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    William Dalrymple (historian)

    2024–25 UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs
    Tournament details
    DatesLeague A/B and B/C play-offs:
    20–23 March 2025
    League C/D play-offs:
    26–31 March 2026
    Teams20
    Tournament statistics
    Matches played16
    Goals scored46 (2.88 per match)
    Attendance424,534 (26,533 per match)
    Top scorer(s)Georgia (country) Georges Mikautadze
    (4 goals)
    2026–27 →
    All statistics correct as of 23 March 2025.

    The 2024–25 UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs are matches deciding promotion and relegation for some teams in the 2024–25 season of the UEFA Nations League, the fourth season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA. The play-offs, newly added for this season, determine which of the 20 participating teams will be promoted, relegated or remain in their respective leagues for the 2026–27 season. The play-offs complement the automatic promotion and relegation already decided during the league phase of the competition.

    Format

    On 25 January 2023, the UEFA Executive Committee confirmed an altered format for the 2024–25 Nations League, including the addition of the promotion/relegation play-offs.[1][2] In addition to the automatic promotion and relegation decided by the league phase, the promotion/relegation play-offs will determine the final composition of the leagues for the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League.[3] The matches will be played home-and-away over two legs. If the team from the higher league is the winner, both teams will remain in their respective leagues, whereas if the team from the lower league wins, they will be promoted to the higher league, with the losers relegated to the lower league.[4]

    The match-ups in the promotion/relegation play-offs are as follows:[5]

    The teams from the higher leagues were seeded, and will play the second leg at home. In the two-legged ties, the team that scores more goals on aggregate is the winner. If the aggregate score is level, extra time is played (the away goals rule is not applied). If the score remains level after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is used to decide the winner.[6]

    Qualified teams

    The following teams qualified for the promotion/relegation play-offs.[7]

    League A
    Group Third place
    A1  Scotland
    A2  Belgium
    A3  Hungary
    A4  Serbia
    League B
    Group Runners-up Third place
    B1  Ukraine  Georgia
    B2  Greece  Republic of Ireland
    B3  Austria  Slovenia
    B4  Turkey  Iceland
    League C
    Group Runners-up Fourth place
    (best two qualify)
    C1  Slovakia —
    C2  Kosovo —
    C3  Bulgaria  Luxembourg
    C4  Armenia  Latvia
    League D
    Group Runners-up
    D1  Gibraltar
    D2  Malta

    Draw

    The draw for the promotion/relegation play-offs was held on 22 November 2024, 12:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, along with the draw for the League A quarter-finals and semi-finals.[5][8][9] In the draw, the teams from the higher leagues were seeded and drawn to host the second leg, while the teams from the lower leagues were unseeded and drawn to host the first leg. First, all teams from the unseeded pot were drawn into pairings in order (from pairing 1–4 for A/B and B/C, and pairing 1–2 for C/D), after which teams from the seeded pot were randomly drawn into the pairings (in numerical order) as their opponents.[10]

    No conditions on prohibited clashes applied in the draw.[note 1][8]

    Schedule

    The League A/B and B/C play-off matches were scheduled for 20 and 23 March 2025. To ensure enough teams were available for the March 2025 window of World Cup qualifying, the League C/D play-off matches are scheduled for 26 and 31 March 2026.[11] However, if any team participating in the League C/D play-offs qualifies for the World Cup qualifying play-offs, then the League C/D play-offs will be cancelled, and the teams will remain in their respective leagues.[6][12]

    The kick-off times were confirmed by UEFA following the draw on 22 November 2024.[11][13]

    Times are CET/CEST,[note 2] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

    League A vs League B

    The League A/B play-offs featured the four third-placed teams of League A against the four second-placed teams of League B.

    Seeding

    Pot 1 (seeded)
    Team Rank
     Scotland 9
     Serbia 10
     Hungary 11
     Belgium 12
    Pot 2 (unseeded)
    Team Rank
     Greece 21
     Austria 22
     Turkey 23
     Ukraine 24

    Summary

    Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
    Turkey 6–1 Hungary3–13–0
    Ukraine 3–4 Belgium3–10–3
    Austria 1–3 Serbia1–10–2
    Greece 3–1 Scotland0–13–0

    Matches

    Turkey 3–1 Hungary
    		 Report
    Attendance: 38,500[14]
    Hungary 0–3 Turkey
    Report
    Attendance: 57,861[15]

    Turkey won 6–1 on aggregate and were promoted to League A, while Hungary were relegated to League B.

    Ukraine 3–1 Belgium
    		 Report
    Attendance: 8,767[17]
    Belgium 3–0 Ukraine
    		 Report
    Attendance: 19,446[18]

    Belgium won 4–3 on aggregate, and therefore both teams remained in their respective leagues.

    Austria 1–1 Serbia
    		 Report
    Attendance: 46,400[19]
    Serbia 2–0 Austria
    		 Report
    Attendance: 22,112[20]

    Serbia won 3–1 on aggregate, and therefore both teams remained in their respective leagues.

    Greece 0–1 Scotland
    Report
    Attendance: 31,483[21]
    Scotland 0–3 Greece
    Report
    Attendance: 48,626[22]
    Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)

    Greece won 3–1 on aggregate and were promoted to League A, while Scotland were relegated to League B.

    League B vs League C

    The League B/C play-offs featured the four third-placed teams of League B against the four second-placed teams of League C.

    Seeding

    Pot 1 (seeded)
    Team Rank
     Slovenia 25
     Georgia 26
     Iceland 27
     Republic of Ireland 28
    Pot 2 (unseeded)
    Team Rank
     Slovakia 37
     Kosovo 38
     Bulgaria 39
     Armenia 40

    Summary

    Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
    Kosovo 5–2 Iceland2–13–1
    Bulgaria 2–4 Republic of Ireland1–21–2
    Armenia 1–9 Georgia0–31–6
    Slovakia 0–1 Slovenia0–00–1 (a.e.t.)

    Matches

    Kosovo 2–1 Iceland
    		 Report
    Attendance: 12,857[23]
    Iceland 1–3 Kosovo
    		 Report
    Attendance: 1,553[26]

    Kosovo won 5–2 on aggregate and were promoted to League B, while Iceland were relegated to League C.

    Bulgaria 1–2 Republic of Ireland
    		 Report
    Attendance: 7,835[27]
    Republic of Ireland 2–1 Bulgaria
    		 Report
    Attendance: 40,156[28]

    Republic of Ireland won 4–2 on aggregate, and therefore both teams remained in their respective leagues.

    Armenia 0–3 Georgia
    Report
    Attendance: 14,414[29]
    Georgia 6–1 Armenia
    		 Report
    Attendance: 47,903[30]

    Georgia won 9–1 on aggregate, and therefore both teams remained in their respective leagues.

    Slovakia 0–0 Slovenia
    Report
    Attendance: 12,545[31]
    Slovenia 1–0 (a.e.t.) Slovakia
    		 Report
    Attendance: 14,076[32]

    Slovenia won 1–0 on aggregate, and therefore both teams remained in their respective leagues.

    League C vs League D

    The League C/D play-offs will feature the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams of League C against the two second-placed teams of League D.

    Seeding

    Pot 1 (seeded)
    Team Rank
     Latvia 45
     Luxembourg 46
    Pot 2 (unseeded)
    Team Rank
     Malta 51
     Gibraltar 52

    Summary

    Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
    Gibraltar 1 Latvia26 Mar '2631 Mar '26
    Malta 2 Luxembourg26 Mar '2631 Mar '26

    Matches

    Gibraltar v Latvia
    Report
    Latvia v Gibraltar
    Report
    Malta v Luxembourg
    Report
    Luxembourg v Malta
    Report

    Goalscorers

    There have been 46 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 2.88 goals per match (as of 23 March 2025).

    4 goals

    3 goals

    2 goals

    1 goal

    1 own goal

    Notes

    1. ^ Due to the league allocation, all but one of the prohibited clashes were not possible (Armenia–Azerbaijan, Gibraltar–Spain, Kosovo–Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo–Serbia). The only possible prohibited clash (Belarus–Ukraine) did not have both teams advance to the promotion/relegation play-offs.
    2. ^ CET (UTC+1) for the matches in March 2025 and on 26 March 2026, and CEST (UTC+2) for the matches on 31 March 2026.
    3. ^ Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[16]
    4. ^ Iceland played their home match at Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain,[24] due to construction on Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, the only Icelandic venue which met UEFA requirements.[25]

    References

    1. ^ "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions approved". UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
    2. ^ "Nations League set to expand with new knockout round from 2024/25". UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
    3. ^ "2024/25 UEFA Nations League: All you need to know". UEFA. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    4. ^ "New formats for UEFA men's national team competitions" (PDF). UEFA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
    5. ^ a b "2024/25 UEFA Nations League knockout stage and play-off draws". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
    6. ^ a b "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League, 2024/25" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 11 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
    7. ^ "Nations League final standings: Who made the quarter-finals? Who's been promoted? Who's been relegated? Who's in the play-offs?". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
    8. ^ a b "UNL 2024/25 – Knock-out stage and play-off draw – Draw procedure" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
    9. ^ "Nations League knockout stage and play-off draw: Italy vs Germany among quarter-final ties". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
    10. ^ "2024/25 UEFA Nations League knockout stage and play-off draws". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
    11. ^ a b "2024/25 Nations League: All the fixtures and results". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
    12. ^ "Draw procedure for the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 knockout stage and play-off draw – Fixture list procedure for the European Qualifiers 2024–26" (ZIP). UEFA Circular Letter. No. 64/2024. Union of European Football Associations. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
    13. ^ "2024/25 UEFA Nations League: Play-off draw" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
    14. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Türkiye v Hungary" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    15. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Hungary v Türkiye" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    16. ^ "Decisions from today's extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
    17. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Ukraine v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    18. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Belgium v Ukraine" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    19. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Austria v Serbia" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    20. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Serbia v Austria" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    21. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Greece v Scotland" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    22. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Scotland v Greece" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    23. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Kosovo v Iceland" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    24. ^ "Murcia í mars" [Murcia in March] (in Icelandic). Football Association of Iceland. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
    25. ^ Sindri Sverrisson (19 November 2024). "Ísland neyðist í fyrsta sinn til að spila heimaleik erlendis" [Iceland is forced to play a home game abroad for the first time]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 23 November 2024.
    26. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Iceland v Kosovo" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    27. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    28. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    29. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Armenia v Georgia" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    30. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Georgia v Armenia" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    31. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 1st leg – Slovakia v Slovenia" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
    32. ^ "Full Time Report Play-offs 2nd leg – Slovenia v Slovakia" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
    Credit: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024%E2%80%9325_UEFA_Nations_League_promotion/relegation_play-offs

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