Nations League draw LIVE: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland to learn fixtures and groups | Football | Sport

NATIONS LEAGUE DRAW – LIVE!

Gareth Southgate will learn who his England side will face in the next edition of the Nations League this evening.

The Three Lions finished third in the inaugural competition last summer, which was a surprise hit with supporters and television audiences.

The Nations League has reduced the number of meaningless international friendlies and offers an alternative qualification route to the World Cup and European Championship.

For the 2020-21 edition, the two highest-ranked Nations League group winners who fail to win or finish runner-up in their World Cup qualifying groups will get a second chance to play off for a place in the 2022 finals in Qatar.

• The draw for the 2020-21 Nations League takes place in Amsterdam

• The Nations League does not offer any guaranteed 2022 World Cup places

• England are in the top tier, with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the second of four divisions

• The fixtures run from September to November 2020, with the finals next summer

Gianni Infantino arrives…

Ah, the UEFA draw chap Gianni Infantino has arrived to explain the rules. This could take a while. There was, however, a brief respite when David Seaman was brought out for a quick chat about Euro ’96 and his thoughts on the Nations League.

First Group (D) at 17:09, Then C at 17:20, Then B at 17:30, Then A at 17:40/5-ish.

It’s basically reverse order starting with Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino up first. Any San Marino fans in the house?

Coverage is underway…

The coverage for the draw is underway in Amsterdam and it’s started in a very UEFA kind of way. I’ve seen my fair share of these conducted over the years and am fully aware of UEFA’s ability to drag things out.

We’re currently enjoying a five-minute montage of last year’s action. Great…

Group of death…

Well we can’t have a international draw without discussing the best and worst case scenario for England, right?

So by my calculations (and opinion) France would be the worst possible opponent from Pot 2, although Spain, Belgium and Italy aren’t great.

Denmark or perhaps the Ukraine are the toughest in League A, pot 3. Germany are clearly the most feared opposition in Pot 4. Saying that, the mighty Iceland are lurking in there too…

Group of death: France, Ukraine, Germany.

Group of mercy: Italy, Sweden, Iceland.

The pots

League A

Pot 1: Portugal, Netherlands, England, Switzerland

Pot 2: Belgium, France, Spain, Italy

Pot 3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden

Pot 4: Croatia, Poland, Germany, Iceland

League B

Pot 1: Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic

Pot 2: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland

Pot 3: Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland

Pot 4: Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania

Plenty of interest in League B

Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales are all in this league.

There is the potential for a group containing Wales (Pot 1), Scotland (Pot 2) and one of Northern Ireland or the Republic from Pot 3. Russia are also in the first pot in League B.

Their presence could be interesting with the World Cup qualification angle – Russia is currently contesting sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency which would mean no team under a Russian banner could compete in Qatar.

Is there promotion and relegation?

Yes, teams who finish bottom in the groups in Leagues A and B will be relegated, while there will be relegation play-offs in League C.

What is the format?

Teams compete in four-team groups based on rankings – for instance the top 16 teams in the UEFA rankings compete in League A. Teams play home and away between September and November 2020. The winners of the groups in League A will contest the Nations League finals in June 2021.

Who can England be drawn against?

The Three Lions are in Pot 1. From Pot 2, they will face one of Belgium, France, Spain or Italy. Pot 3 contains Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark and Sweden while Croatia, Poland, Germany and Iceland are in Pot 4.

OK, the rules…

We had to talk about it at some point. I’ll do my best too lay out the rules and everything you need to know over the next few updates. Standby for mild boredom.

What is the Nations League all about again?

The main purpose of the Nations League is to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and bring an additional competitive element to international football.

Is it linked to World Cup qualification?

Yes. Once the winners and runners-up from regular qualifying for the 2022 finals in Qatar are known, the two highest-ranked Nations League group winners who did not qualify for the World Cup directly or finish as a group runner-up join the 10 runners-up in a two-round play-off system. This system will produce a further three teams to join the 10 group winners in Qatar.

Gareth Southgate arrives

Big Gareth Southgate (that nickname will never catch) has arrived in the building folks. He’s wearing a coat over his suit so I’m unable to confirm whether he’s wearing the famous waistcoat. More updates as I get them…

Late decision

So there’s me innocently walking in the office today expecting to prep for tonight’s FA Cup fifth-round fixtures and then BANG… “D’ya mind covering the draw you don’t properly understand?”

Obviously I don’t want any sympathy from you… although I am now going to miss the end of Tipping Point AND The Chase. Smallest violin? Anyone?

Afternoon…

Hello folks and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Nations League draw from Amsterdam.

Are we interested in this? Yes… maybe… kind of… I don’t really know either but let’s go down the rabbit hole together.

I’ve started the blog around 30 minutes before the draw because we’ll need some time to go over the rules.

Yes, It’s taken me over 12 months to learn the process and UEFA decided to change it again.