Italy and France drawn together in Nations League group

PARIS :Euro 2020 winners Italy and 2022 World Cup finalists France were drawn together in the UEFA Nations League group stage after the draw was held in Paris on Thursday.

The pair are in Group 2 in League A, which also includes Belgium and Israel.

Germany and Hungary, who will face each other in the group stage of Euro 2024, were drawn together again, and they will also face Netherlands and Bosnia in Group 3.

Spain, winners of the last edition, will take on Denmark, Switzerland and Serbia in Group 4.

For the first time, there will be a quarter-final stage of the Nations League, with the top two in each League A group qualifying for the new phase of the competition.

In League B, England and Ireland were drawn together in Group 2, alongside Finland and Greece. This is England's first appearance in League B following their relegation after the last edition.

Russia were excluded from the competition due to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The Nations League will be linked with European qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The four best-ranked Nations League group winners who finish outside the top two in their World Cup qualifying group will go into the playoff stage.

Following is the draw for the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League.

League A

Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland

Group A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel

Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia

Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia

League B

Group B1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia

Group B2: England, Finland, Ireland, Greece

Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan

Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Turkey

League C

Group C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia

Group C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania/Gibraltar*

Group C3: Luxembourg,