2018–19 UEFA Nations League

The format and schedule of the UEFA Nations League was formally approved by the UEFA Executive Committee on 4 December 2014. According to the approved format, the 55 UEFA national teams were divided into four divisions (called "leagues"): Each league was divided into four groups of three or four teams, so each team played four or six matches within their group (using the home-and-away round-robin format), on double matchdays in September, October and November 2018. In the top division, League A, teams competed to become the UEFA Nations League champions. The four group winners of League A qualified for the Nations League Finals in June 2019, which was played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off, and final. The semi-final pairings, along with the administrative home teams for the third place play-off and final, were determined by means of an open draw on 3 December 2018. Host country Portugal was selected among the four qualified teams on 3 December 2018 by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the Nations League champions. Teams also competed for promotion and relegation to a higher or lower league. In each league, the four group winners (except League A) were promoted, while the last-placed teams of each group (except League D) were initially to be relegated; the exception was in League C, where due to different-sized groups, the three fourth-placed teams and the lowest-ranking third-placed team were initially to be relegated. However, due to a revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and some second-placed and third-placed teams were also promoted. ==Tiebreakers==

Tiebreakers for group ranking If two or more teams in the same group were equal on points on completion of the league phase, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied: Each play-off path featured two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final. The best-ranked team hosted the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team hosted the third-ranked team. The host of the final was decided by a draw, with semi-final winner 1 or 2 hosting the final. The four play-off path winners joined the 20 teams which had already qualified for UEFA Euro 2020. ==Schedule==

Below was the schedule of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. ==Seeding==

All 55 UEFA national teams were eligible to compete in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. The 55 members at the time were divided into the four "Leagues" (12 teams in League A, 12 teams in League B, 15 teams in League C, and 16 teams in League D) according to their UEFA national team coefficients after the conclusion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (not including the play-offs), with the highest-ranked teams playing in League A, etc. The seeding pots for the draw were announced on 7 December 2017. The draw for the league phase took place at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 January 2018, 12:00 CET. For political reasons, Armenia and Azerbaijan (due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict), as well as Russia and Ukraine (due to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine), could not be drawn in the same group. Due to winter venue restrictions, a group could contain a maximum of two of the following teams: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania. Due to excessive travel restrictions, only one of Andorra, Faroe Islands, or Gibraltar could be drawn with Kazakhstan, while Gibraltar could not be with Azerbaijan if they had Kazakhstan. ==League A==

Group A1 Group A2 Group A3 Group A4 Nations League Finals Bracket Semi-finals ---- Third-place play-off Final Top goalscorers ==League B==

Group B1 Group B2 Group B3 Group B4 Top goalscorers ==League C==

Group C1 Group C2 Group C3 Group C4 Top goalscorers ==League D==

Group D1 Group D2 Group D3 Group D4 Ranking of third-placed teams Top goalscorers ==Overall ranking==

The overall ranking after the league phase was used for seeding in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying group stage draw. ==Prize money==

The prize money to be distributed was announced in March 2018, with a total of €76.25 million in solidarity and bonus fees due to be distributed to the 55 participating national teams. However, in October 2018, the solidarity fees and bonus payments for group winners were increased by 50%, while the bonuses for the teams appearing in the Nations League Finals also increased, resulting in a total of €112.875 million in prize money. The solidarity fees per team were scaled by league: • League A: €2.25 million • League B: €1.5 million • League C: €1.125 million • League D: €750,000 In addition, the group winners of each league received the following bonus fees: • League A group winners: €2.25 million • League B group winners: €1.5 million • League C group winners: €1.125 million • League D group winners: €750,000 The four group winners of League A, which participated in the Nations League Finals, also received the following bonus fees based on performance: • Winners: €6 million • Runners-up: €4.5 million • Third place: €3.5 million • Fourth place: €2.5 million This meant that the maximum amount of solidarity and bonus fees was €10.5 million for a team from League A, €3 million for a team from League B, €2.25 million for a team from League C, and €1.5 million for a team from League D. ==Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs==

Teams who failed in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying group stage could still qualify for the final tournament via the play-offs. Each league in the UEFA Nations League was allocated one of the four remaining UEFA Euro 2020 places. Four teams from each league who had not already qualified for the European Championship finals competed in the play-offs of their league, which were played in October and November 2020. The play-off berths were first allocated to each group winner, and if any of the group winners had already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best ranked team of the league, etc. ==Notes==