The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C was the third division of the 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 September – 20 November 2018 |
| Teams | 15 |
| Promoted |  Bulgaria Finland Hungary Israel Norway Romania Scotland Serbia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 42 |
| Goals scored | 92 (2.19 per match) |
| Attendance | 338,393 (8,057 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Aleksandar Mitrović (6 goals) |
2020–21 → | |
Format
editLeague C consisted of 15 UEFA members ranked from 25 to 39, which were split into four groups (one group of three and three groups of four). The top two teams of each group were promoted to the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B, and the bottom four ranked teams were initially relegated to the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League D (the bottom teams of Group 2, 3, and 4, along with the lowest ranked third-placed team of League C).[2] However, following UEFA announcement of format changes for the next edition's groups in September 2019, none of the 2018–19 League C teams were relegated to League D.[3]
In addition, League C was allocated one of the four remaining UEFA Euro 2020 places.[4][5] The play-off berths were first allocated to each Nations League group winner, and if any of the group winners had already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best-ranked team of the league, etc. As Finland already qualified for the European Championship finals through regular qualifiers and 11 teams in League A did the same, the seven best-ranked teams from League C competed in the play-offs, played in October and November 2020.
Seeding
editTeams were allocated to League C 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 four pots (three pots of four teams and one pot of the three lowest teams), ordered based on their UEFA national team coefficient.[6][7] The group with three teams contained teams only from pots 1, 2, and 3. The seeding pots for the draw were announced on 7 December 2017.[8]
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The group draw took place at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 January 2018, 12:00 CET.[9][10][11][12] Due to winter venue restrictions, a group could only contain a maximum of two of the following teams: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania.[13]
Groups
editThe 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
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion[a] |
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland (P)
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4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 9 | Promotion to League B | — | 3–2 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Israel (P)
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Albania
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 3 | 0–4 | 1–0 | — |
- ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.
Group 2
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion[a] |
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|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland (P)
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 12 | Promotion to League B | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Hungary (P)
|
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 10 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Greece
|
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 9 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | ||
| 4 | Estonia
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 4 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | — |
- ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.
| Greece | 0–1 | Estonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Group 3
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion[a] |
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| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway (P)
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6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 13 | Promotion to League B | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Bulgaria (P)
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 11 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | ||
| 3 | Cyprus
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Slovenia
|
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
- ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.
| Norway | 1–0 | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
Group 4
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion[a] |
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|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia (P)
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6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 14 | Promotion to League B | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Romania (P)
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 12 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Montenegro
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6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 7 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Lithuania
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | — |
- ^ Due to revamp of the format for the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, no teams were eventually relegated, and the second-placed teams in each group were also promoted.
| Romania | 0–0 | Montenegro |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Montenegro | 0–2 | Serbia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Lithuania | 1–4 | Montenegro |
|---|---|---|
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Report |
| Serbia | 2–1 | Montenegro |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Serbia | 4–1 | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Montenegro | 0–1 | Romania |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Goalscorers
editThere were 92 goals scored in 42 matches, for an average of 2.19 goals per match.
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Taulant Xhaka
- Kiril Despodov
- Nikolay Dimitrov
- Galin Ivanov
- Todor Nedelev
- Radoslav Vasilev
- Grigoris Kastanos
- Fotios Papoulis
- Pieros Sotiriou
- Panagiotis Zachariou
- Henri Anier
- Siim Luts
- Glen Kamara
- Pyry Soiri
- Kostas Fortounis
- Kostas Manolas
- Kostas Mitroglou
- László Kleinheisler
- Ádám Nagy
- Dominik Nagy
- Willi Orbán
- Roland Sallai
- Tomer Hemed
- Beram Kayal
- Dor Peretz
- Dia Saba
- Eran Zahavi
- Rolandas Baravykas
- Deimantas Petravičius
- Artūras Žulpa
- Marko Janković
- Boris Kopitović
- Stefan Savić
- Darko Zorić
- Mohamed Elyounoussi
- Bjørn Maars Johnsen
- Ole Selnæs
- Alexandru Chipciu
- Claudiu Keșerü
- Alexandru Maxim
- George Pușcaș
- Steven Fletcher
- Ryan Fraser
- Charlie Mulgrew
- Steven Naismith
- Aleksandar Prijović
- Dušan Tadić
- Robert Berić
- Nejc Skubic
- Benjamin Verbič
1 own goal
- Berat Djimsiti (against Scotland)
- Albin Granlund (against Greece)
- Vassilis Lambropoulos (against Estonia)
- Máté Pátkai (against Estonia)
- Artūras Žulpa (against Serbia)
- Kieran Tierney (against Israel)
- Petar Stojanović (against Cyprus)
Overall ranking
editThe 15 League C teams were ranked 25th to 39th overall in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League according to the following rules:[2][23]
- The teams finishing first in the groups will be ranked 25th to 28th according to the results of the league phase, not considering results against the fourth-placed teams.
- The teams finishing second in the groups will be ranked 29th to 32nd according to the results of the league phase, not considering results against the fourth-placed teams.
- The teams finishing third in the groups will be ranked 33rd to 36th according to the results of the league phase, not considering results against the fourth-placed teams.
- The teams finishing fourth in the groups will be ranked 37th to 39th according to the results of the league phase, considering all results.
| Rnk | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | C1 | Scotland
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 9 |
| 26 | C3 | Norway
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 |
| 27 | C4 | Serbia
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 8 |
| 28 | C2 | Finland
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 29 | C3 | Bulgaria
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 7 |
| 30 | C1 | Israel
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4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 |
| 31 | C2 | Hungary
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| 32 | C4 | Romania
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 |
| 33 | C2 | Greece
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 |
| 34 | C1 | Albania
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 3 |
| 35 | C4 | Montenegro
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
| 36 | C3 | Cyprus
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 |
| 37 | C2 | Estonia
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 4 |
| 38 | C3 | Slovenia
|
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 3 |
| 39 | C4 | Lithuania
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 0 |
Prize money
editThe prize money to be distributed was announced in March 2018.[24] Each team in League C received a solidarity fee of €750,000. In addition, the four group winners received double this amount with a €750,000 bonus fee. This meant that the maximum amount of solidarity and bonus fees for a team from League C was €1.5 million.
Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs
editThe seven best teams in League C 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.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 25 GW | Scotland[H]
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| 26 GW | Norway
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| 27 GW | Serbia
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| 28 GW | Finland
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| 29 | Bulgaria
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| 30 | Israel
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| 31 | Hungary[H]
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| 32 | Romania[H]
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| 33 | Greece
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| 34 | Albania
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| 35 | Montenegro
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| 36 | Cyprus
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| 37 | Estonia
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| 38 | Slovenia
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| 39 | Lithuania
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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
Notes
edit- ^ CEST (UTC+2) for matchdays 1–4 (September and October 2018), CET (UTC+1) for matchdays 5–6 (November 2018).
- ^ The Hungary v Greece match was played behind closed doors due to a UEFA punishment against Hungary for racist behaviour in their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying home match against Romania.[18]
- ^ The Romania v Montenegro match was played behind closed doors due to a UEFA punishment against Romania for racist behaviour in their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying home match against Greece.[21]
- ^ The Romania v Lithuania match was played behind closed doors due to a UEFA punishment against Romania for racist behaviour in their 2018–19 UEFA Nations League home match against Serbia.[22]
References
edit- ^ "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 C – Group 1". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Summary UEFA Nations League C – Group 2". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "Zárt kapus lesz a magyar csapat első hazai meccse" [Closed gate the first home match of the Hungarian team]. Origo.hu (in Hungarian). New Wave Media Group. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Summary UEFA Nations League C – Group 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Summary UEFA Nations League C – Group 4". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "A fost stabilit țintarul din Liga Națiunilor: România debutează acasă, fără spectatori!" [The draw of the Nations League is set: Romania starts at home without spectators!]. gsp.ro (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ Sports Staff (26 October 2018). "Romania fined and ordered to play next Nations League game behind closed doors by Uefa due to 'racist behaviour' of fans". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "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.