The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B was the second division of the 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the third season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2 June – 27 September 2022 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Promoted |  Bosnia and Herzegovina Israel Scotland Serbia |
| Relegated |  Armenia Romania Russia Sweden |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 42 |
| Goals scored | 112 (2.67 per match) |
| Attendance | 758,681 (18,064 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Erling Haaland Aleksandar Mitrović(6 goals each) |
Format
League B consisted of 16 UEFA members ranked from 17–32 in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League access list, split into four groups of four. Each team played six matches within their group, using the home-and-away round-robin format in June (quadruple matchdays) and September 2022 (double matchdays).[1] The winners of each group were promoted to the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A, and the fourth-placed team of each group were relegated to the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League C.[2]
Teams
Team changes
The following were the team changes in League B from the 2020–21 season:
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Seeding
In the 2022–23 access list, UEFA ranked teams based on the 2020–21 Nations League overall ranking.[3] The seeding pots for the league phase were confirmed on 22 September 2021,[4] and were based on the access list ranking.[2]
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The draw for the league phase took place at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 16 December 2021, 18:00 CET.[5][6] Each group contained one team from each pot. For political reasons, Russia and Ukraine (due to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine) could not be drawn in the same group. Due to restrictions of excessive travel, Armenia, Israel and Iceland could not all be in the same group.
Groups
The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 17 December 2021, the day following the draw.[7][8] The fixture list for Group 1 was amended due to the postponement of Path A of UEFA qualifying for the World Cup.[9]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation | |  |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland (P) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 13 | Promotion to League A | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Ukraine | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 11 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Republic of Ireland | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 7 | 3–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | ||
| 4 | Armenia (R) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 3 | Relegation to League C | 1–4 | 0–5 | 1–0 | — |
| Armenia | 1–4 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Ukraine | 1–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation | |  |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel (P) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | Promotion to League A | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | Canc. | |
| 2 | Iceland | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | Canc. | ||
| 3 | Albania | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | Canc. | ||
| 4 | Russia[a] (R, D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Banned from tournament | Canc. | Canc. | Canc. | — |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(D) Disqualified; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
| Israel | 2–2 | Iceland |
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| Report |
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| Iceland | 1–1 | Albania |
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| Report |
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| Iceland | 2–2 | Israel |
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| Report |
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Group 3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation | |  |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina (P) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 11 | Promotion to League A | — | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Finland | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | ||
| 3 | Montenegro | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7[a] | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Romania (R) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7[a] | Relegation to League C | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | — |
| Finland | 1–1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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| Report |
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| Finland | 2–0 | Montenegro |
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| Report |
| Montenegro | 1–1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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| Report |
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| Romania | 0–3 | Montenegro |
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| Report |
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Group 4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation | | |  | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia (P) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 13 | Promotion to League A | — | 0–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Norway | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 3–2 | ||
| 3 | Slovenia | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 6 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | ||
| 4 | Sweden (R) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 4 | Relegation to League C | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
| Serbia | 4–1 | Slovenia |
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| Report |
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| Slovenia | 2–2 | Serbia |
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| Report |
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| Norway | 0–2 | Serbia |
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| Report |
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Goalscorers
There were 112 goals scored in 42 matches, for an average of 2.67 goals per match.
6 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Armando Broja- Ermir Lenjani
- Taulant Seferi
- Myrto Uzuni
Vahan Bichakhchyan- Artak Dashyan
Ermedin Demirović- Luka Menalo
- Miralem Pjanić
Oliver Antman
Mikael Anderson- Arnór Sigurðsson
Liel Abada- Tai Baribo
- Dor Peretz
Adam Marušić- Marko Vukčević
Alexander Sørloth
Robbie Brady- Alan Browne
- Nathan Collins
- Troy Parrott
Nicușor Bancu- Dennis Man
- Andrei Rațiu
- Florin Tănase
Ché Adams- Ryan Christie
- Jack Hendry
- Scott McKenna
- Anthony Ralston
Saša Lukić- Sergej Milinković-Savić
- Nemanja Radonjić
- Dušan Vlahović
- Andrija Živković
Adam Gnezda Čerin- Andraž Šporar
- Petar Stojanović
Viktor Claesson- Anthony Elanga
- Viktor Gyökeres
- Dejan Kulusevski
Danylo Ihnatenko- Oleksandr Karavayev
- Ruslan Malinovskyi
- Vitaliy Mykolenko
- Viktor Tsyhankov
- Oleksandr Tymchyk
- Oleksandr Zubkov
1 own goal
- Daníel Leó Grétarsson (against Israel)
Overall ranking
The 16 League B teams were ranked 17th to 32nd overall in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League according to the following rules:[2][54][55]
- The teams finishing first in the groups were ranked 17th to 20th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing second in the groups were ranked 21st to 24th according to the results of the league phase
- The teams finishing third in the groups were ranked 25th to 28th according to the results of the league phase.
- The teams finishing fourth in Groups 1, 3, and 4 were ranked 29th to 31st according to the results of the league phase.
- Russia, disqualifed from the competition and automatically ranked fourth in their group, was ranked 32nd. Because the members of group 2 played two fewer matches as a result, teams finishing first, second, and third in groups 1, 3, and 4 had their match results vs. the fourth place team in their groups discarded for the ranking.
| Rnk | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | B2 | Israel | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 |
| 18 | B3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 8 |
| 19 | B4 | Serbia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 7 |
| 20 | B1 | Scotland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 |
| 21 | B3 | Finland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 7 |
| 22 | B1 | Ukraine | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 5 |
| 23 | B2 | Iceland | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| 24 | B4 | Norway | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 |
| 25 | B4 | Slovenia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 5 |
| 26 | B1 | Republic of Ireland | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 |
| 27 | B2 | Albania | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 |
| 28 | B3 | Montenegro | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 |
| 29 | B3 | Romania | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7 |
| 30 | B4 | Sweden | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 4 |
| 31 | B1 | Armenia | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 3 |
| 32 | B2 | Russia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs
The four best teams in League B according to the overall ranking that did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2024 through the qualifying group stage were set to compete in the play-offs, with the winners qualifying for the final tournament.[56] As the Path A play-offs had a vacant spot, the next-best ranked un-qualified team in League B, Iceland, qualified for the play-offs as well.
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 17 GW | Israel |
| 18 GW | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 19 GW | Serbia |
| 20 GW | Scotland |
| 21 | Finland |
| 22 | Ukraine |
| 23 | Iceland |
| 24 | Norway |
| 25 | Slovenia |
| 26 | Republic of Ireland |
| 27 | Albania |
| 28 | Montenegro |
| 29 | Romania |
| 30 | Sweden |
| 31 | Armenia |
| 32 | Russia ‡ |
Key
- GW Group winner from Nations League B
- Team qualified directly to final tournament
- Team in bold advanced to play-offs
- ‡ Banned from qualifying competition