Amman – The draw for the European Nations League for the 2026-2027 season, which was held in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on Thursday, resulted in the teams of England and Spain, the two sides of the 2024 European Championship final, being in the same group.

The two teams compete in Group C of the first level, alongside the Czech Republic and Croatia, which lost to Spain in the 2023 Nations League final.

England, which again rose to the first level of the competition after topping its group in the second level, signed with Croatia in one group also in the 2026 World Cup.

France and Italy are competing in the same group for the second time in a row in the competition, in the first group that also includes Türkiye and Belgium, which reached the semi-finals previously.

Germany will play the Netherlands, which previously reached the final, in the second group, while Portugal, the defending champion, will face Denmark, Norway and Wales in the fourth group.

It was decided to exclude the Russian national team from the competition because of its war on Ukraine.

The following is the result of the lottery according to levels:

First level

The first group: France, Italy, Belgium and Turkey.

Group Two: Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia, and Greece.

Group Three: Spain, Croatia, England and the Czech Republic.

Group Four: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, and Wales.

Second level

Group A: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, and North Macedonia.

Group Two: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia and Northern Ireland.

Group Three: Israel, Austria, Ireland, and Kosovo.

Group Four: Poland, Bosnia, Romania, and Sweden.

Third level

Group A: Albania, Finland, Belarus and San Marino.

Group Two: Montenegro, Armenia, and Cyprus, in addition to Latvia or Gibraltar (the team will be determined after the playoff results are decided).

Group Three: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, the Faroe Islands and Moldova.

Group Four: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, in addition to Luxembourg or Malta. The team will be determined after the playoff results are decided.

Fourth level

Group A: Andorra, Gibraltar, Latvia, Malta, or Luxembourg.

The second group: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, and Liechtenstein.

The teams of Gibraltar and Latvia, in addition to Malta and Luxembourg, will compete in a playoff to determine the teams that will be relegated to the fourth level.

The group stage of the tournament will be held between September and November 2026, during which most teams will play six matches within the group stage, with the winner and runner-up of each group advancing to the knockout stage.

The quarter-final matches will be held between March 25 and 30, 2027, while the final rounds will be held between June 9 and 13 of the same year, to determine the team crowned with the title.

The results of the European Nations League are linked to the chances of qualifying for the next European Nations Cup finals (Euro 2028), hosted by the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, as some teams will get a second chance through the qualifying playoff for the continental championship.

The fifth edition of the European Nations League (2026/2027) begins after the Portuguese national team won the title in 2019 and 2025, while the French national team won the 2021 edition, while the Spanish national team won the title in 2023.

“Sky News”