Malta could face either Andorra and the loser of the play-off between Gibraltar or Latvia in League C or Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia in League D as the league phase draw of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League was held in Brussels on Thursday.
Malta will be playing in either League D or League C, depending on the outcome of the League C/D play-off against Luxembourg. Malta hosts Luxembourg on March 26 and then plays the return match in Luxembourg on March 31. If successful, Malta would play in League C for the first time. Otherwise, Malta would play once again in League D.
Commenting on the draws on mfa.com.mt, Malta National Team Coach Emilio De Leo said “I am neutral about the teams we have drawn. Our full focus right now is on the play-off in March — that is our only objective. We will analyse the group properly once we know our fate.”
“Luxembourg is our priority. All our preparation is centred on these two matches. We believe in this squad and we are fully concentrated on achieving our goal.”
The 54 UEFA member associations participating in the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League were divided into four leagues, based on the Access List and pending the 2024/25 UNL League C/D play-offs in March 2026.
The league phase will start with a prolonged international window from 24 September to 6 October 2026, during which teams will play four Nations League matches in close succession. The final two match-days take place between 12-17 November.
Teams face the other sides in their groups home and away, so six fixtures for sides in League A-C, and four in League D.
The League A group winners and runners-up advance to home-and-away quarter-finals, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the four-team finals earmarked for June 2027.
The fourth-placed teams in Leagues A and B are automatically relegated to Leagues B and C respectively. The two lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams in League C are relegated to League D.
The four group winners in Leagues B and C, as well as the two group winners in League D, are automatically promoted to Leagues A, B and C respectively.
The third-ranked teams of League A and the runners-up of League B, as well as the third-ranked teams of League B and the runners-up of League C, play a home-and-away promotion/relegation play-off.
There will also be play-offs between the two best-ranked fourth-placed teams from League C and the two runners-up from League D.
The 2026/27 UEFA Nations League is expected to be linked to qualification for UEFA EURO 2028 in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Based on their UEFA Nations League results, some teams will be given a second chance to enter the play-offs for the final tournament.
Nations League A
A1: France, Italy, Belgium, Türkiye
A2: Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Greece
A3: Spain, Croatia, England, Czechia
A4: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Wales
Nations League B
B1: Scotland, Switzerland, Slovenia, North Macedonia
B2: Hungary, Ukraine, Georgia, Northern Ireland
B3: Israel, Austria, Republic of Ireland, Kosovo
B4: Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Sweden
Nations League C
C1: Albania, Finland, Belarus, San Marino
C2: Montenegro, Armenia, Cyprus, Latvia or Gibraltar
C3: Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Faroe Islands, Moldova
C4: Iceland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembourg or Malta
Nations League D
D1: Gibraltar or Latvia, Malta or Luxembourg, Andorra
D2: Lithuania, Azerbaijan, LIechtenstein
Matchday 1: 24-26 September 2026
Matchday 2: 27-29 September 2026
Matchday 3: 30 September-3 October 2026
Matchday 4: 4-6 October 2026
Matchday 5: 12-14 November 2026
Matchday 6: 15-17 November 2026