All you need to know: UEFA Nations League Finals
Monday 3 December 2018
Article summary
Hosts Portugal, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands will contest the inaugural Finals in June 2019.
Article top media content
Article body
What is it?
The inaugural UEFA Nations League Finals is a knockout tournament that takes place in June 2019, involving the four group winners of the top-ranked League A: Portugal (who will host the event), England, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Who plays who?
The draw took place in Dublin on Monday 3 December.
Semi-finals
Wednesday 5 June: Portugal v Switzerland (Porto, 20:45CET)
Thursday 6 June: Netherlands v England (Guimaraes, 20:45CET)
Third-place play-off
Sunday 9 June: Guimaraes, 15:00CET
Final
Sunday 9 June: Porto, 20:45CET
Local time is one hour behind CET
Where are the Finals?
Portugal, with Porto's Estádio do Dragão and the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes the host venues. Italy, Poland and Portugal all expressed interest in hosting the inaugural finals before the deadline in March 2018. As they were all in Group A3, the winner of that section was always in line to host.
What is the finals format?
The semi-final winners advance to the final; defeated teams contest a third-place play-off. If the scores are level at the end of normal time then there is extra time, when teams are permitted a fourth substitution. If the scores are still level after the additional 30 minutes, it goes to a penalty shoot-out. Goal-line technology will be utilised throughout.
What does the winner get?
First and foremost this fetching 71cm-tall sterling silver trophy. The prize money on offer is as follows:
€7.5m Winners
€6.5m Runners-up
€5.5m Third place
€4.5m Fourth place
The figures include the €3m all four finalists have already secured, made up of a €1.5m solidarity fee for all League A teams and €1.5m as a bonus for winning a League A group. A total of €76.25m in solidarity and bonus fees was earmarked for the 55 competing national associations.
Is this linked to UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying?
Not really. The last four UEFA EURO 2020 places go to the winners of mini-tournaments between the top four-ranked teams in each of the four UEFA Nations League groupings (A–D), but this is separate to the UEFA Nations League Finals. The only bearing these Finals have on qualifying is that the four contenders will be placed in five-team groups rather than six.