England have been drawn alongside the Republic of Ireland, Finland and Greece for the next edition of the UEFA Nations League, having been relegated from the competition’s top tier in 2022.
Gareth Southgate’s side finished bottom of a group containing Italy, Hungary and Germany in the last edition of the tournament, failing to win a game as they dropped into the second tier.
Their quest to return to League A will begin in September, and their Group B2 campaign will include their first competitive meetings with Ireland since 1991.
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Southgate was present at Thursday’s draw, and he believes England will still face a difficult set of fixtures despite their relegation to League B.
“There are some teams there that we haven’t played for a while. There will be some difficult games,” Southgate said.
CONFIRMED | 2024 UEFA Nations League
Ireland will face England, Finland & Greece in League B2 ????????
Fixture details to follow in due course#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/BcckNu2qAF
— Ireland Football ⚽️???????? (@IrelandFootball) February 8, 2024
“I think everyone in England thought it was a big disappointment to drop to League B, but you still have some big games. We know we have to try to win the group to get back into League A.
“We’ve had really varied experiences in the Nations League, in all three editions we’ve used it to look at new players.
“The competition pairs the best with the best and my impressions of it have been really good.”
Wales were also relegated from the top tier at the end of the 2022-23 edition, and they have been drawn alongside Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey in Group B4.
Scotland went the other way, winning four of their six games in Group B1 last time around to earn a spot in the top tier.
Steve Clarke’s men will face Croatia, Portugal and Poland in 2024-25, having been drawn into Group A1.
