UEFA Nations League Draw

The draw for the group stage of the 2026/27 season of the UEFA Nations League, one of the national-level football competitions in Europe, took place in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Türkiye participated in this competition for the first time in its history at the A League level and was placed among the teams competing in the highest category. The draw was held at the Brussels Expo and was attended by a delegation from the Turkish Football Federation.

^{TFF Başkanı İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu (sağ 2), Başkan Vekili Zehra Neşe Kavak (sol 2), Dış İlişkiler Kurulu Başkan Vekili Çağrı Kanver (solda), A Milli Takım Teknik Direktörü Vincenzo Montella (sağda) (AA)}

The draw was held in Brussels and determined the group stage fixtures for the 2026/27 season, involving all 54 UEFA member nations. Türkiye entered the draw from Pot 4. The A League draw was conducted by former Portuguese international footballer Pepe. The B League draw was conducted by Patrick Vieira, the C League draw by Fernando Llorente, and the D League draw by Mbo Mpenza.

The Turkish Football Federation was represented at the draw by President Ibrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu, Vice President Prof. Dr. H. Zehra Neşe Kavak, Acting Chairman of the Foreign Relations Council Çağrı Kanver, A National Team Head Coach Vincenzo Montella, Director of Foreign Relations and National Teams Buğra İmamoğulları, Administrative Director of the A and U21 National Teams Mert Tuncay, and National Teams Communication Director Türker Tozar.

^{The draw for League A was conducted by Portuguese former national football player Pepe (right 2). Pepe was accompanied by UEFA Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti (right) (AA)}

As a result of the draw, Türkiye was placed in Group 1 of the A League alongside France, Italy and Belgium. Thus, Türkiye has earned the right to compete in a group featuring three of Europe’s top national teams at the A League level.

The A League groups are as follows:

1. Group 1: France, Italy, Belgium, Türkiye
2. Group 2: Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Greece
3. Group 3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czechia
4. Group 4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales

With this draw, Türkiye has been placed in the same group as some of Europe’s elite national teams.

The groupings for the other leagues were also determined following the draw.

• B League Group 1: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia
  B League Group 2: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Northern Ireland
  B League Group 3: Israel, Austria, Republic of Ireland, Kosovo
  B League Group 4: Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden

• C League Group 1: Albania, Finland, Belarus, San Marino
  C League Group 2: Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus, Latvia/Gibraltar
  C League Group 3: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova
  C League Group 4: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembourg/Malta

• D League Group 1: Gibraltar/Latvia, Malta/Luxembourg, Andorra
  D League Group 2: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein

This distribution has resulted in a total of 16 groups across four leagues.

Under the tournament format, the top two teams from each of the eight groups in the A League advance to the two-legged quarter-finals. The winners of the quarter-final ties earn the right to participate in the final tournament to be held in June 2027.

The four group winners from the B and C Leagues and the two group winners from the D League are promoted to the next higher league. Teams finishing fourth in the A and B Leagues are directly relegated to the lower league. The two worst-performing fourth-placed teams in the C League are relegated to the D League.

The third-placed teams in the A League and the second-placed teams in the B League compete in two-legged play-off matches. Similarly, the third-placed teams in the B League and the second-placed teams in the C League also face each other in play-off matches. Additionally, play-off matches are held between the two best fourth-placed teams in the C League and the two second-placed teams in the D League.

Under the new format, the team finishing last in its group is relegated to the lower league, while the team finishing third must compete in a play-off to remain in its current league.

The first four matchdays of the league phase are scheduled within a single international match window at the end of September and beginning of October, in accordance with the FIFA International Match Calendar. The final two matchdays of each group are played in November.

The league phase match dates are as follows:

1. Matchdays: 24–26 September 2026
2. Matchdays: 27–29 September 2026
3. Matchdays: 30 September–3 October 2026
4. Matchdays: 4–6 October 2026
5. Matchdays: 12–14 November 2026
6. Matchdays: 15–17 November 2026

The quarter-finals and the promotion/relegation play-offs between the A/B and B/C leagues will be played between 25 and 30 March 2027. The A League finals will be held between 9 and 15 June 2027.

The C/D League play-off round will take place between 23 and 28 March 2028.

Following the draw, A National Team Head Coach Vincenzo Montella noted that Türkiye has been drawn in a group with France, Italy and Belgium. He emphasized that facing Italy again holds special significance, recalling a friendly match previously played in Bologna, and stated that this upcoming encounter will be pursued with a distinctly different objective.

^{A Milli Takım Teknik Direktörü Vincenzo Montella kura çekimi sonrası basın mensuplarına açıklama yaptı (AA)}

Montella added that the team is focusing on the play-off matches scheduled for March, has been visiting clubs to monitor player performances, and affirmed that qualifying for the World Cup remains a shared goal among both the players and the coaching staff.

As of the 2026/27 season, UEFA Nations League has granted Türkiye the right to compete at the A League level, placing it in Group 1 alongside France, Italy and Belgium. The league phase matches will be played between September and November 2026, with the qualification and final stages concluding in 2027. A multi-tiered structure has been established with a promotion and relegation system, enabling sport-based movement between the A, B, C and D Leagues.