UEFA Nations Lge: Euro Champions Portugal draw Italy, Poland

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.

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.

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