Nations League standings: early leaders after Matchday 1
The 2026-27 UEFA Nations League is underway, and early nations league standings show Belgium, Greece, Norway and Portugal topping League A after Matchday 1. Spain, England, Croatia and Czechia remain level in Group 3 ahead of their openers, with promotion and relegation across four leagues raising the stakes.
Key Takeaways
- Belgium, Greece, Norway and Portugal lead their League A groups after the opening fixtures.
- Portugal, winners in 2019 and 2025, beat Wales 1-0 as they chase a third title.
- Top two teams from each group reach the quarterfinals under the 2026-27 format.
- England face Spain and Czechia play Croatia on Saturday, September 26.
Fans tracking the latest tournament alerts will find the early table already separating after a busy opening window. Full format, fixtures and league tables are also covered by NBC Sports.
How does the 2026-27 Nations League format work?
The competition is split into four leagues—A, B, C and D—with promotion and relegation. Leagues A, B and C each have 16 teams; League D has six.
League A is divided into four groups of four, drawn from pots ranked by 2024-25 Nations League finishes. The top two sides from each group advance to the quarterfinals.
Only Portugal, France and Spain have won the Nations League. Portugal claimed the first edition in 2018-19 and again in 2024-25, France won in 2020-21, and Spain lifted the trophy in 2022-23. Reigning World Cup champions Spain have also lost two finals, to France and to Portugal.
What do the early League A nations league standings show?
In Group 1, Belgium lead on goal difference with three points after a 2-0 win over Italy, ahead of France (also three points) following a 1-0 victory in Türkiye. Türkiye and Italy sit on zero.
Group 2 is headed by Greece (three points, +1 GD) after a 2-1 win in Serbia. Germany and the Netherlands share one point apiece after a 1-1 draw, with Serbia last on zero.
Group 3 is still blank: Spain, Croatia, England and Czechia all have zero points and zero goal difference before their Matchday 1 games. Group 4 has Norway and Portugal level on three points and +1 GD after Norway’s 3-2 win over Denmark and Portugal’s 1-0 over Wales; Denmark and Wales are on zero.
Which Matchday 1 results shaped the table?
Thursday’s League A slate delivered Netherlands 1-1 Germany, Norway 3-2 Denmark, Portugal 1-0 Wales and Serbia 1-2 Greece. Friday added Italy 0-2 Belgium and Türkiye 0-1 France.
Those six results set the first cut of the nations league standings before the remaining Group 3 openers and the rest of Matchday 2.
When are the next Nations League fixtures?
Saturday, September 26 features Czechia vs Croatia and England vs Spain. Sunday brings Denmark vs Wales, Serbia vs Netherlands, Germany vs Greece and Norway vs Portugal.
Belgium face France and Türkiye meet Italy on Monday, September 28, before Czechia vs England and Spain vs Croatia on Tuesday, September 29. Further League A windows run through early October and mid-November.
League B also opened with early movers such as Northern Ireland, Ukraine, Austria, Kosovo and Sweden on three points in their groups, underlining how quickly promotion races can shift.