After 2024, a new knockout phase will be added to the Nations League, informed UEFA. Following a meeting of the UEFA executive committee in Nyon, Switzerland, the news was made.
The knockout round will be played in March in accordance with the new structure to establish consistency between the group phase, which ends in November, and the Finals, which take place in June. The League A group winners and runners-up will compete in quarterfinals with a home-and-away format, with the winners moving on to the final four.
A home-and-away promotion and relegation playoff will be played between the third-placed League A team and the League B runners-up, as well as between the third-placed League B team and the League C runners-up.
The new knockout phase of the competition, according to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, will provide teams a better chance to advance.
Teams will have even more chances to advance by adding the new knockout phase while maintaining the same number of games in the international match schedule, said Ceferin.
Another adjustment is the consolidation of the European qualifying for the World Cup and European Championship into 12 groups of four and five teams.
Ceferin clarified the European qualifying rounds as well, stating that the new model will provide every country an equal chance to advance to important competitions like the World Cup and the European Championships.
With a brand-new framework that would provide all the teams an equal chance to qualify for big tournaments, Ceferin continued, ‘the predictability of the European qualifiers has also been addressed and tackled.’
According to a statement from UEFA, the revised forms for these events will take effect in September 2024.
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