The UEFA Nations League is a football tournament held every two years for national teams from Europe. Instead of playing friendly matches as before, teams now play more competitive games against other European teams of a similar skill level. This makes the matches more exciting and meaningful. The league was first played in September 2018, with Portugal becoming the first team to win the title in the 2018-19 season. They defeated the Netherlands in the final by 1-0 to win the first-ever UEFA Nations League title. Portugal are also the current champions of the UEFA Nations League, having won the title in the 2024-25 season.
UEFA Nations League Winners
As of 2025, a total of four UEFA Nations League seasons have been played. Portugal has won the title twice, in the 2018-19 and 2024-25 seasons. France and Spain are the other two teams that have won the title once, in the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, respectively. Spain has also ended as runners-up two times in the league. They played the final in the 2020-21 and 2024-25 seasons, but lost to Italy and Portugal, respectively.
| Season | Winner | Runners-up | Final Match Score |
| 2018-19 | Portugal | Netherlands | 1-0 |
| 2020-21 | France | Spain | 2-1 |
| 2022-23 | Spain | Croatia | 0-0 (full match + extra time) (Spain won 5-4 in penalties) |
| 2024-25 | Portugal | Spain | 2-2 (full match + extra time) (Portugal won 5-3 in penalties) |
Which Team Has Played The Most Finals of the UEFA Nations League?
As of 2025, Spain has featured in the most finals of the UEFA Nations League. They have played in the three finals, having lost two and won once. Netherlands and Croatia are the two teams that have also played the final of the league in the 2018-19 and 2022-23 seasons.
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Who Is the All-Time Top Goal Scorer in the League?
As of now, Erling Haaland from Norway is the all-time top goal scorer in the UEFA Nations League. He has 19 goals to his name in 16 appearances. Cristiano Ronaldo is the second in the list with 15 goals in 20 appearances. Ronaldo has scored 8 goals in the 2024-25 season of the UEFA Nations League.
Top 5 All-time Goal Scorers
| Player Name | Goals |
| Erling Haaland (Norway) | 19 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) | 15 |
| Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia) | 15 |
| Vedat Muriqi (Kosovo) | 10 |
| Viktor Gyokeres (Sweden) | 10 |
Top Scorers by Season
As of 2025, Viktor Gyokeres has the record of scoring the most goals in a single UEFA Nations League season. He scored 9 goals (League C) in the 2024-25 season.
| Season | Player Name | Goals |
| 2018-19 | Aleksandar Mitrovic | 6 |
| 2020-21 | Romelu Lukaku, Ferran Torres, Erling Haaland | 6 (each) |
| 2022-23 | Erling Haaland, Aleksandar Mitrovic | 6 (each) |
| 2024-25 | Viktor Gyokeres | 9 |
Format of the League
When the league started, they used to follow the format where all 55 UEFA national teams were split into four leagues: League A and League B had 12 teams each, League C had 15 teams, and League D had 16 teams. Each league was then divided into four smaller groups, with 3 or 4 teams in each group. The teams in each group played against each other twice, once at home and once away.
You can check all the fixtures of the league on UEFA’s Official Website HERE
After the first season, UEFA decided to change the format of the Nations League. In the new format, Leagues A, B, and C each have 16 teams, while League D has 7 teams.
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Teams Who Finished in the Third-Place in Every Season
In the first season (2018-19), England finished in third place after defeating Switzerland in the penalty shoot-out by 6-5. Italy was in third place in the second (2020-21) and third season (2022-23), defeating Belgium and the Netherlands respectively by 2-1 and 3-2. France became the third-best team in the fourth season (2024-25) of the UEFA Nations League.
| Season | Third-placed Team | Fourth-placed Team |
| 2018-19 | England | Switzerland |
| 2020-21 | Italy | Belgium |
| 2022-23 | Italy | Netherlands |
| 2024-25 | France | Germany |
All Player of the Tournament (Season by Season)
Bernardo Silva (Portugal) becomes the first player to win the player of the tournament award in the 2018-19 season. Sergio Busquets (Spain) won the title in the second season. Rodri (Spain) won the title in the third season, and Nuno Mendes (Portugal) won the POTT award in the last season.
| Season | Player Name | Country |
| 2018-19 | Bernardo Silva | Portugal |
| 2020-21 | Sergio Busquets | Spain |
| 2022-23 | Rodri | Spain |
| 2024-25 | Nuno Mendes | Portugal |
So these are the winners of the UEFA Nations League titles every season. We have also seen the all-time top scorer, top scorer by each season, runners-up, and more. What is your favourite moment from the UEFA Nations League? Comment on your favourite moment below.
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FAQs:-
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Who is the youngest player to score a goal in the UEFA Nations League?
As of now, Konstantinos Karetsas from Greece has become the youngest player to score a goal in the league. He scored a goal at the age of 17 years 124 days, against Scotland March 23, 2025, in the 2024-25 season.
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Who is the oldest goal scorer in the league?
Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest goal scorer in the league, as of 2025. He scored a goal at the age of 40 years 123 days, against Spain in the final of the 2024-25 season.
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Who is the youngest player to win the league?
As of now, Gavi from Spain is the youngest to win the title. He won the title in the 2022-23 season, at the age of 18 years 317 days.
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Who is the oldest player to win the title?
As of now, Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest to win the title. He won the title with Portugal in the 2024-25 season, at the age of 40 years 123 days.
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Who is the youngest player to appear in the UEFA Nations League?
Patrik Kristal from Estonia is the youngest player to appear in the league. He played at the age of 16 years 301 days against Sweden on September 08, 2024.
