https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020–21_UEFA_Nations_League The formula could be revised for the NL's 2nd season. Instead of 4 groups of 3 teams UEFA might opt for 4 teams in each League A group. In that case the 4 relegated teams stay up and we'll be joined by Ukraine, Bosnia, Sweden and Denmark from League B. Still rules should never be changed mid-game. Let's see if UEFA is a bit too eager to help out Germany or waits until the 3rd season. The League Stage will be drawn around late Jan. - early Feb. 2020. "As of the second edition, the composition of the four leagues will change on the basis of promotion and relegation based on the league rankings of the previous edition." - UEFA Even though it doesn't mention seeding it would be better to use the ranking from the previous edition: *these 4 promoted League B teams will either replace the 4 relegated League A ones or they'll simply be added in case UEFA change the rules. Pot 2 is a nice one to be in yet we could end up in a somewhat worse pot if UEFA go with another ranking (they should have decided this already). Possibly seeding could be based on the 2020 ECQs ranking, the most recent one. On 30 Nov. this ranking will be used in the final EURO2020 draw (together with the NL ranking for the play-offs). Also, the NL's 2nd season will probably be linked to the Qatar2022 WCQs. Around 24 Sep. UEFA expects to finalize its World Cup qualifying format. The winners of the 10 WCQ groups will qualify directly and runners-up enter the play-offs. A possible option is to add 2 teams based on their NL performance to the play-offs. So the 3 remaining Qatar2022 tickets would be contested by 12 teams (10 runners-up + 2 teams from the NL), 4 teams in each of the 3 play-off paths with semis and finals both being one-legged affairs.
https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFile.../Regulations/02/62/75/85/2627585_DOWNLOAD.pdf What was rumoured in my previous post is basically how it turned out. It looks like seeding will happen as the pic suggests (with the promoted teams in pot 3 and the bottom pot containing the relegated teams). Pot 2 is a nice one to be in, as I said before, and that's the one we'll get. The draw for the league phase will take place on 3 March 2020.
England and Denmark were the toughest opponents we could draw from those pots. Sounds like our journos also wanted Belgium to face Germany from the bottom pot. Just stop it. Although it would have been a mouthwatering prospect to see Belgium in a group with Holland, Denmark and Germany for example. Fixtures 5 Sep. Denmark vs Belgium 8 Sep. Belgium vs Iceland 9 Oct. England vs Belgium 12 Oct. Iceland vs Belgium 12 Nov. Belgium vs England 15 Nov. Belgium vs Denmark England's schedule is as good as it gets, especially if Iceland can't avoid relegation by the final matchday. Unlike the previous edition teams that come bottom will be relegated (but who knows maybe they'll change the rules again). This time round only two group winners get a second chance (now in the WCQs for Qatar). Still the NL's overall ranking could also be important for the runners-up (in the regular WCQs). Yet we don't know if the NL's overall ranking will be used to form the three WCQ play-off paths. I guess FIFA will want their ranking to be used instead though. So the NL overall ranking basically will be useless for League A winners (very much doubt 3 or 4 group winners will fail to come 1st or 2nd in the regular WCQs). Germany and Iceland were the two lowest ranked League A teams in the 2019 NL ranking and were dropped into pot 2 for the subsequent ECQ draw. Yet to seed the 2022 WCQs I expect FIFA will demand that their November 2020 ranking will be used instead, again making the 2021 NL ranking useless. In that case we're left with the seeding of the 2022/23 NL League phase when the 2021 NL ranking won't be completely useless (only your position in the group matters though). Overall ranking* *Improving your FIFA ranking in the NL games is more important than the 2021 NL overall ranking.
The winner of the group containing Italy, Holland, Poland and Bosnia will host the Final Four in October 2021. Semis on the 6th and the 7th. Final and 3rd place play-off on the 10th. I prefer Holland to host but Italy look strong and they took 3 points home from their NL game in Amsterdam. Next month Belgium can already advance to the Final Four if these three results materialize: - win against England (away) - win against Iceland (away) - England v. Denmark ends in a draw (or a win for Denmark if they dropped points in Iceland)
Won our group ✓ League A top scorer: Lukaku ✓ Most goals scored (in League A) ✓ Best goal difference (in League A) ✓ Win the Final 4 and top the overall ranking 10/10/2021