France, Italy, Belgium and Israel have been drawn in the Nations League group

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World Cup runners-up France, European champions Italy, Belgium and Israel were drawn into a tough group on Thursday for the men's UEFA Nations League, which kicks off in September.

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The Nations League is the next action for UEFA member nations after this summer's European Championship, where France, Italy and Belgium qualified for the tournament in Germany, while Israel will be in the play-offs next month.

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Nations League champions Spain have been drawn in a group with Denmark, as well as Switzerland and Serbia, to resume a strong rivalry fueled by the Swiss' victories in their last two World Cup games.

Euro 2024 hosts Germany are in Group One of the Nations League alongside the Netherlands, Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Croatia topped the group with Portugal, Poland and Scotland.

England have been knocked out of the top-tier group of the Nations League in 2022 and will face Finland, Greece and Ireland in addition to Erling Holland's Norway. This will be the first competitive match between England and Ireland since 1991.

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Group games at all four levels are played from September to November.

In the top-tier A League, the top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals in March 2025. Semi-finals and finals are small tournaments held by one of the competing countries.

The Final Four is scheduled for June 4-8, 2025, before most players return to their clubs for the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup in the United States.

The qualification path for the 2026 World Cup will also be announced in November from the Nations League group stage.

The European play-offs for the next World Cup are scheduled for March 2026 and offer four places to the final tournament in North America. The 16 teams that will participate in the playoffs two years from now will cover the four places in the Nations League ranking.

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