Saturday, November 16, 2024

UEFA Nations League tie breakers: Rules for 2022-23 groups explained

The 2022-23 Nations League is moving towards the end of the group stage of the competition with teams fighting for promotion and relegation, if not a spot in the finals.

From the 55 teams divided into four leagues, Leagues A, B and C have 16 teams with four groups of four each while League D has the remaining seven teams two groups – one containing three teams. The allocation of all the teams were done on the basis of their ranking of the previous edition and that may also play a role in the tie-breakers, if required.

All teams play home and away games in the round-robin format to determine their standing in their respective groups in each of the leagues, with the four group winners from League A to qualify for the finals.

Nations League tie breakers for groups

If two or more teams in a group are locked on equal points at the end of their group phase games, the following tie breaking criteria will be decide who moves forward:

  1. The team who has more points in the matches played among themselves;
  2. Better goal difference in the games played among the teams locked on points;
  3. More goals scored in the matches among the teams involved in the tie breaker;
  4. Criteria 1 to 3 reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams still not separated by criteria 1 to 3, in order to derive their final ranking, failing which criteria 5 to 11 will apply;
  5. Superior goal difference in all group games;
  6. The team that scored more goals in all group games;
  7. Higher number of away goals scored in all group fixtures;
  8. The team with more wins in all group games;
  9. Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
  10. The team with lower disciplinary points in all of the group games (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card).
  11. Position in the 2022-23 Nations League access list.

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