UEFA has announced a new format for the Nations League including a knockout round will be introduced in September next year.
The football governing body confirmed a quarter-final match will be added to the competition in a move to "enrich the standing of international football".
However, UEFA stated the change will not add any fresh dates to the international calendar.
The knockout round - scheduled to be played in March - will act as a bridge between the group phase ending in November and the finals played in June.
The UEFA Nations League quarter-final round in March will involve the winners and runners-up from the League A bracket.
The eight sides will play each other home and away with the winners advancing to the final four for the traditional semi-finals and final of the Nations League.
UEFA also confirmed promotion and relegation play-offs will be played between teams finishing third in League A groups and runners-up in League B groups.
Similarly, the third-placed sides in League B groups will play runners-up in League C groups home and away for a spot in the higher division.
The changes were approved by the UEFA Executive Committee in January after discussions on the men's national team competition.
The governing body says the modifications come after an "extensive consultation process with UEFA's national associations".
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: "The introduction of the UEFA Nations League was a success story, replacing friendly games with more competitive matches. And now, by introducing the new knockout phase, teams will be given even more opportunities to progress while keeping the same number of games within the international match calendar."
A UEFA statement added: "Behind all this is an acute awareness of the importance of national team competitions in boosting the resources of national associations – a significant matter when these associations are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic.
"These adjustments should bring more meaningful matches which are not only to the benefit of players, but will also generate more interest among supporters, media and commercial partners."
🆕 #NationsLeague: new format from September 2024. ⚽ The introduction of a new knockout phase will give teams even more opportunities to progress while keeping the same number of games within the international match calendar. Full story: ⬇️
— UEFA (@UEFA) June 14, 2023
What does it mean for Scotland?
After two promotions in three Nations League campaigns, Scotland will be in League A for the next 'season' of the tournament.
It means Scotland - who have the highest win percentage in the entire competition (62.5 percent) - could be involved either in the new knockout round or a relegation play-off.
Should Scotland finish first or second in their group - which is yet to be drawn - then they would advance to the knockout round to play for a spot in the semi-finals and final.
However, if Scotland finish third in their group then they would face a runner-up from a League A group to try and retain their spot in the top tier.
If Scotland were to finish bottom of their group then they would be automatically relegated to League B.
