There are four groups containing four teams in Leagues A, B and C and two groups of three teams in League D.
The winners and runners-up in the four League A groups will go through to the quarter-final stage of the tournament to play over two legs in March 2027, with semi-finals and finals in June 2027.
There are also play-offs for promotion and relegation from leagues A-C at the same time in March 2027.
The best-performing teams in the Nations League that do not qualify for the 2028 European Championships from the qualification campaign will enter to play-offs to earn the final qualifying spots for the tournament.
Topping Group C3 in 2024 gave Northern Ireland a backdoor route to the play-offs for the World Cup and doing well in League B could offer a similar passage to Euro 2028 if O’Neill’s side do not qualify automatically.
Nations League schedule:
Matchday 1: 24-26 September
Matchday 2: 27-29 September
Matchday 3: 30 September-3 October
Matchday 4: 4-6 October
Matchday 5: 12-14 November
Matchday 6: 15-17 November
League A quarter-finals: 25-30 March 2027
League A/B and B/C play-offs: 25-30 March 2027
Final tournament: 9-13 June 2027
League C/D play-offs: 23-28 March 2028
