UEFA Nations League trophy Cristiano Ronaldo mixGetty/GOAL
Anselm Noronha

UEFA Nations League tie breakers explained

UEFA Nations League AEnglandSpainItalyFrancePortugalUEFA Nations League BUEFA Nations League CUEFA Nations League DIrelandNorthern IrelandScotlandCroatiaDenmarkBelgiumNorwayPolandSwitzerlandNetherlandsHungaryWalesUkraineAustriaSwedenFinlandBosnia and Herzegovina

What happens in the event two teams or more in a Nations League group are locked on equal points?

The Nations League, just like in every season, is bound to move into the stage where teams vie for promotion and battle against relegation, besides an eventual spot in the final.

As 54 teams are spread across four leagues - Leagues A, B and C have 16 teams with four groups of four each, while League D has the remaining six teams divided into two groups of three teams each. The allocation of the teams is done on the basis of their ranking of the previous edition and that may also play a role in the tie-breakers if required.

All teams play home and away games in the round-robin format to determine their standing in their respective groups in each of the leagues, with teams from Leagues A, B and C playing six games each here, except for League D where teams will play four games in the group stage.

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Among all four leagues, only League A throws an opportunity to land a trophy.

Nations League tie-breakers for groups

If two or more teams in a group are locked on equal points at the end of their group phase games, the following tie-breaking criteria will be decide who moves forward:

  1. The team who has more points in the matches played among themselves;
  2. Better goal difference in the games played among the teams locked on points;
  3. More goals scored in the matches among the teams involved in the tie breaker;
  4. Criteria 1 to 3 reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams still not separated by criteria 1 to 3, to derive their final ranking, failing which criteria 5 to 11 will apply;
  5. Superior goal difference in all group games;
  6. The team that scored more goals in all group games;
  7. Higher number of away goals scored in all group fixtures;
  8. The team with more wins in all group games;
  9. Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
  10. The team with lower disciplinary points in all of the group games (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card).
  11. Position in the Nations League access list.

Read more about the Nations League

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