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2026–27 UEFA Nations League B

International football competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026–27 UEFA Nations League B is the second division of the 2026–27 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the fifth season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA.

Dates24 September – 17 November 2026
Teams16
Matchesplayed32
Goals scored71 (2.22 per match)
Quick facts Tournament details, Dates ...
2026–27 UEFA Nations League B
Tournament details
Dates24 September – 17 November 2026
Teams16
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Goals scored71 (2.22 per match)
Attendance721,463 (22,546 per match)
Top scorer(s)Republic of Ireland Troy Parrott
Sweden Viktor Gyökeres
(4 goals each)
2028–29 →
All statistics correct as of 6 October 2026.
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Format

League B consists of 16 UEFA members ranked from 17–32 in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League final overall ranking, split into four groups of four. Each team will play six matches within their group, using the home-and-away round-robin format on matchdays in September, October and November 2026.[1] The winners of each group will be promoted to the 2028–29 UEFA Nations League A. In addition, the second-placed teams of each group will participate in promotion play-offs against a third or fourth-placed team from League A, while the League B fourth-placed teams will participate in relegation play-offs against the second-placed teams from League C, both taking place in March 2027. In the play-offs, teams from the higher leagues will host the second leg, with the winners of each tie participating in the higher league for the next Nations League season, while the losers will enter the lower league.[2]

Originally, the format for promotion and relegation would have involved only the last-placed teams in Leagues A and B being relegated. The promotion/relegation play-offs would have concerned all third-placed teams in Leagues A and B and all runners-up in Leagues B and C, with extra play-offs concerning the two best last-places in League C to be held in March 2028. However, due to the changes scheduled for the 2028–29 UEFA Nations League, in which the competition will be reduced from four leagues to three leagues of 18 teams, promotion/relegation was rebalanced to make all three upcoming leagues be at 18 teams.[3]

Teams

League B includes sixteen teams based on the results of the 2024–25 season: the four group fourth-placed teams from League A, the four losers of the League A/B play-offs, the four group winners from League C and the four winners of the League B/C play-offs.

Team changes

The following were the team changes in League B from the 2024–25 season:[4][5]

More information Relegated from Nations League A, Promoted from Nations League C ...
Incoming
Relegated from
Nations League A
Promoted from
Nations League C
Outgoing
Promoted to
Nations League A
Relegated to
Nations League C
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Seeding

The teams were seeded for the league phase based on the 2024–25 Nations League final overall ranking, considering promotion and relegation between the leagues.[6][7]

More information Team, Rank ...
Pot 1
Team Rank
 Scotland 17
 Hungary 18
 Poland 19
 Israel 20
Pot 2
Team Rank
  Switzerland 21
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 22
 Austria 23
 Ukraine 24
Pot 3
Team Rank
 Slovenia 25
 Georgia 26
 Republic of Ireland 27
 Romania 28
Pot 4
Team Rank
 Sweden 29
 North Macedonia 30
 Northern Ireland 31
 Kosovo 32
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The draw for the league phase took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 12 February 2026, 18:00 CET.[8][9] Groups were drawn to contain one team from each pot. For political reasons, Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Kosovo was considered a prohibited clash, and thus those teams were unable to be drawn into the same group.[10]

Groups

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 13 February 2026, the day following the draw.[11][12]

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

Group 1

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification Switzerland Slovenia Scotland North Macedonia
1   Switzerland (W) 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10 12 Promotion to League A — 2–1 16 Nov 3–0
2  Slovenia (X) 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7 Qualification for promotion play-offs 13 Nov — 0–0 2–0
3  Scotland (Y) 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 4 0–3 1–2 — 13 Nov
4  North Macedonia (Z) 4 0 0 4 0 10 −10 0 Qualification for relegation play-offs 0–3 16 Nov 0–2 —
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Updated to match(es) played on 6 October 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(W) Can at least reach promotion play-offs; (X) Safe from relegation; (Y) Can at best reach promotion play-offs; (Z) Cannot be promoted
More information Slovenia, 0–0 ...
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Attendance: 12,182[13]
Referee: Horațiu Feșnic (Romania)
More information North Macedonia, 0–3 ...
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Attendance: 11,474[14]
Referee: Daniel Schlager (Germany)

More information Scotland, 0–3 ...
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Attendance: 41,028[15]
Referee: Nenad Minaković (Serbia)
More information Slovenia, 2–0 ...
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Attendance: 10,246[16]
Referee: Andrea Colombo (Italy)

More information North Macedonia, 0–2 ...
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More information Switzerland, 2–1 ...
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More information Scotland, 1–2 ...
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More information Switzerland, 3–0 ...
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Attendance: 15,730[20]
Referee: Edgars Maļcevs (Latvia)

More information Scotland, v ...
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More information Slovenia, v ...
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More information North Macedonia, v ...
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More information Switzerland, v ...
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Group 2

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification Northern Ireland Hungary Ukraine Georgia (country)
1  Northern Ireland (X) 4 2 2 0 4 0 +4 8 Promotion to League A — 0–0 14 Nov 0–0
2  Hungary 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1 7 Qualification for promotion play-offs 17 Nov — 0–1 1–0
3  Ukraine 4 1 1 2 2 5 −3 4 0–3 1–2 — 17 Nov
4  Georgia (Y) 4 0 2 2 0 2 −2 2 Qualification for relegation play-offs 0–1 14 Nov 0–0 —
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Updated to match(es) played on 5 October 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(X) Safe from relegation; (Y) Can at best reach promotion play-offs
More information Georgia, 0–1 ...
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More information Hungary, 0–1 ...
Hungary 0–1 Ukraine
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Attendance: 56,796[22]

More information Georgia, 0–0 ...
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More information Northern Ireland, 0–0 ...
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More information Hungary, 1–0 ...
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More information Ukraine, 0–3 ...
Ukraine 0–3 Northern Ireland
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Attendance: 7,080[27]
Referee: Jasper Vergoote (Belgium)

More information Northern Ireland, 0–0 ...
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Attendance: 18,140[28]
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)
More information Ukraine, 1–2 ...
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Attendance: 7,910[29]
Referee: Igor Pajač (Croatia)

More information Georgia, v ...
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More information Northern Ireland, v ...
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More information Hungary, v ...
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More information Ukraine, v ...
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Group 3

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification Austria Kosovo Republic of Ireland Israel
1  Austria 4 2 2 0 9 5 +4 8 Promotion to League A — 3–1 14 Nov 3–1
2  Kosovo 4 1 2 1 3 4 −1 5 Qualification for promotion play-offs 1–1 — 1–0 14 Nov
3  Republic of Ireland 4 1 2 1 6 4 +2 5 2–2 17 Nov — 1–1
4  Israel 4 0 2 2 2 7 −5 2 Qualification for relegation play-offs 17 Nov 0–0 0–3 —
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Updated to match(es) played on 4 October 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
More information Austria, 3–1 ...
Austria 3–1 Israel
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Attendance: 15,200[30]
More information Kosovo, 1–0 ...
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More information Austria, 3–1 ...
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Attendance: 47,000[32]
Referee: Nick Walsh (Scotland)
More information Israel, 0–3 ...
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Attendance: 319[34]
Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)

More information Israel, 0–0 ...
Israel 0–0 Kosovo
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Attendance: 440[35]
More information Republic of Ireland, 2–2 ...
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Attendance: 45,784[36]
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)

More information Kosovo, 1–1 ...
Kosovo 1–1 Austria
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Attendance: 12,567[37]
Referee: António Nobre (Portugal)
More information Republic of Ireland, 1–1 ...
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More information Kosovo, v ...
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More information Austria, v ...
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More information Israel, v ...
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More information Republic of Ireland, v ...
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Group 4

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification Sweden Bosnia and Herzegovina Poland Romania
1  Sweden (X) 4 3 1 0 7 3 +4 10 Promotion to League A — 14 Nov 3–1 2–1
2  Bosnia and Herzegovina (X) 4 2 2 0 6 3 +3 8 Qualification for promotion play-offs 1–1 — 1–0 17 Nov
3  Poland (Y) 4 1 1 2 7 4 +3 4 17 Nov 0–0 — 6–0
4  Romania (Z) 4 0 0 4 3 13 −10 0 Qualification for relegation play-offs 0–1 2–4 14 Nov —
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Updated to match(es) played on 5 October 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(X) Safe from relegation; (Y) Can at best reach promotion play-offs; (Z) Cannot be promoted
More information Poland, 0–0 ...
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Attendance: 46,775[39]
Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece)
More information Sweden, 2–1 ...
Sweden 2–1 Romania
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Attendance: 31,882[40]
Referee: Ondřej Berka (Czech Republic)

More information Romania, 2–4 ...
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Attendance: 0[41][note 5]
Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal)
More information Sweden, 3–1 ...
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Attendance: 24,637[42]
Referee: Javier Alberola Rojas (Spain)

More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1–1 ...
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Attendance: 11,700[43]
Referee: Oleksii Derevinskyi (Ukraine)
More information Poland, 6–0 ...
Poland 6–0 Romania
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Attendance: 51,054[44]
Referee: Urs Schnyder (Switzerland)

More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1–0 ...
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Attendance: 11,700[45]
Referee: Jérémie Pignard (France)
More information Romania, 0–1 ...
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Attendance: 49,426[46]
Referee: Elchin Masiyev (Azerbaijan)

More information Romania, v ...
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More information Sweden, v ...
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More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, v ...
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More information Poland, v ...
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Goalscorers

There have been 71 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 2.22 goals per match (as of 6 October 2026).

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Overall ranking

Following the league phase, the 16 League B teams will be ordered 17th to 32nd in an interim overall ranking for the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League according to the following rules:[2]

  • The teams finishing first in the groups will be ranked 17th to 20th according to the results of the league phase.
  • The teams finishing second in the groups will be ranked 21st to 24th according to the results of the league phase.
  • The teams finishing third in the groups will be ranked 25th to 28th according to the results of the league phase.
  • The teams finishing fourth in the groups will be ranked 29th to 32nd according to the results of the league phase.
More information Rnk, Grp ...
Rnk Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
17 B1   Switzerland 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10 12
18 B4  Sweden 4 3 1 0 7 3 +4 10
19 B3  Austria 4 2 2 0 8 4 +4 8
20 B2  Northern Ireland 4 2 2 0 4 0 +4 8
21 B4  Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 2 2 0 6 3 +3 8
22 B1  Slovenia 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7
23 B2  Hungary 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1 7
24 B3  Kosovo 4 1 2 1 2 3 −1 5
25 B3  Republic of Ireland 4 1 2 1 6 4 +2 5
26 B4  Poland 4 1 1 2 7 4 +3 4
27 B1  Scotland 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 4
28 B2  Ukraine 4 1 1 2 2 5 −3 4
29 B2  Georgia 4 0 2 2 0 2 −2 2
30 B3  Israel 4 0 2 2 2 7 −5 2
31 B4  Romania 4 0 0 4 3 13 −10 0
32 B1  North Macedonia 4 0 0 4 0 10 −10 0
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Updated to match(es) played on 6 October 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Ranking criteria

A final overall ranking will also be compiled, though this is only used to rank teams within their new leagues for the following edition of the competition.[2]

Notes

  1. CEST (UTC+2) for matchdays 1–4 (September and October 2026), CET (UTC+1) for matchdays 5–6 (November 2026).
  2. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[26]
  3. Due to the Middle Eastern crisis, Israel are required to play their home matches at neutral venues.[33]
  4. Following a request from the Football Association of Ireland, the Republic of Ireland v Israel match was played at a neutral venue and behind closed doors due to safety concerns.
  5. The Romania v Bosnia and Herzegovina match was played behind closed doors due to punishment from UEFA following fan misconduct.

References

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