024-2025 competition.

Scotland, who will compete at their first World Cup since 1998 this summer, will meet Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia in their League B group.

Also in League B, Northern Ireland will play Hungary, Ukraine and Georgia, while the Republic of Ireland face Israel, Austria and Kosovo.

The fifth edition of the Uefa Nations League will take place between September 2026 and June 2027.

The competition features four groups each containing four teams in Leagues A, B and C, and two groups of three teams in League D.

Portugal beat neighbours Spain in a penalty shootout to win their second Nations League trophy last summer.

England, runners-up to Spain at Euro 2024, topped their group when they were drawn alongside Spain and Croatia in the 2018-19 Nations League.

The draw took place on the same day that Thomas Tuchel extended his contract as England manager through to Euro 2028.

German Tuchel, tasked with leading the Three Lions to World Cup glory this summer, told BBC Sport: "You need to forgive me if I am not fully focused on the Nations League.

"It seems like a difficult group. It's Croatia again, Spain - we need to figure out after the World Cup how we approach this period."

Uefa Nations League 2026-27 draw in full

League A

Group A1: France, Italy, Belgium, Turkey

Group A2: Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Greece

Group A3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czech Republic

Group A4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales

League B

Group B1: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia

Group B2: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Northern Ireland

Group B3: Israel, Austria, Republic of Ireland, Kosovo

Group B4: Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden

League C

Group C1: Albania, Finland, Belarus, San Marino

Group C2: Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus, Gibraltar/Latvia*

Group C3: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova

Group C4: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembourg/Malta*

League D

Group D1: Gibraltar/Latvia, Luxembourg/Malta, Andorra

Group D2: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein

*Gibraltar and Latvia, and Luxembourg and Malta, will contest play-offs in March to determine who will play in Leagues C and D.

Republic of Ireland will play Israel games

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed the Republic of Ireland "will fulfil" their Nations League fixtures against Israel after they were drawn together in Group B3.

In November, the FAI approved a motion to call on Uefa to ban Israel from European club and international competitions for "violating two independent provisions of the Uefa statutes".

The "violations" cited were the "organisation of clubs in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association" and a "failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy".

Following Thursday's draw, the FAI said: "While consultation has taken place with Uefa officials, the association does recognise that Uefa regulations outline that if an association refuses to play a match then that fixture will be forfeited and further disciplinary measures may follow - including potential disqualification from the competition."

How does the Nations League work?

The draw for the 2026-27 Uefa Nations League took place in Belgium on Thursday

Each team in the Nations League will face every other team in their group twice, once at home and once away, between September and November 2026.

The top two teams from each group in League A progress to the quarter-finals, held in March 2027, before the semi-finals and final take place in June to determine the overall Nations League winner.

Each group winner in Leagues B, C and D will be promoted one league, while the teams finishing bottom of their groups in Leagues A, B and C will be relegated to the next level.

The teams finishing second in Leagues B, C and D will enter play-offs against teams that finish third in Leagues A, B and C in relegation play-offs.

As an extra incentive, the best-performing teams in the Nations League that do not directly qualify for the 2028 European Championships will enter into play-offs to earn the final spots at that tournament.