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While waiting to return to action on 26 March in Bergamo for the World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland, Italy will learn their group opponents for the 2026/27 Nations League on Thursday 12 February (18:00 CET) in Brussels. The draw, which will take place at Brussels Expo Hall 3 – the venue hosting the 50th edition of UEFA’s Ordinary Congress earlier in the day – will be attended by FIGC president Gabriele Gravina, general secretary Marco Brunelli and Leonardo Bonucci, assistant to Gennaro Gattuso.
The Azzurri, who reached the quarter-finals in the previous edition, will once again compete in League A this year and will be in Pot 2 for the draw, together with the Netherlands, Denmark and Croatia. Reigning champions Portugal, Spain, France and Germany will be in Pot 1, with the 16 teams involved forming four groups of four. Each side will play six matches – three at home and three away – against the other three teams in their group.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, while the fourth-placed side will be relegated to League B. The third-placed team will play a playoff to remain in League A against one of the second-placed teams from League B. The group stage will begin at the end of September 2026 and conclude in November, with the quarter-finals and playoffs scheduled for March 2027, and the tournament’s final phase taking place in June 2027.
League A
Pot 1: Portugal, Spain, France, Germany
Pot 2: ITALY, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia
Pot 3: Serbia, Belgium, England, Norway
Pot 4: Wales, Czechia, Greece, Türkiye
2026/27 NATIONS LEAGUE CALENDAR
Matchday 1: 24-26 September 2026
Matchday 2: 27-29 September 2026
Matchday 3: 30 September-3 October 2026*
Matchday 4: 4-6 October 2026
Matchday 5: 12-14 November 2026
Matchday 6: 15-17 November 2026
Quarter-finals: 25-30 March 2027
League A/B play-offs: 25-30 March 2027
Final tournament: 9-13 June 2027