2022–23 UEFA Nations League A

The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A was the top division of the 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the third season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. League A culminated with the Nations League Finals in June 2023 to determine the champions of the competition.

2022–23 UEFA Nations League A
Tournament details
DatesLeague phase:
1 June – 27 September 2022
Nations League Finals:
14–18 June 2023
Teams16
Final positions
Champions Spain (1st title)
Runners-up Croatia
Third place Italy
Fourth place Netherlands
Relegated Austria
 Czech Republic
 England
 Wales
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored140 (2.69 per match)
Attendance1,909,171 (36,715 per match)
Top scorer(s)Belgium Michy Batshuayi
Croatia Luka Modrić
Netherlands Steven Bergwijn
Netherlands Memphis Depay
(3 goals each)

Following their win in 2021, defending champions France were unable to retain their title in the finals after finishing third in their group.[1][2]

Spain won the final against Croatia, 5–4 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time, for their first UEFA Nations League title.

Format

League A consisted of the 16 top-ranked UEFA members in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League access list, split into four groups of four. Each team played six matches within their group, using the home-and-away round-robin format in June (four matchdays) and September 2022 (two matchdays).[3] The winners of each group advanced to the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals, and the fourth-placed team from each group was relegated to the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League B.[4]

The Nations League Finals took place in June 2023 and was played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off and final. The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw. The host country was selected among the four qualified teams by the UEFA Executive Committee, with the winners of the final crowned as the champions of the UEFA Nations League.

The four group winners were drawn into groups of five teams for UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying (in order to accommodate for the Nations League Finals).

Teams

Team changes

The following were the team changes of League A from the 2020–21 season:[5]

Incoming
Promoted from
Nations League B
Outgoing
Relegated to
Nations League B

Seeding

In the 2022–23 access list, UEFA ranked teams based on the 2020–21 Nations League overall ranking.[6] The seeding pots for the league phase were confirmed on 22 September 2021,[7] and were based on the access list ranking.[4]

Pot 1
Team Rank
 France (title holders) 1
 Spain 2
 Italy 3
 Belgium 4
Pot 2
Team Rank
 Portugal 5
 Netherlands 6
 Denmark 7
 Germany 8
Pot 3
Team Rank
 England 9
 Poland 10
  Switzerland 11
 Croatia 12
Pot 4
Team Rank
 Wales 13
 Austria 14
 Czech Republic 15
 Hungary 16

The draw for the league phase took place at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 16 December 2021, 18:00 CET.[8][9] Each group contained one team from each pot.

Groups

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 17 December 2021, the day following the draw.[10][11] The fixture list for Group 4 was amended due to the postponement of Path A of UEFA qualifying for the World Cup.[12]

Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

Group 1
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation Croatia Denmark France Austria
1  Croatia 6 4 1 1 8 6 +2 13 Qualification for Nations League Finals — 2–1 1–1 0–3
2  Denmark 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12 0–1 — 2–0 2–0
3  France 6 1 2 3 5 7 −2 5 0–1 1–2 — 2–0
4  Austria (R) 6 1 1 4 6 10 −4 4 Relegation to League B 1–3 1–2 1–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
Croatia 0–3 Austria
Report
Attendance: 13,994[13]
France 1–2 Denmark
 Report
Attendance: 75,833[14]
Croatia 1–1 France
 Report
Attendance: 30,000[15]
Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)
Austria 1–2 Denmark
 Report
Attendance: 18,700[16]
Austria 1–1 France
 Report
Attendance: 44,800[17]
Denmark 0–1 Croatia
Report
Attendance: 35,862[18]
Denmark 2–0 Austria
 Report
Attendance: 35,230[19]
France 0–1 Croatia
Report
Attendance: 77,410[20]
Croatia 2–1 Denmark
 Report
Attendance: 22,715[21]
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
France 2–0 Austria
 Report
Attendance: 70,188[22]
Austria 1–3 Croatia
 Report
Attendance: 45,700[23]
Denmark 2–0 France
 Report
Attendance: 36,064[24]

Group 2
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation Spain Portugal Switzerland Czech Republic
1  Spain 6 3 2 1 8 5 +3 11 Qualification for Nations League Finals — 1–1 1–2 2–0
2  Portugal 6 3 1 2 11 3 +8 10 0–1 — 4–0 2–0
3   Switzerland 6 3 0 3 6 9 −3 9 0–1 1–0 — 2–1
4  Czech Republic (R) 6 1 1 4 5 13 −8 4 Relegation to League B 2–2 0–4 2–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
Czech Republic 2–1  Switzerland
 Report Okafor 44'
Attendance: 12,236[25]
Spain 1–1 Portugal
 Report
Attendance: 41,236[26]
Czech Republic 2–2 Spain
 Report
Attendance: 18,245[27]
Portugal 4–0  Switzerland
 Report
Attendance: 42,325[28]
Portugal 2–0 Czech Republic
 Report
Attendance: 44,100[29]
Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Switzerland 0–1 Spain
Report
Attendance: 25,875[30]
Spain 2–0 Czech Republic
 Report
Attendance: 30,389[31]
Switzerland 1–0 Portugal
 Report
Attendance: 26,300[32]
Referee: Fran Jović (Croatia)
Czech Republic 0–4 Portugal
Report
Attendance: 19,322[33]
Spain 1–2  Switzerland
 Report
Attendance: 31,809[34]
Portugal 0–1 Spain
Report
Attendance: 28,196[35]
Switzerland 2–1 Czech Republic
 Report
Attendance: 13,353[36]

Group 3
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation Italy Hungary Germany England
1  Italy 6 3 2 1 8 7 +1 11 Qualification for Nations League Finals — 2–1 1–1 1–0
2  Hungary 6 3 1 2 8 5 +3 10 0–2 — 1–1 1–0
3  Germany 6 1 4 1 11 9 +2 7 5–2 0–1 — 1–1
4  England (R) 6 0 3 3 4 10 −6 3 Relegation to League B 0–0 0–4 3–3 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
Hungary 1–0 England
 Report
Attendance: 26,935[37][note 3]
Italy 1–1 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 23,754[39]
Germany 1–1 England
 Report
Attendance: 66,289[40]
Italy 2–1 Hungary
 Report
Attendance: 14,942[41]
England 0–0 Italy
Report
Attendance: 1,782[42][note 4]
Hungary 1–1 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 55,948[44]
England 0–4 Hungary
Report
Attendance: 28,839[45]
Germany 5–2 Italy
 Report
Attendance: 44,144[46]
Germany 0–1 Hungary
Report
Attendance: 39,513[47]
Italy 1–0 England
 Report
Attendance: 50,640[48]
England 3–3 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 78,949[49]
Hungary 0–2 Italy
Report
Attendance: 57,300[50]

Group 4
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation Netherlands Belgium Poland Wales
1  Netherlands 6 5 1 0 14 6 +8 16 Qualification for Nations League Finals — 1–0 2–2 3–2
2  Belgium 6 3 1 2 11 8 +3 10 1–4 — 6–1 2–1
3  Poland 6 2 1 3 6 12 −6 7 0–2 0–1 — 2–1
4  Wales (R) 6 0 1 5 6 11 −5 1 Relegation to League B 1–2 1–1 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
Poland 2–1 Wales
 Report
Attendance: 35,214[51]
Referee: Rade Obrenovič (Slovenia)
Belgium 1–4 Netherlands
 Report
Attendance: 38,327[52]
Belgium 6–1 Poland
 Report
Attendance: 27,409[53]
Wales 1–2 Netherlands
 Report
Attendance: 23,395[54]
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
Netherlands 2–2 Poland
 Report
Attendance: 39,382[55]
Wales 1–1 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 27,188[56]
Netherlands 3–2 Wales
 Report
Attendance: 37,247[57]
Referee: Horațiu Feșnic (Romania)
Poland 0–1 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 56,803[58]
Belgium 2–1 Wales
 Report
Attendance: 28,463[59]
Poland 0–2 Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 56,673[60]
Netherlands 1–0 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 52,314[61]
Wales 0–1 Poland
Report
Attendance: 31,520[62]

Nations League Finals
Main article: 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals

The four nations from Group A4 (Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Wales) bid to host the Nations League Finals.[63] As the nation that qualified for the finals, the Netherlands was granted hosting rights.[64] The semi-final pairings were determined by means of an open draw on 25 January 2023, 11:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. For scheduling purposes, the host team was allocated to semi-final 1 as the administrative home team.[65]

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
14 June – Rotterdam
 
 
 Netherlands2
 
18 June – Rotterdam
 
 Croatia (a.e.t.)4
 
 Croatia0 (4)
 
15 June – Enschede
 
 Spain (p)0 (5)
 
 Spain2
 
 
 Italy1
 
Third place play-off
 
 
18 June – Enschede
 
 
 Netherlands2
 
 
 Italy3

Semi-finals
Netherlands 2–4 (a.e.t.) Croatia
 Report
Attendance: 39,359[66]
Spain 2–1 Italy
 Report
Attendance: 24,558[67]

Third-place play-off
Netherlands 2–3 Italy
 Report
Attendance: 21,292[68]
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

Final
Main article: 2023 UEFA Nations League final
Croatia 0–0 (a.e.t.) Spain
Report
Penalties
 4–5
Attendance: 41,110[69]

Goalscorers

There were 140 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 2.69 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Overall ranking

The 16 League A teams were ranked 1st to 16th overall in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League according to the following rules:[4][70]

  • The teams finishing first in the groups were ranked 1st to 4th according to the results of the Nations League Finals.
  • The teams finishing second in the groups were ranked 5th to 8th according to the results of the league phase.
  • The teams finishing third in the groups were ranked 9th to 12th according to the results of the league phase.
  • The teams finishing fourth in the groups were ranked 13th to 16th according to the results of the league phase.
Rnk Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 A2  Spain 6 3 2 1 8 5 +3 11
2 A1  Croatia 6 4 1 1 8 6 +2 13
3 A3  Italy 6 3 2 1 8 7 +1 11
4 A4  Netherlands 6 5 1 0 14 6 +8 16
5 A1  Denmark 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 12
6 A2  Portugal 6 3 1 2 11 3 +8 10
7 A4  Belgium 6 3 1 2 11 8 +3 10
8 A3  Hungary 6 3 1 2 8 5 +3 10
9 A2   Switzerland 6 3 0 3 6 9 −3 9
10 A3  Germany 6 1 4 1 11 9 +2 7
11 A4  Poland 6 2 1 3 6 12 −6 7
12 A1  France 6 1 2 3 5 7 −2 5
13 A1  Austria 6 1 1 4 6 10 −4 4
14 A2  Czech Republic 6 1 1 4 5 13 −8 4
15 A3  England 6 0 3 3 4 10 −6 3
16 A4  Wales 6 0 1 5 6 11 −5 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Ranking criteria

Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs
Main article: UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs § Path A

The four best teams in League A according to the overall ranking that failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024 through the qualifying group stage, will compete against each other to win one extra qualification spot through the path A play-offs. If the qualifying group stage results in less than four un-qualified teams from League A, the first available slot for the teams participating in the path A play-offs, will be allocated to the best-ranked group winner of League D, subject to not already having qualified in the qualifying group stage. The remaining available slots will be allocated to the best ranked un-quallified teams from league B or league C (excluding group-winners of league B/C and teams previously chosen to participate in the path B play-offs and path C play-offs).[71]

League A
Rank Team
1 GW  Spain (Q)
2 GW  Croatia (X)
3 GW  Italy (X)
4 GW  Netherlands (X)
5  Denmark (X)
6  Portugal (Q)
7  Belgium (Q)
8  Hungary
9   Switzerland
10  Germany (H)
11  Poland
12  France (Q)
13  Austria (Q)
14  Czech Republic
15  England (Q)
16  Wales

Key

  • GW Group winner from Nations League A
  •   Team qualifying directly based on current results
  •   Team qualifying for play-offs based on current results
  •  (X)  Team is assured at least a play-off spot based on Nations League ranking, but may still qualify directly
  •  (H)  UEFA Euro 2024 host, qualified automatically

The path A play-offs were previously held in a similar fashion to decide one extra qualification spot for UEFA Euro 2020.

Notes
  1. The Austria v Denmark match, originally scheduled to kick-off at 20:45, was delayed to 22:15 due to a power outage in the stadium area.
  2. Daniel Siebert was substituted by the fourth official Harm Osmers (Germany) due to injury on the 75th minute.
  3. The Hungarian Football Federation were ordered to play behind closed doors due to sanctions by UEFA. They were permitted to distribute tickets to under-14s, with one adult supervising every ten children.[38]
  4. The Football Association were ordered to play behind closed doors due to sanctions by UEFA. They were permitted to distribute tickets to under-14s, with one adult supervising every ten children.[43]

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