World Cup runners-up France, Belgium and Israel will be Italy’s opponents for the league phase of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League. This was the outcome from today’s draw held at the Maison de la Mutualité in Paris (the 48th Ordinary UEFA Congress had taken place here in the morning), with FIGC President Gabriele Gravina, General Secretary Marco Brunelli and Azzurri Head Coach Luciano Spalletti all in attendance.

A tough group thus awaits Italy, who won’t be the favourites despite the fact they were in Pot 1 for the draw. The Azzurri, who reached the finals in the last two editions of the competition, avoided Portugal from Pot 2 but got Belgium instead, while Kylian Mbappé's France (from Pot 3) will be a particularly tough challenge.

“It’s a great and fascinating group,” said Luciano Spalletti. “When you play such high-level matches, you can learn new things.” The Head Coach is a fan of the Nations League: “This competition was an intelligent development: previous friendlies were of no use to anyone, while these games provide you with everything you need to grow and increasingly improve.”

THE AZZURRI’S OPPONENTS. 
France, who finished runners-up at the last World Cup and sit second in the FIFA Ranking, were in Pot 3 for the draw. From David Trezeguet’s golden goal in the EURO 2000 final through to Italy’s penalty shootout victory in the 2006 World Cup final, matches between the Azzurri and France have made football history. The teams have met on 40 occasions: Italy have 19 wins to their name compared to Les Bleus’ eleven, with ten draws completing the picture. Italy also have a favourable record against Belgium (16 wins, four draws and four defeats), who they beat in the Euros in 2016 and 2021 and also in the 2020/21 Nations League third-place play-off. As for Israel, who were in Pot 4, they were promoted from League B in the last edition of the competition and will be involved in the EURO 2024 play-offs in March. Italy have won four of their previous five encounters with the Israelis, drawing the other game.

UPDATED FORMAT. From September to November 2024, Italy will play six matches against the three opponents in their group. This time around, the League A group winners and runners-up will participate in home-and-away quarter-finals in March 2025, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the Final Four (in June 2025). The team that finishes fourth will be relegated to League B, while the third-place side will be involved in a relegation play-off against a runner-up from League B. Furthermore, the Nations League will be linked with European qualification for the 2026 World Cup: the best-ranked four group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that have not finished their European Qualifiers group stage in first or second place will be involved in the 16-team playoffs.

League A
Group A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland
Group A2: ITALY, Belgium, France, Israel
Group A3: Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia

Italy’s 2024/25 UEFA Nations League schedule

6 September 2024: France vs. Italy
9 September 2024: Israel vs. Italy
10 October 2024: Italy vs. Belgium
14 October 2024: Italy vs. Israel
14 November 2024: Belgium vs. Italy
17 November 2024: Italy vs. France

Knockout round play-off draw: November 2024
Knockout round play-offs: 20-25 March 2025
League A quarter-finals: 20-25 March 2025
Final tournament: 4-8 June 2025