The finals tournament is now scheduled to begin in June , delayed a year due to the pandemic. Even if all the playoff teams — who also need to play two Nations League games beginning this weekend — are below the top level, the potential stories are striking.

The prize for four playoff teams — Hungary, Ireland, Romania and Scotland — is to have home games at Euro next June.

That will also require the pandemic to be under enough control that UEFA sticks to its plan for host nations across the continent.

The playoff picture will be completed next month. The winners of eight playoff semifinals in four separate brackets Thursday advance to finals games on Nov.

The best pairing looks be in the third tier, Norway vs. Serbia, with a slew of playmakers from Champions League teams. The winner Thursday travels to face Georgia or Belarus next month.

The top-tier bracket includes only one team, Iceland, that actually played at the highest level of the inaugural Nations League two years ago.

Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary were moved up in a complex process for teams that did not qualify direct for Euro to fill the playoffs brackets.

The winner of Bulgaria vs. Hungary, which has a 4,spectator limit in Sofia, will next month host the winner of Iceland vs.

In the second-tier bracket, Bosnia-Herzegovina hosts Northern Ireland for the right to host Slovakia or Ireland next month.

Several teams have seen at least one squad member drop out after testing positive for COVID UEFA requires further mandatory tests before games.

The new program has no games on Friday as teams play on Saturday-Tuesday or Sunday-Wednesday cycles. Standout Nations League games include France vs.

An action-packed September begins with club managers watching on nervously as some of their players head out for international duty. The novelty of relegation and promotion on the international stage also made it exciting, and now it is time to do it all again.

England remain in League A, while Wales , Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all stay in League B, with Scotland also in the second-tier after promotion from League C.

Of those nations only Wales and Republic of Ireland will face one another in Group 4 of League B — but not until next month.

For now there are six consecutive matchdays to look forward to, and we have picked out the standout Nations League fixture to watch from each day….

Every single Nations League match will be live on Sky Sports across a variety of their channels plus the red button on Sky Sports Football.

The highlight of the opening night of Nations League action sees Germany host Spain, and there is plenty to look out for in Berlin. Who ya got?

NationsLeague pic. With the Bayern Munich quartet of Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer all left out following their Champions League-winning exploits, Joachim Low will likely experiment after admitting his Germany squad are all over the place in terms of fitness.

Others are just back from holidays that were short. Leroy Sane will be expected to turn out for the first time as a Bayern player, while new Chelsea striker Timo Werner will likely play alongside Kai Havertz, who is on the verge of joining the Blues himself.

Luis Enrique must also choose between David de Gea and Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal, with the duo very much under pressure heading into the new Premier League season.

Scotland could not have asked for a more ideal match to prepare for their Euro play-off next month, for they host an Israel side on Friday that are also their semi-final opponents in October.

This dress rehearsal will allow Steve Clarke to size up Israel, and also finalise his own tactics given Scotland — like most nations — have not played since last November.

Scotland are lacking firepower with Oli McBurnie and Lawrence Shankland withdrawing, plus duo Leigh Griffiths and Johnny Russell also out, leaving Lyndon Dykes as the sole centre forward.

But further back Scotland can lean on the experience of captain Andrew Robertson as well as midfielders John McGinn and Scott McTominay, while Kieran Tierney is also set to play for the first time under Clarke.

The build-up will inevitably reference Euro , so it would be remiss to avoid mentioned that Euro meeting here. For England the defeat was a catalyst for change, with Roy Hodgson replaced by Sam Allardyce, who was swiftly replaced by Gareth Southgate after one game, one ill-fated meeting and 67 days in charge.

Four years on England begin their month run-up to the delayed Euro tournament in Reykjavik, with Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling among those who started in out to make amends.

After a jaunt in Helsinki to face Finland, Wales return to Cardiff when facing Bulgaria in their second Nations League match. It will be a return to these shores for Gareth Bale, who has hinted he could be tempted should a Premier League club come calling this summer, but only if current club Real Madrid let him depart a year after they blocked his move to China.