Our Top Tips for the Brand New UEFA Nations League Tournament

This week the UEFA Nations League gets underway. The first event of its kind and the first new international team tournament in Europe since the start of the European Championships back in the 1960s.

Let’s now take a look at how the new tournament will shape up, together with some of the big tips for the games coming up this week, each of the individual groups and who will win the tournament outright in June next year.

How will the UEFA Nations League work?

The UEFA Nations League sees the 55-member nations in UEFA split into four leagues, initially based on their FIFA co-efficient ranking. League A (12 teams) has the top 12 teams, League B (12 teams) the teams ranked 13^th to 24^th, League C (15 teams) the teams ranked 25^th to 39^th and League D (16 teams) the teams ranked 40^th to 55^th.

Once placed into their respective League, the teams were then drawn into four groups of four within each league as follows:

UEFA Nations League Draws

League A

• Group 1 – Germany, France, the Netherlands
• Group 2 – Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland
• Group 3 – Portugal, Italy, Poland
• Group 4 – Spain, England, Croatia

League B

• Group 1 – Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic
• Group 2 – Russia, Sweden, Turkey
• Group 3 – Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland
• Group 4 – Wales, Republic of Ireland, Denmark

League C

• Group 1 – Scotland, Albania, Israel
• Group 2 – Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia
• Group 3 – Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus
• Group 4 – Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania

League D

• Group 1 – Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Andorra
• Group 2 – Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino
• Group 3 – Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo
• Group 4 – Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar

The teams then play the other teams in their Group twice between September 2019 and November 2019. The winner of the Group goes on to the playoffs which take place in June 2019. The team finishing bottom of each group in League A, B and C are relegated into the League below for the next UEFA Nations League tournament. The teams finishing top of their group in Leagues B, C and D are promoted to the League above for the next tournament.

Each League will also have its own playoffs in June 2019. This will comprise of two two-legged semifinals and then a final. The winner of that final will then qualify for Euro 2020, with the winner of League A’s playoffs being declared the first UEFA Nations League winner.

The next Nations League tournament will then begin with the promotions and relegations from the previous tournament implemented, plus new groups for each of the League’s drawn, from September 2020.

This Weeks Fixtures

The first set of UEFA Nations League fixtures will take place from Thursday 6^th to Saturday 8^th September this week. Outlined below are these games together with odds for the Full Time Result market with bet365 Sport.

*Odds are correct as of 14.20pm GMT on Monday 3^rd September 2018

Our tips for each of the games is outlined below:

Thursday 6^th September

• Kazakhstan v Georgia – Draw
• Czech Republic v Ukraine – Home Win
• Germany v France – Draw
• Latvia v Andorra – Home Win
• Norway v Cyprus – Home Win
• Slovenia v Bulgaria – Home Win
• Wales v Republic of Ireland – Draw

Friday 7^th September

• Azerbaijan v Kosovo – Draw
• Albania v Israel – Home Win
• Faroe Islands v Malta – Draw
• Italy v Poland – Home Win
• Lithunia v Serbia – Away Win
• Romania v Montenegro – Home Win
• Turkey v Russia – Home Win

Saturday 8^th September

• Northern Ireland v Bosnia Herzegovina – Away Win
• Finland v Hungary – Away Win
• Switzerland v Iceland – Draw
• England v Spain – Draw
• Estonia v Greece – Away Win
• Luxumbourg v Moldova – Draw

Who will win each Group?

With bet365 Sport, you can also bet on which of the teams will win each of the four groups within each league. We have outlined the different options available below (odds correct as of Monday 3^rd September 2018) together with our pick for each group in BOLD.

League A – Group 1

• Germany – 6/5
• France – 10/11
• Holland – 8/1

League A – Group 2

• Belgium – 2/5
• Switzerland – 11/4
• Iceland – 8/1

League A – Group 3

• Italy – Evens
• Portugal – 7/4
• Poland – 10/3

League A – Group 4

• Spain – 4/5
• England – 5/2
• Croatia – 3/1

League B – Group 1

• Ukraine – 13/8
• Slovakia – 7/4
• Czech Republic – 15/8

League B – Group 2

• Russia – 13/8
• Sweden – 13/8
• Turkey – 19/10

League B – Group 3

• Bosnia-Herzegovina – 6/5
• Austria – 11/8
• Northern Ireland – 7/2

League B – Group 4 (Odds provided by BetVictor for Group 4)

• Denmark – 5/6
• Wales – 5/2
• Republic of Ireland – 5/2

League C – Group 1

• Scotland – 13/8
• Isreal – 7/4
• Albania 15/8

League C – Group 2

• Greece – 5/4
• Hungary – 2/1
• Finland – 7/2
• Estonia – 9/1

League C – Group 3

• Bulgaria – 2/1
• Norway – 2/1
• Slovenia – 2/1
• Cyprus – 8/1

League C – Group 4

• Serbia – 10/11
• Romania – 5/2
• Montenegro – 10/3
• Lithuania – 16/1

League D – Group 1

• Georgia – 4/6
• Kazakhstan – 11/4
• Latvia – 4/1
• Andorra – 40/1

League D – Group 2

• Belarus – 1/2
• Luxembourg – 4/1
• Moldova – 3/1
• San Marino – 150/1

League D – Group 3

• Azerbaijan – 5/4
• Kosovo – 11/8
• Faroe Islands – 11/2
• Malta – 10/1

League D – Group 4

• Macedonia – 4/7
• Armenia – 5/4
• Liechtenstein – 40/1
• Gibraltar – 66/1

Who will win the Playoffs in June 2019?

Following the completion of the group stage from September 2019 through to November 2019, there will emerge four group winners in each League. These four teams will go through to the League Playoffs which will take place in June 2019.

The playoffs will consist of two two-legged semifinals, followed by a final. The winner of the Final in Leagues B, C and D will earn a place in the finals of Euro 2020. The winner of Group A also earns a place in Euro 2020 and the title of the UEFA Nations League winner 2018-19.

Betting on the playoffs isn’t yet available at bet365 Sport.

Who will be the outright winner of the UEFA Nations league 2018/19?

Currently, Bet365 have the following odds available on the teams in League A to win the tournament outright:

• Spain, France – 4/1 joint favourites
• Germany, Belgium – 5/1
• Italy – 9/1
• England – 12/1
• Portugal – 14/1
• Croatia – 16/1
• Switzerland- 33/1
• Poland – 50/1
• Holland – 50/1
• Iceland – 80/1

It’s difficult to argue with France being the favourites here after their World Cup performance and lifting the trophy in the summer. Spain’s odds are a slight surprise given their poor World Cup performance and I think they are perhaps a tad too low to consider. Germany’s 5/1 odds suggest that people think their World Cup performance was a blip rather than the end of an era for Joachim Low’s side.

The most interesting bet for me is Belgium at 5/1, who I think are a good bet, while Italy at 9/1 are also worth a closer look. England’s chances at 12/1 look a bit slim after being given a tough draw in the group stage against Spain and World Cup finalists Croatia, who defeated England in the semifinals in Russia.

For me, Belgium at 5/1 are the favourite pick here, but I would not rule out Italy bouncing back from their World Cup misery at missing out last summer with a victory here and I think they are the best value bet at 9/1.