Inaugural Nations League groupings announced

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — World Cup champion Germany will play France and the Netherlands when soccer’s newest competition for national teams kicks off in September.

The Nations League draw on Wednesday also placed 2010 World Cup winner Spain in a group with England and Croatia.

The first Nations League draw ranked Europe’s 55 national teams in four tiers, each containing four groups. Teams play home and away games from Sept. 6 through Nov. 20.

The top-tier League A also grouped European champion Portugal with Italy and Poland, while Belgium drew Switzerland and Iceland.

Group winners in League A will play a Final Four mini-tournament in June 2019 to decide the Nations League champion.

UEFA created the competition to replace most friendlies, which generate little interest among coaches, fans and broadcasters.

The format guarantees topranked teams play each other more often. Lower-ranked nations get extra competitive games against teams at their own level and a more realistic qualifying route to the European Championship.

Nations League results will also decide the playoff lineup in March 2020 for that year’s European Championship, helping at least one team from the lowest-ranked League D to qualify for Euro 2020.

By creating the Nations League, UEFA has delayed kicking off the next European qualifiers until 2019. That qualifying program of 10 groups will send 20 teams to the final tournament, leaving four places to be decided by the playoffs.