The draw for the league phase of the third edition of the UEFA Nations League takes place in Nyon at 18:00 CET on 16 December 2021.

All 55 UEFA member associations participate in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League and are divided into the four leagues based on the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League Access List. The Access List has been compiled based on the teams’ results in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League, including promotion and relegation between the leagues and pending the results of the UNL 2020/21 finals and the relegation play-outs.

Leagues A, B and C will all have 16 teams, which will each be drawn into four groups of four for the league phase. The remaining seven teams, including Malta, in League D, will be split into two groups, one of four and the other of three.

League A

France (2021 Finals)
Spain (2021 Finals)
Italy (2021 Finals)
Belgium (2021 Finals)
Portugal
Netherlands
Denmark
Germany
England
Poland
Switzerland
Croatia
Wales (promoted)
Austria (promoted)
Czech Republic (promoted)
Hungary (promoted)

League B

Ukraine (relegated)
Sweden (relegated)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (relegated)
Iceland (relegated)
Finland
Norway
Scotland
Russia
Israel
Romania
Serbia
Republic of Ireland
Slovenia (promoted)
Montenegro (promoted)
Albania (promoted)
Armenia (promoted)

League C

Turkey (relegated)
Slovakia (relegated)
Bulgaria (relegated)
Northern Ireland (relegated)
Greece
Belarus
Luxembourg
North Macedonia
Lithuania
Georgia
Azerbaijan
Kosovo
Two play-out winners to be confirmed in March 2022: Moldova/Kazakhstan and Estonia/Cyprus
Gibraltar (promoted)
Faroe Islands (promoted)

League D

Two play-out losers to be confirmed in March 2022: Moldova/Kazakhstan and Estonia/Cyprus
Liechtenstein
Malta
Latvia
San Marino
Andorra

Malta will therefore be drawn either in a group of four or a group of three teams with the possible opponents being Moldova/Kazakhstan, Estonia/Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Latvia, San Marino and Andorra.

Due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup which will be played between November 21 and December 18, the first four match days will be played in June. Matchdays 1 and 2 are scheduled for 2–8 June and Matchdays 3 and 4 for 8–14 June. Matchdays 5 and 6 are scheduled for 22–27 September.

The format for UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying is not yet confirmed, including any details of how teams might earn play-off spots via the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League. The UEFA EURO 2024 competition regulations are expected to be approved and published by June 2022.

In the first edition of the UEFA Nations League, in 2018, Malta placed at the bottom of League D3, collecting three points in three draws in a group which included Kosovo, Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands.

On the other hand, in the second edition, which was held in 2020, Malta finished second in League D1 on 9 points, three behind group winners Faroe Islands and two ahead of Latvia with Andorra finishing at the bottom of the group with two points.