2022–23 UEFA Nations League C
International football competition
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The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C was the third division of the 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the third season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.
2 June – 27 September 2022
Relegation play-outs:
21–26 March 2024
Georgia
Greece
Kazakhstan
Turkey
Gibraltar| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | League phase: 2 June – 27 September 2022 Relegation play-outs: 21–26 March 2024 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Promoted | Georgia Greece Kazakhstan Turkey |
| Relegated | Gibraltar |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 50 |
| Goals scored | 129 (2.58 per match) |
| Attendance | 502,787 (10,056 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Vedat Muriqi(5 goals each) |
← 2020–21 2024–25 → | |
Format
League C consisted of 16 UEFA members ranked from 33–48 in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League access list, split into four groups of four. Each team played six matches within their group, using the home-and-away round-robin format in June (quadruple matchdays) and September 2022 (double matchdays).[1] The winners of each group were promoted to the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B, and the two worst-ranked fourth-placed teams of each group advanced to the relegation play-outs.[2][3]
As League C had four groups while League D had only two, the League C team that was to be relegated to the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League D was determined by play-outs in March 2024.
Originally, all four of the fourth-placed teams would have participated in the play-outs. Based on the Nations League overall ranking, the best-ranked team would have faced the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team would have faced the third-ranked team. The two losing teams would have been relegated to League D, while the winners would have remained in League C.[2]
However, due to the ongoing suspension of Russia from all UEFA competitions and to ensure that League C would still consist of 16 teams,[4] the league allocation for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League was changed so that only one team would be relegated to League D. Based on the Nations League overall ranking, the two lowest-ranked teams participated in the play-outs, while the other two fourth-placed teams remained in League C.[3][5]
The play-out tie was played over two legs, with the higher-ranked team hosting the second leg. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs remained in League C while the loser was relegated to League D. If the aggregate score was level, extra time was played without applying the away goals rule. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner.[2]
Teams
Team changes
The following were the team changes in League C from the 2020–21 season:
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Seeding
In the 2022–23 access list, UEFA ranked teams based on the 2020–21 Nations League overall ranking.[6] The seeding pots for the league phase were confirmed on 22 September 2021,[7] and were based on the access list ranking.[2]
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- The identity of the play-out winners was not known at the time of the draw.
The draw for the league phase took place at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 16 December 2021, 18:00 CET.[8][9] Each group contained one team from each pot. Due to restrictions of excessive travel, each group could contain a maximum of one of the following pairs: Northern Ireland and the winner of the Moldova v Kazakhstan play-out tie, Gibraltar and Azerbaijan.
Groups
The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 17 December 2021, the day following the draw.[10][11]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkey (P) |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 5 | +13 | 13 | Promotion to League B | — | 3–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Luxembourg |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 11 | 0–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Faroe Islands |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 8 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Lithuania (O) |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 | Qualification for relegation play-outs | 0–6 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — |
| Lithuania | 0–2 | Luxembourg |
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| Turkey | 4–0 | Faroe Islands |
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| Luxembourg | 0–2 | Turkey |
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| Luxembourg | 2–2 | Faroe Islands |
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| Lithuania | 1–1 | Faroe Islands |
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| Faroe Islands | 2–1 | Turkey |
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| Luxembourg | 1–0 | Lithuania |
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Group 2
- Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
Northern Ireland  | 0–1 | Greece |
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| Greece | 2–0 | Kosovo |
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Group 3
| Kazakhstan | 2–0 |  Azerbaijan |
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Belarus  | 0–0 | Azerbaijan |
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Slovakia  | 0–1 | Kazakhstan |
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| Azerbaijan | 0–1 | Slovakia |
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| Belarus | 1–1 | Kazakhstan |
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| Kazakhstan | 2–1 | Slovakia |
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| Azerbaijan | 2–0 | Belarus |
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| Kazakhstan | 2–1 | Belarus |
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Group 4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification | |
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| 1 | Georgia (P) |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 16 | Promotion to League B | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Bulgaria |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 9 | 2–5 | — | 1–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 3 | North Macedonia |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0–3 | 0–1 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 4 | Gibraltar (R) |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 1 | Qualification for relegation play-outs | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — |
| Georgia | 4–0 | Gibraltar |
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| Bulgaria | 1–1 | North Macedonia |
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| Bulgaria | 2–5 | Georgia |
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| North Macedonia | 0–3 | Georgia |
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| Georgia | 2–0 | North Macedonia |
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| Gibraltar | 1–2 | Georgia |
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| North Macedonia | 0–1 | Bulgaria |
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Ranking of fourth-placed teams
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C2 |  Cyprus |
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 5 | Spared from relegation play-outs |
| 2 | C3 | Belarus |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | |
| 3 | C1 | Lithuania (O) |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 | Qualification for relegation play-outs |
| 4 | C4 | Gibraltar (R) |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 1 |
Relegation play-outs
The two worst-ranked fourth-placed teams of League C participated in the relegation play-outs to determine the team which would be relegated to League D. The relegation play-outs were scheduled on the same dates as the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs. If at least one of the teams due to participate in the relegation play-outs had also qualified for the Euro qualifying play-offs, the relegation play-outs would have been cancelled, and the worst-ranked team in League C in the Nations League overall ranking would have been automatically relegated.[2] However, this scenario did not occur, and the relegation play-outs progressed as scheduled.
The play-out tie was as follows, with the higher-ranked team hosting the second leg:[2][3]
Times are CET (UTC+1), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Summary
Matches
Lithuania won 2–0 on aggregate and remained in League C, while Gibraltar were relegated to League D.
Goalscorers
There were 129 goals scored in 50 matches, for an average of 2.58 goals per match.
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Renat Dadashov- Mahir Emreli
- Hojjat Haghverdi
- Anatoliy Nuriyev
- Filip Ozobić
- Ramil Sheydayev
Ivan Bakhar- Vladislav Malkevich
- Pavel Savitsky
Valentin Antov- Atanas Iliev
- Radoslav Kirilov
- Georgi Minchev
- Marin Petkov
Valentin Roberge- Marinos Tzionis
Jóan Símun Edmundsson
Zuriko Davitashvili- Guram Kashia
- Otar Kiteishvili
- Georges Mikautadze
- Giorgi Tsitaishvili
Louie Annesley- Roy Chipolina
- Liam Walker
Giorgos Giakoumakis- Dimitrios Limnios
- Georgios Masouras
- Vangelis Pavlidis
- Dimitrios Pelkas
Elkhan Astanov- Aslan Darabayev
- Mikhail Gabyshev
- Yan Vorogovsky
- Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov
Valon Berisha- Zymer Bytyqi
- Florent Muslija
- Elbasan Rashani
- Donat Rrudhani
- Edon Zhegrova
Armandas Kučys- Vykintas Slivka
Leandro Barreiro- Marvin da Graça
Darko Churlinov- Bojan Miovski
- Boban Nikolov
- Milan Ristovski
Daniel Ballard- Jonny Evans
- Josh Magennis
- Paddy McNair
- Gavin Whyte
Matúš Bero- Erik Jirka
- Tomáš Suslov
- Vladimír Weiss
- Adam Zreľák
Yunus Akgün- Kaan Ayhan
- Merih Demiral
- Serdar Gürler
- İsmail Yüksek
1 own goal
- Andrea Hristov (against Georgia)
- Graeme Torrilla (against North Macedonia)
- Aleksandr Marochkin (against Azerbaijan)
- Maxime Chanot (against Turkey)
- Bojan Miovski (against Georgia)
Overall ranking
The 16 League C teams were ranked 33rd to 48th overall in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League according to the following rules:[2][64]
- The teams finishing first in the groups were ranked 33rd to 36th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing second in the groups were ranked 37th to 40th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing third in the groups were ranked 41st to 44th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing fourth in the groups were ranked 45th to 48th according to the results of the league phase.
| Rnk | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | C4 | Georgia |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 16 |
| 34 | C2 | Greece |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 15 |
| 35 | C1 | Turkey |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 5 | +13 | 13 |
| 36 | C3 | Kazakhstan |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 13 |
| 37 | C1 | Luxembourg |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 11 |
| 38 | C3 | Azerbaijan |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 10 |
| 39 | C2 | Kosovo |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 9 |
| 40 | C4 | Bulgaria |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 9 |
| 41 | C1 | Faroe Islands |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 8 |
| 42 | C4 | North Macedonia |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 43 | C3 | Slovakia |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 7 |
| 44 | C2 | Northern Ireland |
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 5 |
| 45 | C2 | Cyprus |
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 5 |
| 46 | C3 | Belarus |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 |
| 47 | C1 | Lithuania |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 1 |
| 48 | C4 | Gibraltar |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 1 |
Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs
The four best teams in League C according to the overall ranking that did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2024 through the qualifying group stage competed in the play-offs, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament.[65]
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 33 GW | Georgia |
| 34 GW | Greece |
| 35 GW | Turkey |
| 36 GW | Kazakhstan |
| 37 | Luxembourg |
| 38 | Azerbaijan |
| 39 | Kosovo |
| 40 | Bulgaria |
| 41 | Faroe Islands |
| 42 | North Macedonia |
| 43 | Slovakia |
| 44 | Northern Ireland |
| 45 | Cyprus |
| 46 | Belarus |
| 47 | Lithuania |
| 48 | Gibraltar |
Key
- GW Group winner from Nations League C
- Team qualified directly to final tournament
- Team in bold advanced to play-offs
Notes
- Due to the country's involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus were required to play their home matches at neutral venues and behind closed doors until further notice.[37]
- Due to the country's involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus were not allowed to enter Slovakia by local authorities. As a result, the match was played at a neutral venue.
- Gibraltar played their home match at Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal, due to the redevelopment of their regular stadium, Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar.[61]