England have been drawn alongside 2023 World Cup winners Spain in the league stage of the Women’s Nations League.
In addition to a repeat of of the 2023 World Cup final, which Spain won 1-0, Sarina Wiegman’s side will play Belgium and Portugal in Group A3.
England beat and lost to Belgium in the league stage of the previous edition of the Nations League, while Portugal reached the group stages of the 2023 World Cup, where they drew with the United States.
Elsewhere, 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Germany have been drawn alongside the 2017 European champions the Netherlands in Group A1, France will play Norway in Group A2 and Sweden will face Denmark in Group A3.
The four winners of each League A group will progress to the semi-finals. Both the semi-finals and final will be two-legged ties.
(Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)
The four sides that finish bottom of their group will be relegated, while the third-place teams from League A will enter a play-off with the second place teams from League B to determine further promotion and relegation. Promotion and relegation also takes place between League B and League C, with six teams relegated and six promoted.
Spain won the inaugural Women’s Nations League in February with a 2-0 victory over France in the final.
The 2023-24 Women’s Nations League was also used to determine Olympic qualification for Paris 2024. Spain and Germany qualified for the Games, while Team GB missed out after nominated nation England failed to progress from their group following a dramatic final match round.
Women’s Nations League Groups
League A
Group A1: Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Scotland
Group A2: France, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland
Group A3: Spain, England, Belgium, Portugal
Group A4: Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Wales
League B
Group B1: Poland, Northern Ireland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Romania
Group B2: Republic of Ireland, Turkey, Slovenia, Greece
Group B3: Finland, Serbia, Hungary, Belarus
Group B4: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Croatia, Albania
League C
Group C1: Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova, Gibraltar
Group C2: Malta, Georgia, Cyprus, Andorra
Group C3: Luxembourg, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Group C4: Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Lithuania
Group C5: Israel, Bulgaria, Estonia
Group C6: Kosovo, Latvia, North Macedonia
Women’s Nations League dates
League stage
- Matchdays 1 & 2: February 19-26 2025
- Matchdays 3 & 4: April 2-8 2025
- Matchdays 5 & 6: May 28 – June 3 2025
Finals
- Draw: June 6 2025
- Semi-finals: October 22-28 2025
- Final/third-place play-off: November 26 – December 2 2025
Promotion/relegation play-offs
- Draw: June 6 2025
- Matches: October 22-28 2025
(Top photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
Read the full article here