The UEFA Nations League has become one of the most attractive tournaments in soccer. UEFA invented this tournament to replace international friendlies with official matches. In addition, the tournament is divided into four leagues, A, B, C, and D, allowing the best teams to play against the best and the weakest to play against the weakest ones.
This is because each team is positioned in a league depending on their UEFA ranking, and according to the team´s performance in the previous year´s competitions. The competition is made up of 55 teams, and 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 Albania was canceled.
Why was the game between Russia and Albania canceled?
In February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine and triggered a war between the two countries. For that reason and as a way to penalize the acts of Russia, the UEFA Executive Committee sanctioned the Russian Football Federation and excluded it from international competitions.
That is why Russia will not play against Albania, as they are banned from participating in the UEFA Nations League. The team led by Valeri Karpin 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.