UEFA Nations League draw: Portugal to face France; Spain, Germany grouped together

Defending champion Portugal will face France, while Spain and Germany have been pooled together in the UEFA Nations League 2020-21 draw.

Defending champion Portugal will face France while Spain and Germany are set to clash in the UEFA Nations League 2020-21.

France and Croatia will play out a repeat of their World Cup final having been drawn in the same group in the 2020-21 Nations League with defending champions Portugal, while Germany and Spain will go head-to-head.

Fernando Santos' side won the inaugural competition last year, beating Netherlands 1-0 in the final thanks to Goncalo Guedes, though Group 3 looks set to significantly test the side's mettle this time around – Sweden also joining the nation with Croatia and France.

Change in format

The format of the competition changes slightly this time around, with the groups containing four teams rather than three, but as before the top team from each of the four groups in League A will meet in the Nations League finals.

Italy will fancy its chances of reaching the final stages having been drawn with Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Netherlands, the latter likely its biggest challenger.

In Group 4, Germany and Spain will be the favourites ahead of Ukraine and Switzerland, while England and Belgium are in Group 2 with Iceland and Denmark.

Here are the full groupings:

LEAGUE A

Group A1: Netherlands, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland

Group A2: England, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland

Group A3: Portugal, France, Sweden, Croatia

Group A4: Switzerland, Spain, Ukraine, Germany
 

LEAGUE B

Group B1: Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland, Romania

Group B2: Czech Republic, Scotland, Slovakia, Israel

Group B3: Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary

Group B4: Wales, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Bulgaria

Portugal beat Nertherlands won the inaugural edition of the tournament last year.

 

LEAGUE C

Group C1: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Montenegro

Group C2: Armenia, Estonia, North Macedonia, Georgia

Group C3: Moldova, Slovenia, Kosovo, Greece

Group C4: Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Belarus, Albania
 

LEAGUE D

Group D1: Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra, Malta

Group D2: Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino
 

DATES

Matchday 1: September 3-5, 2020

Matchday 2: September 6-8, 2020

Matchday 3: October 8-10, 2020

Matchday 4: October 11-13, 2020

Matchday 5: November 12-14, 2020

Matchday 6: November 15-17, 2020

Finals : June 2, 3, 6, 2021