A new edition of the UEFA Nations Leaguehas begun. The competition is made up of 55 teams and four divisions. UEFA created this tournament in 2018 to replace friendly matches with competitive matches, allowing national teams to play against teams of the same level.
The Nations League has four divisions. The 55 teams are divided into divisions A, B, C, and D. They are selected according to their UEFA ranking, and according to the team´s performance in the previous years’ competitions.
The tournament has promotions, relegations, and, of course, a champion. France are the reigning champion. In Group 2 of League B, Iceland, Russia, Albania, and Israel were paired. But Russia will not be able to play any matches. Find out here why the match between Russia and Israel was canceled.
Why was the game between Israel and Russia canceled?
The UEFA Executive Committee sanctioned the Russian Football Federation for the war started by Russia against Ukraine and excluded it from international competitions. Russia will not participate in Group 2 of League B and will be automatically ranked as the bottom team in the group. Consequently, at the end of the group stage, they will be relegated to 16th and last place in League B. Furthermore, will most likely be relegated to the C division.
Russian teams were also affected by this measure. They are not allowed to compete in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, or the UEFA Europa Conference League. In addition, UEFA rejected Russia’s bid to host the men’s UEFA European Championship in 2028 and 2032.