UEFA Nations League Previews, Predictions & Betting Tips

The UEFA Nations League is an international football competition contested by men's senior national teams in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 

The first tournament will begin in September 2018 after the FIFA World Cup with the winner to be decided in June 2019. The UEFA Nations League is a fresh approach to playing international friendly matches which largely have no meaning in a competitive sense. 

The idea for another national European football tournament was raised in 2013 by Norwegian Football Association President Yngve Hallén. UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino stated in March 2014 that one benefit of the tournament would be to assist less glamorous nations in arranging games.

The Football Association's chairman Greg Dyke acknowledged that the tournament would be attractive to England who could test themselves against other top-ranking national teams on a more regular basis.

The concerns for lower-ranked nations benefiting financially from the competition is supposed to be offset by a centralised television contract with UEFA. The UEFA Nations League was unanimously adopted by the 54 UEFA member associations in Astana on 27 March 2014, with Kosovo joining UEFA in 2016.

With the matches due to take place on the current International match calendar, the tournament is designed to avoid affecting the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship.

The UEFA Nations League will see all 55 UEFA members associations' national teams divided into four groups based on ranking using recent results. Each season will see the pool stage played from September to November in an even-numbered year. In June the following odd-numbered year the UEFA Nations League Finals will occur with a champion crowned every two years.

The format will begin with 12 teams in League A, 12 teams in League B, 15 teams in League C and 16 teams in League D. In each division there will be four groups of three or four teams who will play each other home and away.

In League A, each winner of the four groups will contest the Nations League Finals. The Nations League Finals will feature two semi-finals and one final to the UEFA Nations League champion.

There will be promotion and relegation depending on results within each group. The four group winners in each division will be automatically promoted to the next higher division and each team placing last in its group is relegated to the next lower division.

The UEFA Nations League will have an added function which will provide teams with another chance to qualify for the UEFA European Championship. Four nations that are not one of 20 qualified teams will compete for the four remaining qualifying spots for the European Championship.

The format has the potential to allow weaker teams to qualify for the European Championship finals which has been met with criticism in some quarters.

The UEFA Nations League will also be linked to UEFA's World Cup qualifications with a format yet to be decided.

At FreeTips.com we will have regular UEFA Nations League football tips including over/under 2.5 goals tips, first goalscorer tips, UEFA Nations League accumulator tips and futures and outright tips such as group winners. 

We are dedicated to providing you with expertly researched UEFA Nations League football tips that you can use to have a successful tournament and build your bankroll.