Uefa Nations League Q&A: An Irish fan's guide
A: Yes, we historically have, but this new initiative, driven by disgraced former Uefa president Michel Platini, was ratified all of four years ago in December 2014.
The former French captain, and man behind the pan-European format of the 2020 finals, was fed up with meaningless friendlies.
Perhaps it was pressure from the big clubs annoyed at releasing their players for these non-events, but the authorities opted to try add incentive to matches by arranging them in a league format with a backdoor route available to qualify for the Euros.
Another by-product of the change is that teams of comparable standard face each other. Uefa will be delighted games between the superpowers, such as Germany versus France, and England against Spain, are not the
preserve of major tournaments or selected friendlies.
A: That was determined by their Uefa ranking heading into a draw held in Lausanne in January of this year.
From the 55 nations, four leagues (letters) were established with each of them having subsets called pots (numbers). The groups in Leagues A and B had three teams each, with League C and D having four nations.
Ireland, ranked 19th, were placed in pot two of League B. They drew one team from pot one (Wales) and another from pot three (Denmark).
A: Each of the teams face each other, similar to conventional qualification campaigns, on a home-and-away basis. Uefa have condensed these games over a three-month period between this week and the end of November.
A: Exactly. Unlike the usual campaigns of eight of 10 matches, this is bite-size. Ireland were last involved in such a format in trying to reach the 1974 World Cup.
A: We’re in Cardiff tomorrow to play Wales before Denmark visit Lansdowne on October 13. That swift double-header finishes in a rematch against the Welsh, but Ireland are back in Copenhagen to see things out on November 19.
A: This is where it gets a tad complicated. In the first instance, the winner of the group gets promoted, Ireland would leap up to League A, while the bottom-placed finisher is relegated to League C.
Crucially, on a related note, Ireland need to avoid propping up the table if they’re to stay among the second seeds in the main Euro 2020 qualifying draw. Dublin, as one of the 12 host cities, is staging that draw on
December 2, but forget that for the time being.
Back to the Nations League lexicon and the prize for winning the group is a place in the Nations League play-off series. That does not take place until March 2020, after the completion of the orthodox Euro qualifiers.
A: No. Should the winner of our Nations League group, B4 (or the second-placed team) qualify for the Euros via the normal channel, then Ireland could profit by claiming the play-off spot from a countback system were they to miss out through that avenue.
A: Taking place between March 26-31, four qualifiers from each of the groups in League B meet in the semis on a one-leg basis before the final.
A: They’ve been scrapped. That’s the trade-off from creating an alternative pathway.
Only a top-two finish in the groups will seal qualification. Third spot, unlike the case last time, isn’t worth a
sausage to Ireland and will leave them relying on Plan B, which is the Nations League.
A: Yes, as has been highlighted from the Declan Rice developments, these matches are not friendlies and are therefore binding when it comes to nailing down dual-eligible players.
John Delaney in the FAI will be glad to hear that friendlies, against the likes of Oman from countries outside of
Europe are still possible. Except the number of free international dates are vastly reduced, meaning friendlies like next Tuesday’s against Poland will become a rarity.
A: It should, insofar as results matter more than merely influencing the Fifa rankings. Overall, 24 nations still qualify for the Euros and Ireland should, through one of the two options available, at least stumble over the line.
