2018–19 UEFA Nations League B

2018–19 UEFA Nations League B
Tournament details
Dates	6 September – 20 November 2018
Teams	12
Promoted	Bosnia and Herzegovina Denmark Sweden Ukraine
Tournament statistics
Matches played	24
Goals scored	48 (2 per match)
Attendance	549,676 (22,903 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Edin Džeko Patrik Schick (3 goals each)
2020–21 →

League B consisted of 12 UEFA members ranked from 13 to 24, split into four groups of three. The winners of each group were promoted to the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A. The third-placed team of each group was initially to be relegated to the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C,^[2] but remained in League B following UEFA's reformatting of the next edition's groups.^[3]

In addition, League B was allocated one of the four remaining UEFA Euro 2020 places. Four teams from League B which had not already qualified for the European Championship finals competed in the play-offs for each division, which were played in October and November 2020. The play-off berths were first allocated to the group winners, and if any of the group winners had already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best ranked team of the division, etc. If there were fewer than four teams in League B which had not already qualified for the European Championship finals, the play-off berths would be allocated via one of two methods:

If League B had a group winner selected for the play-offs, the next best team in the overall ranking from a lower league would be selected.
If League B had no group winner available, the best team in the overall ranking would be selected.

The playoffs consisted of two "one-off" semi-finals (best-ranked team hosts the lowest-ranked team and second best-ranked team hosts the third best-ranked team and one "one-off" final between the two semi-final winners (venue drawn in advance between semi-final 1 and 2).^[4]^[5]

Seeding

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Teams were allocated to League B according to their UEFA national team coefficients after the conclusion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying group stage on 11 October 2017. Teams were split into three pots of four teams, ordered based on their UEFA national team coefficient.^[6]^[7] The seeding pots for the draw were announced on 7 December 2017.^[8]

Pot 1
Team	Coeff	Rank
Austria	29,418	13
Wales	29,269	14
Russia	29,258	15
Slovakia	28,555	16

Pot 2
Team	Coeff	Rank
Sweden	28,487	17
Ukraine	28,286	18
Republic of Ireland	28,249	19
Bosnia and Herzegovina	28,200	20

Pot 3
Team	Coeff	Rank
Northern Ireland	27,127	21
Denmark	27,052	22
Czech Republic	27,028	23
Turkey	26,538	24

The group draw took place at the SwissTech Convention CenterinLausanne, Switzerland on 24 January 2018, 12:00 CET.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] For political reasons, Russia and Ukraine could not be drawn into the same group (due to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine).^[13]

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 24 January 2018 following the draw.^[14]^[15]

Times are CET/CEST,^{[note 1]} as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

Group 1

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Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	Pts	Promotion^[a]
1	Ukraine (P)	4	3	1	5	5	9	Promotion to League A	—	1–0	1–0
2	Czech Republic	4	2	2	4	4	6		1–2	—	1–0
3	Slovakia	4	1	3	5	5	3		4–1	1–2	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(P) Promoted
Notes:

^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

6 September 2018

21:00^{[note 2]}

Czech Republic	1–2	Ukraine
Schick 4'	Report	Konoplyanka 45+1' Zinchenko 90+3'

Městský fotbalový stadion, Uherské Hradiště

Attendance: 7,974^[16]

Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

9 September 2018

15:00 (16:00 UTC+3)

Ukraine	1–0	Slovakia
Yarmolenko 80' (pen.)	Report

Arena Lviv, Lviv

Attendance: 121^[16]^{[note 3]}

Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

13 October 2018

15:00

Slovakia	1–2	Czech Republic
Hamšík 62'	Report	Krmenčík 52' Schick 76'

Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

Attendance: 17,251^[16]

Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)

16 October 2018

20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)

Ukraine	1–0	Czech Republic
Malinovskyi 43'	Report

Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv

Attendance: 38,100^[16]

Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (Lithuania)

16 November 2018

20:45

Slovakia	4–1	Ukraine
Rusnák 6' Kucka 26' Zreľák 52' Mak 61'	Report	Konoplyanka 47'

Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

Attendance: 9,764^[16]

Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)

19 November 2018

20:45

Czech Republic	1–0	Slovakia
Schick 32'	Report

Sinobo Stadium, Prague

Attendance: 16,623^[16]

Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain)

Group 2

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Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion^[a]
1	Sweden (P)	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7^[b]	Promotion to League A	—	2–0	2–3
2	Russia	4	2	1	1	4	3	+1	7^[b]		0–0	—	2–0
3	Turkey	4	1	0	3	4	7	−3	3		0–1	1–2	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(P) Promoted
Notes:

^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head points: Sweden 4, Russia 1.

7 September 2018

20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)

Turkey	1–2	Russia
Aziz 41'	Report	Cheryshev 13' Dzyuba 49'

Şenol Güneş Stadium, Trabzon

Attendance: 29,702^[18]

Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

10 September 2018

20:45

Sweden	2–3	Turkey
Kiese Thelin 35' Claesson 49'	Report	Çalhanoğlu 51' E. Akbaba 88', 90+2'

Friends Arena, Solna

Attendance: 21,832^[18]

Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

11 October 2018

21:45

Russia	0–0	Sweden
	Report

Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

Attendance: 31,698^[18]

Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)

14 October 2018

18:00 (19:00 UTC+3)

Russia	2–0	Turkey
Neustädter 20' Cheryshev 78'	Report

Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi

Attendance: 38,288^[18]

Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)

17 November 2018

18:00 (20:00 UTC+3)

Turkey	0–1	Sweden
	Report	Granqvist 71' (pen.)

Konya Büyükşehir Stadium, Konya

Attendance: 37,425^[18]

Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

20 November 2018

20:45

Sweden	2–0	Russia
Lindelöf 41' Berg 72'	Report

Friends Arena, Solna

Attendance: 20,223^[18]

Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)

Group 3

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Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion^[a]
1	Bosnia and Herzegovina (P)	4	3	1	0	5	1	+4	10	Promotion to League A	—	1–0	2–0
2	Austria	4	2	1	1	3	2	+1	7		0–0	—	1–0
3	Northern Ireland	4	0	0	4	2	7	−5	0		1–2	1–2	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(P) Promoted
Notes:

^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

8 September 2018

15:00 (14:00 UTC+1)

Northern Ireland	1–2	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Grigg 90+3'	Report	Duljević 36' Sarić 64'

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 16,942^[19]

Referee: Pavel Královec (Czech Republic)

11 September 2018

20:45

Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–0	Austria
Džeko 78'	Report

Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica

Attendance: 9,100^[19]

Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)

12 October 2018

20:45

Austria	1–0	Northern Ireland
Arnautović 71'	Report

Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna

Attendance: 22,300^[19]

Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bulgaria)

15 October 2018

20:45

Bosnia and Herzegovina	2–0	Northern Ireland
Džeko 27', 73'	Report

Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo

Attendance: 11,050^[19]

Referee: Mattias Gestranius (Finland)

15 November 2018

20:45

Austria	0–0	Bosnia and Herzegovina
	Report

Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna

Attendance: 37,200^[19]

Referee: Andrew Dallas (Scotland)

18 November 2018

18:00 (17:00 UTC±0)

Northern Ireland	1–2	Austria
C. Evans 57'	Report	Schlager 49' Lazaro 90+3'

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 17,895^[19]

Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium)

Group 4

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Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion^[a]
1	Denmark (P)	4	2	2	0	4	1	+3	8	Promotion to League A	—	2–0	0–0
2	Wales	4	2	0	2	6	5	+1	6		1–2	—	4–1
3	Republic of Ireland	4	0	2	2	1	5	−4	2		0–0	0–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(P) Promoted
Notes:

^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated.

6 September 2018

20:45 (19:45 UTC+1)

Wales	4–1	Republic of Ireland
Lawrence 6' Bale 18' Ramsey 37' C. Roberts 55'	Report	S. Williams 66'

Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 25,657^[20]

Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

9 September 2018

18:00

Denmark	2–0	Wales
Eriksen 32', 63' (pen.)	Report

Aarhus Stadium, Aarhus

Attendance: 17,506^[20]

Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

13 October 2018

20:45 (19:45 UTC+1)

Republic of Ireland	0–0	Denmark
	Report

Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Attendance: 41,220^[20]

Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (Spain)

16 October 2018

20:45 (19:45 UTC+1)

Republic of Ireland	0–1	Wales
	Report	Wilson 58'

Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Attendance: 38,321^[20]

Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

16 November 2018

20:45 (19:45 UTC±0)

Wales	1–2	Denmark
Bale 89'	Report	N. Jørgensen 42' Braithwaite 88'

Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 32,354^[20]

Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

19 November 2018

20:45

Denmark	0–0	Republic of Ireland
	Report

Aarhus Stadium, Aarhus

Attendance: 11,130^[20]

Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)

There were 48 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.

3 goals

Edin Džeko

Patrik Schick

2 goals

Christian Eriksen

1 goal

Marko Arnautović

The 12 League B teams were ranked 13th to 24th overall in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League according to the following rules:^[2]^[21]

The teams finishing first in the groups were ranked 13th to 16th according to the results of the league phase.
The teams finishing second in the groups were ranked 17th to 20th according to the results of the league phase.
The teams finishing third in the groups were ranked 21st to 24th according to the results of the league phase.

Rnk	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
13	B3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	3	1	0	5	1	+4	10
14	B1	Ukraine	4	3	0	1	5	5	0	9
15	B4	Denmark	4	2	2	0	4	1	+3	8
16	B2	Sweden	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7

17	B2	Russia	4	2	1	1	4	3	+1	7
18	B3	Austria	4	2	1	1	3	2	+1	7
19	B4	Wales	4	2	0	2	6	5	+1	6
20	B1	Czech Republic	4	2	0	2	4	4	0	6

21	B1	Slovakia	4	1	0	3	5	5	0	3
22	B2	Turkey	4	1	0	3	4	7	−3	3
23	B4	Republic of Ireland	4	0	2	2	1	5	−4	2
24	B3	Northern Ireland	4	0	0	4	2	7	−5	0

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Ranking criteria

The prize money to be distributed was announced in March 2018.^[22] Each team in League B received a solidarity fee of €1 million. In addition, the four group winners received double this amount with a €1M bonus fee. This meant that the maximum amount of solidarity and bonus fees for a team from League B was €2M.

The four best teams in League B according to the overall ranking that did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2020 through the qualifying group stage competed in the play-offs, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament. If there had been fewer than four teams in League B that had not qualified, the remaining slots would have been allocated to teams from another league, according to the overall ranking.

League B
Rank	Team
13 ^GW	Bosnia and Herzegovina
14 ^GW	Ukraine
15 ^GW	Denmark^[H]
16 ^GW	Sweden
17	Russia^[H]
18	Austria
19	Wales
20	Czech Republic
21	Slovakia
22	Turkey
23	Republic of Ireland^[H]
24	Northern Ireland

Key

^GW Nations League group winner

^H UEFA Euro 2020 host at the time of the draw

Team advanced to play-offs

Team qualified directly to final tournament

^ CEST (UTC+2) for matchdays 1–4 (September and October 2018), CET (UTC+1) for matchdays 5–6 (November 2018).

^ The Czech Republic v Ukraine match, originally scheduled for 20:45 CEST, was delayed to 21:00 CEST due to floodlight failure.

^ The Ukraine v Slovakia match was played behind closed doors due to a UEFA punishment against Ukraine for the display of a banner with racist symbols in their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying home match against Spain.^[17]

^ "UEFA Nations League receives associations' green light". UEFA. 27 March 2014.

^ ^a ^b "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League 2018/19" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

^ "Format change for 2020/21 UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.

^ "UEFA Nations League format and schedule approved". UEFA.com. 4 December 2014.

^ "UEFA Nations League format and schedule confirmed". UEFA. 4 December 2014.

^ "Confirmed: How the UEFA Nations League will line up". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.

^ "National Team Coefficients Overview" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.

^ "UEFA Nations League draw seedings confirmed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2017.

^ "UEFA Nations League format confirmed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.

^ "All you need to know: UEFA Nations League draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.

^ "League Phase Draw Press Kit" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.

^ "UEFA Nations League 2018/19 League Phase draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.

^ "UEFA Nations League 2018/19 – League Phase Draw Procedure" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.

^ "UEFA Nations League calendar: all the fixtures". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.

^ "UEFA Nations League 2018/19: Fixtures List – League Phase" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Summary UEFA Nations League B – Group 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.

^ "Slováci budú hrať v Lige národov na Ukrajine bez divákov, pre trest z roku 2015" [Slovaks will play in Nations League in Ukraine without spectators due to 2015 punishment]. SME (in Slovak). Petit Press. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Summary UEFA Nations League B – Group 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Summary UEFA Nations League B – Group 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Summary UEFA Nations League B – Group 4". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.

^ "2018/19 UEFA Nations League rankings" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

^ "UEFA Nations League solidarity and bonus fees". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.

2018–19 UEFA Nations League B

Contents

Format

Seeding

Groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Goalscorers

Overall ranking

Prize money

Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs

Notes

References

External links

Languages