Does the Nations League replace qualifying for Euro 2020?
No, but they are linked.
Qualifying for Euro 2020 — the championship played every four years — begins in March 2019 and is separate from the Nations League.
Teams play in groups entirely disconnected to the Nations League, with the winners and runners-up qualifying for the tournament.
But if a country doesn’t qualify in this traditional way, the Nations League will provide a second chance.
All of the 16 group winners from the Nations League will go forward to play-off for the remaining four spots at Euro 2020.
But if — and this is where it gets even more complicated — a group winner has already qualified for Euro 2020 via the traditional route, its play-off place goes to the next best-placed team below them in the Nations League.
For example: Sweden fails to qualify for Euro 2020 via the traditional qualification route. It also finishes second in its Nations League group, meaning it does not qualify for a Euro 2020 play-off place. But it is handed a lifeline when Turkey, the winner of its Nations League group, qualifies for the finals via the traditional route. Its play-off place for coming top of the group B2 passes to Sweden, handing it a lifeline.
It essentially means you could lose all your Euro 2020 qualification games and still qualify for the tournament via the Nations League.
Why has this been done?
UEFA says it has introduced the Nations League to improve the standing of national team football, in the face of intense competition from money-spinning domestic leagues, like the Premiership, and the Champions League, Europe’s club tournament for the creme de la creme of the continent’s teams.
There is also a belief that frie
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