2020–21 UEFA Nations League A

The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A is the top division of the 2020–21 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the second season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.[1] League A will culminate with the Nations League Finals in October 2021 to determine the champions of the competition.

2020–21 UEFA Nations League A
Tournament details
DatesLeague phase:
3 September – 18 November 2020
Nations League Finals:
6–10 October 2021
Teams16
Relegated Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Iceland
 Sweden
 Ukraine
Tournament statistics
Matches played47
Goals scored129 (2.74 per match)
Attendance62,370 (1,327 per match)
Top scorer(s) Romelu Lukaku (5 goals)

Portugal were the defending champions, but they failed to qualify for the 2021 finals after finishing second in their group behind France.

Format

Following a format change from the first season, League A was expanded from 12 to 16 teams.[2] The league consisted of the top ranked UEFA members from 1–16 in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League overall ranking, split into four groups of four. Each team played six matches within their group, using the home-and-away round-robin format on double matchdays in September, October and November 2020.[3] The winners of each group advanced to the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals, and the fourth-placed team of each group was relegated to the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B.[4]

The Nations League Finals will be played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off, and final. The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw. Host country Italy was selected among the four qualified teams by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the champions of the UEFA Nations League. Though originally planned for 2–6 June 2021, the Nations League Finals were moved to October 2021 following the rescheduling of UEFA Euro 2020 to June and July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6][7]

The four group winners will be drawn into groups of five teams for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (in order to accommodate for the Nations League Finals).

Teams

Team changes

The following were the team changes of League A from the 2018–19 season:

Incoming
Promoted from
Nations League B

The following team changes were initially set to occur in League A, but did not after no teams were relegated due to the format change by UEFA:

Outgoing
Initially relegated to
Nations League B

Seeding

In the 2020–21 access list, UEFA ranked teams based on the 2018–19 Nations League overall ranking, with a slight modification: teams that were originally relegated in the previous season were ranked immediately below teams promoted prior to the format change.[8][9] The seeding pots for the league phase were confirmed 4 December 2019,[10] and were based on the access list ranking.[4][11]

Pot 1
Team Rank
 Portugal (title holders) 1
 Netherlands 2
 England 3
  Switzerland 4
Pot 2
Team Rank
 Belgium 5
 France 6
 Spain 7
 Italy 8
Pot 3
Team Rank
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 9
 Ukraine 10
 Denmark 11
 Sweden 12
Pot 4
Team Rank
 Croatia 13
 Poland 14
 Germany 15
 Iceland 16

The draw for the league phase took place at the Beurs van Berlage Conference Centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 3 March 2020, 18:00 CET.[12][13][14][15] Each group contained one team from each pot.

Groups

The original fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 3 March 2020 following the draw.[16] On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee adjusted the league phase schedule for October and November 2020 to allow for the completion of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs.[17][18] Following the change, a revised schedule for the October and November 2020 fixtures was released by UEFA on 26 June 2020.[19][20]

Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

Group 1
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Italy 6 3 3 0 7 2 +5 12 Qualification to Nations League Finals — 1–1 2–0 1–1
2  Netherlands 6 3 2 1 7 4 +3 11 0–1 — 1–0 3–1
3  Poland 6 2 1 3 6 6 0 7 0–0 1–2 — 3–0
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina (R) 6 0 2 4 3 11 −8 2 Relegation to League B 0–2 0–0 1–2 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated.
Italy 1–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Report
Attendance: 0[21][note 2]
Netherlands 1–0 Poland
 Report
Attendance: 0[24][note 2]
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–2 Poland
 Report
Attendance: 0[25][note 2]
Netherlands 0–1 Italy
Report
Attendance: 0[26][note 2]
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–0 Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 1,600[27]
Poland 0–0 Italy
Report
Attendance: 9,200[28]
Italy 1–1 Netherlands
 Report
Attendance: 623[29]
Poland 3–0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Report
Attendance: 8,152[30]
Netherlands 3–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Report
Attendance: 0[31][note 3]
Italy 2–0 Poland
 Report
Attendance: 0[32][note 3]
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–2 Italy
Report
Attendance: 0[33][note 3]
Poland 1–2 Netherlands
 Report
Attendance: 0[34][note 3]

Group 2
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Belgium 6 5 0 1 16 6 +10 15 Qualification to Nations League Finals — 4–2 2–0 5–1
2  Denmark 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10[lower-alpha 1] 0–2 — 0–0 2–1
3  England 6 3 1 2 7 4 +3 10[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 0–1 — 4–0
4  Iceland (R) 6 0 0 6 3 17 −14 0 Relegation to League B 1–2 0–3 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head points: Denmark 4, England 1.
Iceland 0–1 England
Report
Attendance: 0[35][note 2]
Denmark 0–2 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 0[36][note 2]
Belgium 5–1 Iceland
 Report
Attendance: 0[37][note 2]
Denmark 0–0 England
Report
Attendance: 0[38][note 2]
England 2–1 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 0[39][note 3]
Iceland 0–3 Denmark
Report
Attendance: 60[40]
England 0–1 Denmark
Report
Attendance: 0[41][note 3]
Iceland 1–2 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 60[42]
Belgium 2–0 England
 Report
Attendance: 0[43][note 3]
Denmark 2–1 Iceland
 Report
Attendance: 141[44]
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)
Belgium 4–2 Denmark
 Report
Attendance: 0[45][note 3]
England 4–0 Iceland
 Report
Attendance: 0[46][note 3]
Referee: Fábio Veríssimo (Portugal)

Group 3
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  France 6 5 1 0 12 5 +7 16 Qualification to Nations League Finals — 0–0 4–2 4–2
2  Portugal 6 4 1 1 12 4 +8 13 0–1 — 4–1 3–0
3  Croatia 6 1 0 5 9 16 −7 3[lower-alpha 1] 1–2 2–3 — 2–1
4  Sweden (R) 6 1 0 5 5 13 −8 3[lower-alpha 1] Relegation to League B 0–1 0–2 2–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
Portugal 4–1 Croatia
 Report
Attendance: 0[47][note 2]
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
Sweden 0–1 France
Report
Attendance: 0[48][note 2]
France 4–2 Croatia
 Report
Attendance: 0[49][note 2]
Sweden 0–2 Portugal
Report
Attendance: 0[50][note 2]
Croatia 2–1 Sweden
 Report
Attendance: 2,020[51]
France 0–0 Portugal
Report
Attendance: 1,000[52]
Croatia 1–2 France
 Report
Attendance: 6,266[53]
Portugal 3–0 Sweden
 Report
Attendance: 5,000[54]
Portugal 0–1 France
Report
Attendance: 0[55][note 3]
Sweden 2–1 Croatia
 Report
Attendance: 0[56][note 3]
Croatia 2–3 Portugal
 Report
Attendance: 0[57][note 3]
France 4–2 Sweden
 Report
Attendance: 0[58][note 3]

Group 4
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Spain 6 3 2 1 13 3 +10 11 Qualification to Nations League Finals — 6–0 1–0 4–0
2  Germany 6 2 3 1 10 13 −3 9 1–1 — 3–3 3–1
3   Switzerland 6 1 3 2 9 8 +1 6[lower-alpha 1] 1–1 1–1 — 3–0[lower-alpha 2]
4  Ukraine (R) 6 2 0 4 5 13 −8 6[lower-alpha 1] Relegation to League B 1–0 1–2 2–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: Switzerland +2, Ukraine −2.
  2. The Switzerland v Ukraine match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Switzerland after being cancelled as Ukraine were placed in quarantine prior to the match due to positive SARS-CoV-2 tests in the team.
Germany 1–1 Spain
 Report
Attendance: 0[59][note 2]
Ukraine 2–1  Switzerland
 Report
Attendance: 0[60][note 2]
Spain 4–0 Ukraine
 Report
Attendance: 0[61][note 2]
Switzerland  1–1 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 0[62][note 2]
Spain 1–0  Switzerland
 Report
Attendance: 0[63][note 3]
Ukraine 1–2 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 17,753[64]
Germany 3–3  Switzerland
 Report
Attendance: 0[65][note 3]
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)
Ukraine 1–0 Spain
 Report
Attendance: 10,495[66]
Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland)
Germany 3–1 Ukraine
 Report
Attendance: 0[67][note 3]
Switzerland  1–1 Spain
 Report
Attendance: 0[68][note 3]
Spain 6–0 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 0[69][note 3]
Switzerland  3–0
Awarded[note 4]		 Ukraine
Report

Nations League Finals
Main article: 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals

The host of the Nations League Finals, Italy, was selected from the four qualified teams.[72] The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw on 3 December 2020, 17:30 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. For scheduling purposes, the host team was allocated to semi-final 1 as the administrative home team.[73]

Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA.

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
6 October – Milan
 
 
 Italy
 
10 October – Milan
 
 Spain
 
Winners Match 1
 
7 October – Turin
 
Winners Match 2
 
 Belgium
 
 
 France
 
Third place play-off
 
 
10 October – Turin
 
 
Losers Match 1
 
 
Losers Match 2

Semi-finals
Italy Match 1 Spain
Report
Belgium Match 2 France
Report

Third place play-off
Losers Match 1Match 3Losers Match 2
Report

Final
Winners Match 1Match 4Winners Match 2
Report

Goalscorers

There have been 129 goals scored in 47 matches, for an average of 2.74 goals per match (as of 18 November 2020).

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Overall ranking

The 16 League A teams will be ranked 1st to 16th overall in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League according to the following rules:[4][74]

  • The teams finishing first in the groups will be ranked 1st to 4th according to the results of the Nations League Finals.
  • The teams finishing second in the groups were ranked 5th to 8th according to the results of the league phase.
  • The teams finishing third in the groups were ranked 9th to 12th according to the results of the league phase.
  • The teams finishing fourth in the groups were ranked 13th to 16th according to the results of the league phase.
Rnk Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
TBD A3  France 6 5 1 0 12 5 +7 16
TBD A2  Belgium 6 5 0 1 16 6 +10 15
TBD A1  Italy 6 3 3 0 7 2 +5 12
TBD A4  Spain 6 3 2 1 13 3 +10 11
5 A3  Portugal 6 4 1 1 12 4 +8 13
6 A1  Netherlands 6 3 2 1 7 4 +3 11
7 A2  Denmark 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10
8 A4  Germany 6 2 3 1 10 13 −3 9
9 A2  England 6 3 1 2 7 4 +3 10
10 A1  Poland 6 2 1 3 6 6 0 7
11 A4   Switzerland 6 1 3 2 9 8 +1 6
12 A3  Croatia 6 1 0 5 9 16 −7 3
13 A4  Ukraine 6 2 0 4 5 13 −8 6
14 A3  Sweden 6 1 0 5 5 13 −8 3
15 A1  Bosnia and Herzegovina 6 0 2 4 3 11 −8 2
16 A2  Iceland 6 0 0 6 3 17 −14 0
Updated to match(es) played on 18 November 2020. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Ranking criteria

Notes
  1. CEST (UTC+2) for matchdays 1–4 (September and October 2020), CET (UTC+1) for matchdays 5–6 (November 2020).
  2. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, all matches scheduled for September 2020 were played behind closed doors.[22][23]
  3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the match was played behind closed doors.
  4. The Switzerland v Ukraine match was cancelled and awarded as a 3–0 win to Switzerland after the Ukraine national team were placed in quarantine by the Department of Health of the Canton of Lucerne due to positive SARS-CoV-2 tests in the squad.[70] The Ukrainian Association of Football announced they would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[71]

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