Nations League: League B fixtures, how it works and what to look out for

England, Georgia, Greece and Albania all registered impressive wins in their opening League B assignments of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League campaign on Saturday.

Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scored the goals as UEFA EURO 2024 runners-up England beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in Dublin in interim coach Lee Carsley's first game in charge.

Georgia, who made it to the last 16 in Germany in the summer, ran out 4-1 winners against Czechia. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia broke the deadlock in Tbilisi.

Also on Saturday, Albania came from behind to beat Ukraine in Prague, Jasir Asani with the winner midway through the second half, and Fotis Ioannidis scored twice as Greece put three past Finland.

League B had kicked off a day later than the others, with Norway's 0-0 draw in Kazakhstan teeing up the opening night of action on Friday. Craig Bellamy's first match at the helm of Wales, at home to Türkiye, also ended goalless.

Neighbours Slovenia and Austria shared a 1-1 draw in Ljubljana, Konrad Laimer cancelling out Benjamin Šeško's strike, while Iceland earned a 2-0 victory over Montenegro.

Matchday 1 fixtures, results

Friday 6 September
B3 Kazakhstan 0-0 Norway
B3 Slovenia 1-1 Austria
B4 Iceland 2-0 Montenegro
B4 Wales 0-0 Türkiye

Saturday 7 September
B1 Georgia 4-1 Czechia
B1 Ukraine 1-2 Albania
B2 Republic of Ireland 0-2 England
B2 Greece 3-0 Finland

Matchday 2 fixtures

Monday 9 September
B3 Norway vs Austria
B3 Slovenia vs Kazakhstan
B4 Montenegro vs Wales
B4 Türkiye vs Iceland

Tuesday 10 September
B1 Albania vs Georgia
B1 Czechia vs Ukraine
B2 England vs Finland
B2 Republic of Ireland vs Greece

Kick-off times 20:45 CET unless stated.

How League B of the 2024/25 Nations League works

League B contains 16 teams, drawn into four groups of four. Teams play all their group opponents home and away in September, October and November 2024. Where they finish determines what happens next:

1st Promoted to League A for the 2026/27 edition.

2nd Face third-ranked teams from League A in home-and-away promotion/relegation play-offs. The aggregate winners will be in League A for 2026/27, with the losers in League B.

3rd Face runners-up from League C in home-and-away promotion/relegation play-offs. The aggregate winners will be in League B for 2026/27, with the losers in League C.

4th Relegated to League C.

League B groups

Group B1: Czechia, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia
Group B2: England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece
Group B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan
Group B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Türkiye

League B fixtures

Matchday 3

Thursday 10 October
B2 England vs Greece
B2 Finland vs Republic of Ireland
B3 Austria vs Kazakhstan
B3 Norway vs Slovenia

Friday 11 October
B1 Czechia vs Albania
B1 Ukraine vs Georgia
B4 Iceland vs Wales
B4 Türkiye vs Montenegro

Matchday 4

Sunday 13 October
B2 Finland vs England (18:00)
B2 Greece vs Republic of Ireland
B3 Kazakhstan vs Slovenia (15:00)
B3 Austria vs Norway

Monday 14 October
B1 Georgia vs Albania (18:00)
B1 Ukraine vs Czechia
B4 Iceland vs Türkiye
B4 Wales vs Montenegro

Matchday 5

Thursday 14 November
B2 Greece vs England
B2 Republic of Ireland vs Finland
B3 Kazakhstan vs Austria (16:00)
B3 Slovenia vs Norway

Saturday 16 November
B1 Georgia vs Ukraine (18:00)
B1 Albania vs Czechia
B4 Montenegro vs Iceland (18:00)
B4 Türkiye vs Wales (18:00)

Matchday 6

Sunday 17 November
B2 England vs Republic of Ireland (18:00)
B2 Finland vs Greece (18:00)
B3 Austria vs Slovenia (18:00)
B3 Norway vs Kazakhstan (18:00)

Tuesday 19 November
B1 Albania vs Ukraine
B1 Czechia vs Georgia
B4 Montenegro vs Türkiye
B4 Wales vs Iceland