UEFA has decided to modify the national team calendar starting from the 2028-2029 season, that is, at the end of the Euro Cup, in a new and revolutionary model that will resemble the current Champions League. That is, the qualifying phases for the Nations League and for World Cups and Euro Cups will be played in longer single groups with only one match against an opponent, either away or at home, not two as has been the case for a long time in the group stage.
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From now on, the Nations League will go from the current four leagues to only three with a total of 18 teams. Each league will be made up of three groups of six teams playing six matches against five different opponents: at home or away against teams from different pots, and home and away against the opponent from their same pot. With 55 teams participating, League C will include a group of 7 teams, whose schedule will start one window earlier. The quarter-finals, the Final Four, and the Promotion/Relegation Playoffs will complete the format without changes.
The European qualifiers for World Cups will also adopt a divisional structure: League 1, composed of the 36 teams from Nations Leagues A and B, and League 2 made up of the remaining 18 (or 19) teams from the Nations. In League 1 there will be three groups of 12 teams drawn from three pots of 12 teams. Each team will play six home or away matches against six different opponents, two per pot, similarly to the format of UEFA club competitions. League 2 will be organized exactly like Nations League C with three groups of 6 (or one of 7).
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Teams will face a different opponent at home and away
The highest-ranked teams from each group in League 1 will qualify directly, while the remaining spots will be assigned through a Play-Off system, which will also guarantee qualification opportunities for teams from League 2.
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