European champions, Portugal, have been grouped alongside Italy and Poland in League A of the newly created Nations League by UEFA following the draw in Lausanne.
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= ?Who come out on top in League A Group 3? ? pic.twitter.com/BWdHhbTHuq
— UEFA Nations League (@UEFAEURO) January 24, 2018
Portugal will meet former world champions Italy, and Poland in group three.
The Nations League is a new initiative by the football governing body in Europe, UEFA, that will see a competition for national teams replace friendly matches with competitive games.
This allows countries play against similarly ranked sides, with winners of each group qualifying for the finals scheduled for June 2018.
Teams are spread across four Leagues, A to D, with three to four nations drawn into groups, one to four.
Each group winner of League A, which has countries like world champions, Germany, France, Spain, and Netherlands, will qualify straight to the finals, featuring the semifinals, third place and final matches, in June next year.
A first look at the #NationsLeague trophy ?? pic.twitter.com/y94135cboP
— UEFA Nations League (@UEFAEURO) January 24, 2018
For the winners of the other Leagues, they will be promoted, while those who finished bottom of their groups will be relegated.
The league will kickoff in the first week of September, with the group stages ending in December.
Full Draw
League A
Group 1: Germany, France, Netherlands
Group 2: Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland
Group 3: Portugal, Italy, Poland
Group 4: Spain, England, Croatia
League B
Group 1: Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic
Group 2: Russia, Sweden, Turkey
Group 3: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland
Group 4: Wales, Republic of Ireland, Denmark
League C
Group 1: Scotland, Albania, Israrel
Group 2: Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia
Group 3: Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus
Group 4: Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania
League D
Group 1: Gerogia, Lativa, Kazakhstan, Andorra
Group 2: Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino
Group 3: Azerbaijian, Faroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo
Group 4: FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar
