It used to be with a sigh of disappointment when fans, embroiled in the hustle and bustle of club interests as league and cup competitions started to gain momentum, found out football would be put on temporary pause as an international break loomed.
This often left football fans counting the days, waiting for their club sides to regroup, whilst having to endure ‘international friendlies’ – pointless occasions, the only thing of concern being whether a star player would pick up an injury.
UEFA finally did something about this by replacing the friendly format with an intricate and rather extensive league system that can give smaller sides such as Scotland a second chance at making the World Cup.
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Initially there was scepticism at yet another tournament for players to tally up the ridiculous amount of caps on offer in the modern game, however after a rather enthralling final in the tournament’s first season – Portugal defeating Holland one-nil – and watching the players emotional if not rather over-the-top celebrations (ok it was Portugal), the realisation came that the Nations League can mean something.
How it works
The Nations League is separated into four categories aptly named A, B, C and D. In each category there’s a four tier league system with each ‘mini league’ also aptly named 1, 2, 3 and 4 (I’ll let you guess which is the top division and which is the bottom).
Within each category there is promotion and relegation from leagues 2, 3 and 4 – be it with a system of play-offs.
After the tournament proper, the top leagues go into finals week, where the champions of section A, B, C and D meet in two semi-final matches to decide who goes into the ‘final finals’.
To make the matches count that little bit more the tournament offers two qualification spots for the World Cup in Qatar through a set of ‘paths’ that will act as a mini-tournament of their own.
Which teams are on these paths depends on who qualifies for the World Cup as well as who wins and ends up runners-up in the section one leagues, and who is the best of the rest in the section two leagues (Scotland, currently leading league B2, have a chance of being on one of these paths).
The plan this year is to have the group stages finished by mid-November, coronavirus permitting, and then the format goes into a process of play-off ties to decide relegation and promotion before going on to see who will be crowned the second Nations League champion.
A complex and perhaps little protracted format, but I’m all for anything to replace watching a football match with the toothless term ‘friendly’ at the head of it.
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 