2026–27 UEFA Nations League C
International football competition
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The 2026–27 UEFA Nations League C is the third 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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 25 September – 16 November 2026 |
| Teams | 16 |
← 2024–25 2028–29 → | |
Format
League C consists of 16 UEFA members ranked from 33–48 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 B, and the two worst-ranked fourth-placed teams will be relegated to the 2028–29 UEFA Nations League D. In addition, the second-placed teams of each group and the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams will advance to the promotion/relegation play-offs, played home-and-away over two legs. The League C second-placed teams will participate in promotion play-offs against the third-placed teams from League B in March 2027, while the two best-ranked League C fourth-placed teams will participate in relegation play-offs against the second-placed teams from League D in March 2028. 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]
Teams
League C includes sixteen teams based on the results of the 2024–25 season: the four group fourth-placed teams from League B, the four winners of the League B/C play-offs, the four third-placed teams from League C, the two group winners from League D and the two losers of the League C/D play-offs.
Team changes
The following were the team changes in League C from the 2024–25 season:[3][4]
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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.[5][6]
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The draw for the league phase took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 12 February 2026, 18:00 CET.[7][8] Groups were drawn to contain one team from each pot. Due to excessive travel restrictions, a maximum of one pair of teams identified with excessive travel distance in relation to other countries could be placed in the same group: Iceland with Armenia or Cyprus; Kazakhstan with Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, or Malta. Due to winter venue restrictions, a maximum of two teams whose venues were identified as having high or medium risk of severe winter conditions could be placed in the same group: Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Norway.[9]
Groups
The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 13 February 2026, the day following the draw.[10][11]
Times are CET/CEST,[note 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, qualification or relegation |  |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albania |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promotion to League B | — | 12 Nov | 26 Sep | 6 Oct | |
| 2 | Finland |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for promotion play-offs | 3 Oct | — | 29 Sep | 15 Nov | |
| 3 | Belarus |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 Nov | 6 Oct | — | 3 Oct | ||
| 4 | San Marino |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League D or qualification for relegation play-offs | 29 Sep | 26 Sep | 12 Nov | — |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |  |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montenegro |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promotion to League B | — | 5 Oct | 25 Sep | 12 Nov | |
| 2 | Armenia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for promotion play-offs | 28 Sep | — | 12 Nov | 25 Sep | |
| 3 | Cyprus |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 Nov | 2 Oct | — | 5 Oct | ||
| 4 | Latvia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League D or qualification for relegation play-offs | 2 Oct | 15 Nov | 28 Sep | — |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Group 3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |  |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kazakhstan |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promotion to League B | — | 16 Nov | 6 Oct | 2 Oct | |
| 2 | Slovakia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for promotion play-offs | 29 Sep | — | 13 Nov | 26 Sep | |
| 3 | Faroe Islands |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 Sep | 2 Oct | — | 16 Nov | ||
| 4 | Moldova |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League D or qualification for relegation play-offs | 13 Nov | 6 Oct | 29 Sep | — |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Group 4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |  |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promotion to League B | — | 3 Oct | 26 Sep | 16 Nov | |
| 2 | Bulgaria |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification for promotion play-offs | 13 Nov | — | 29 Sep | 26 Sep | |
| 3 | Estonia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 Oct | 16 Nov | — | 3 Oct | ||
| 4 | Luxembourg |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League D or qualification for relegation play-offs | 29 Sep | 6 Oct | 13 Nov | — |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Ranking of fourth-placed teams
Rules for classification: Ranking criteria
Overall ranking
Following the league phase, the 16 League C teams will be ordered 33rd to 48th 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 33rd to 36th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing second in the groups will be ranked 37th to 40th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing third in the groups will be ranked 41st to 44th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing fourth in the groups will be ranked 45th to 48th according to the results of the league phase.
| Rnk | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 1st-ranked group winner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 34 | 2nd-ranked group winner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | 3rd-ranked group winner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 36 | 4th-ranked group winner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 37 | 1st-ranked group runner-up | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 38 | 2nd-ranked group runner-up | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 39 | 3rd-ranked group runner-up | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 40 | 4th-ranked group runner-up | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 41 | 1st-ranked group 3rd place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 42 | 2nd-ranked group 3rd place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 43 | 3rd-ranked group 3rd place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 44 | 4th-ranked group 3rd place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 45 | 1st-ranked group 4th place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 46 | 2nd-ranked group 4th place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 47 | 3rd-ranked group 4th place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 48 | 4th-ranked group 4th place | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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
- The identity of the two promotion/relegation play-off winners was not known at the time of the draw.
- Due to Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus are required to play their home matches at neutral venues, and behind closed doors, until further notice.[12]