The start of Euro 2020 is just over 100 days away, but this week Europe's leading national teams will take some time out from their tournament preparations as the draw for the next Uefa Nations League takes place in Amsterdam.
The 2020/21 Nations League draw takes place on Tuesday 9pm UAE in Amsterdam, with several changes to the tournament's inaugural format used in 2018/19.
What is the Nations League?
The introduction of the Nations League after the last World Cup in 2018 was initially met with some scepticism, with many wondering how exactly it was possible to shoehorn yet another competition into an already crowded calendar.
However, the tournament essentially replaced meaningless friendlies with competitive games between national teams of a comparable level.
Who won the 2018/19 tournament?
The inaugural Nations League was won by Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal last summer, when they defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.
As a result, Portugal will be in Nations League A alongside World Cup holders France and Germany. After finishing third last time around, England are among the top seeds for the draw in Amsterdam. These teams will be drawn from different pots.
What changes has Uefa made to the new tournament?
European football's governing body has increased the size of the top three tiers to 16 teams, meaning each group will now comprise four countries. The bottom tier has been decreased to seven teams.
The winners of each group in the top tier will automatically qualify for the finals in June 2021.
Winners of groups in Nations Leagues B, C or D will be promoted. The teams which finish bottom of League B groups will be relegated, while there will be a play-off to decide which League C bottom teams are relegated because League D only has two groups.
Only two World Cup play-off spots will be available for any of the 55 countries.
The best two Nations League group winners who do not qualify for the World Cup or play-offs through normal qualifying will go into the 12-team play-offs in March 2022.
The top teams from each of Europe's 10 World Cup qualifying groups qualify automatically for Qatar. The 10 runners-up will join the two Nations League teams, with three of those going to the World Cup.
The pots
League A
Pot 1: Portugal, Netherlands, England, Switzerland
Pot 2: Belgium, France, Spain, Italy
Pot 3: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden
Pot 4: Croatia, Poland, Germany, Iceland
League B
Pot 1: Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic
Pot 2: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland
Pot 3: Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania
League C
Pot 1: Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Georgia
Pot 2: North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus, Cyprus
Pot 3: Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
Pot 4: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova
League D
Pot 1: Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Liechtenstein
Pot 2: Andorra, Malta, San Marino
When do the fixtures take place?
Matchday 1: 3-5 September 2020
Matchday 2: 6-8 September 2020
Matchday 3: 8-10 October 2020
Matchday 4: 11-13 October 2020
Matchday 5: 12-14 November 2020
Matchday 6: 15-17 November 2020
Finals: 2, 3, 6 June 2021
League C relegation and World Cup 2022 play-offs: 24, 25, 28, 29 March 2022.
