League A is the top division of the UEFA Nations League, and this window is where the 2026-27 season starts. Sixteen teams sit in four groups of four. Each team plays the other three home and away, six games in all, across September, October and November. This window covers matchdays one to four. Matchdays five and six are on 12 to 17 November.
Portugal are the defending champions. They beat Spain on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the 2025 final in Munich. Matchday one is spread over 24, 25 and 26 September.
How the format works
- The top two in each group go into the quarter-finals, played over two legs between 25 and 30 March 2027. Group winners face a runner-up from another group.
- The four quarter-final winners reach the Nations League Finals, 9 to 13 June 2027: semi-finals, a third-place game and the final.
- The format changed for this season. The two best third-placed teams stay in League A. The two worst third-placed teams and the two best fourth-placed teams play League B runners-up in March 2027 to decide their place. Only the two worst fourth-placed teams go down automatically.
- Six teams are new to League A: England, Wales, Czechia and Norway came up as League B group winners, and Türkiye and Greece won their play-offs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Poland and Switzerland went down, as did Hungary and Scotland through the play-offs.
What time do these games start in India?
UEFA's standard evening slot is 20:45 in Central Europe. That is 00:15 IST the next morning, so almost every game on this page finishes around 2:15 am in India. The three earlier slots, at 18:00 in Central Europe, are 21:30 IST. Games in London, Lisbon and Cardiff still kick off at 19:45 local time, which is the same moment as 20:45 in central Europe.
Group A1: Italy, Belgium, Türkiye, France
This is Zinédine Zidane's group. He replaced Didier Deschamps after France lost the World Cup semi-final to Spain, and his first squad, named on 18 September, leaves out 11 players from the World Cup run. Saliba, Thuram and Mateta are injured, Tchouaméni is rested, and Mbappé is in. The first match is away to Türkiye, and France then play Belgium twice, home and away, in the space of eight days.
Belgium are worth watching too. They reached the World Cup quarter-finals, beating the USA 4-1 in the round of 16 before losing 2-1 to Spain. If you only pick one game from this group, we would go for Belgium v France on 28 September.
| Match (local date) | Venue | IST |
|---|---|---|
| Italy v Belgium (Fri 25 Sep) | Stadio Olimpico, Rome | Sat 26 Sep, 00:15 |
| Türkiye v France (Fri 25 Sep) | Kocaeli Stadium, İzmit | Sat 26 Sep, 00:15 |
| Belgium v France (Mon 28 Sep) | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels | Tue 29 Sep, 00:15 |
| Türkiye v Italy (Mon 28 Sep) | Centennial Atatürk Stadium, Bursa | Tue 29 Sep, 00:15 |
| Belgium v Türkiye (Fri 2 Oct) | Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège | Sat 3 Oct, 00:15 |
| France v Italy (Fri 2 Oct) | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | Sat 3 Oct, 00:15 |
| France v Belgium (Mon 5 Oct) | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | Tue 6 Oct, 00:15 |
| Italy v Türkiye (Mon 5 Oct) | Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna | Tue 6 Oct, 00:15 |
Group A2: Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Greece
Jürgen Klopp's first games as Germany manager are in this group. Germany went out of the World Cup in the round of 32, on penalties to Paraguay, and Julian Nagelsmann resigned. Klopp's contract is for four years, to 2030. He named 44 players in two squads for this window, 16 of them uncapped, and the first group of 24 goes to Amsterdam for the Netherlands game, which is the headline game of matchday one.
| Match (local date) | Venue | IST |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands v Germany (Thu 24 Sep) | Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam | Fri 25 Sep, 00:15 |
| Serbia v Greece (Thu 24 Sep) | Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade | Fri 25 Sep, 00:15 |
| Serbia v Netherlands (Sun 27 Sep) | Rajko Mitić Stadium, Belgrade | Sun 27 Sep, 21:30 |
| Germany v Greece (Sun 27 Sep) | WWK Arena, Augsburg | Mon 28 Sep, 00:15 |
| Germany v Serbia (Thu 1 Oct) | Allianz Arena, Munich | Fri 2 Oct, 00:15 |
| Greece v Netherlands (Thu 1 Oct) | Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki | Fri 2 Oct, 00:15 |
| Greece v Germany (Sun 4 Oct) | Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki | Mon 5 Oct, 00:15 |
| Netherlands v Serbia (Sun 4 Oct) | Philips Stadion, Eindhoven | Mon 5 Oct, 00:15 |
Group A3: Czechia, Croatia, England, Spain
This is the group with the world champions in it. Spain won the World Cup, England finished third and Croatia were runners-up to England in their World Cup group, where England won the opener 4-2 on 17 June in Arlington, Texas. Luka Modrić was playing in his fifth World Cup that night.
England v Spain is a rematch of the Euro 2024 final, which Spain won 2-1 in Berlin. Spain's Luis de la Fuente kept most of his World Cup-winning group for this window. Thomas Tuchel's England squad has 27 players, with Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold back in. England then go to Prague and Rijeka before finishing the window against Czechia at Wembley.
Note the kick-off in Rijeka. It is one of only three 18:00 slots in the window, so it starts at 21:30 IST, while the Spain v Czechia game the same evening is a 00:15 IST start.
| Match (local date) | Venue | IST |
|---|---|---|
| Czechia v Croatia (Sat 26 Sep) | Fortuna Arena, Prague | Sun 27 Sep, 00:15 |
| England v Spain (Sat 26 Sep) | Wembley Stadium, London | Sun 27 Sep, 00:15 |
| Czechia v England (Tue 29 Sep) | Fortuna Arena, Prague | Wed 30 Sep, 00:15 |
| Spain v Croatia (Tue 29 Sep) | Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Seville | Wed 30 Sep, 00:15 |
| Croatia v England (Sat 3 Oct) | Stadion HNK Rijeka, Rijeka | Sat 3 Oct, 21:30 |
| Spain v Czechia (Sat 3 Oct) | Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo | Sun 4 Oct, 00:15 |
| Croatia v Spain (Tue 6 Oct) | Stadion Poljud, Split | Wed 7 Oct, 00:15 |
| England v Czechia (Tue 6 Oct) | Wembley Stadium, London | Wed 7 Oct, 00:15 |
Group A4: Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Wales
Portugal are the holders, and Jorge Jesus is starting his time in charge. His first squad has 25 players and includes Cristiano Ronaldo, who is 41. Four of the 25 were not at the World Cup: Samuel Soares, Nuno Tavares, João Palhinha and Fábio Silva.
Norway arrive after a World Cup run that reached the quarter-finals. Erling Haaland scored twice in the 2-1 win over Brazil in the round of 16, and they then lost 2-1 to England. They play Portugal home and away within a week, on 27 September in Oslo and 4 October in Porto. Wales are back in League A after winning promotion.
| Match (local date) | Venue | IST |
|---|---|---|
| Norway v Denmark (Thu 24 Sep) | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo | Fri 25 Sep, 00:15 |
| Portugal v Wales (Thu 24 Sep) | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon | Fri 25 Sep, 00:15 |
| Denmark v Wales (Sun 27 Sep) | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen | Sun 27 Sep, 21:30 |
| Norway v Portugal (Sun 27 Sep) | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo | Mon 28 Sep, 00:15 |
| Denmark v Portugal (Thu 1 Oct) | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen | Fri 2 Oct, 00:15 |
| Wales v Norway (Thu 1 Oct) | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | Fri 2 Oct, 00:15 |
| Portugal v Norway (Sun 4 Oct) | Estádio do Dragão, Porto | Mon 5 Oct, 00:15 |
| Wales v Denmark (Sun 4 Oct) | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | Mon 5 Oct, 00:15 |
Where to watch in India
UEFA lists Sony Sports Network as the broadcaster in India for the 2026/27 Nations League. Sony also has the live rights to India's own friendlies against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay. Outside India, UEFA publishes a country-by-country list on UEFA.com.