France will play Italy, Belgium and Turkey in Group A1 during the pool stages of the 2026-2027 Nations League football tournament.
The competition, which takes place between September and June 2027, will be the first major international tournament for the new head coach of the French national team, who is yet to be named.
Didier Deschamps will take France to the World Cup this summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but the 57-year-old former France skipper will step down after the tournament.
During his 14 years as head coach, Deschamps led the squad to victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and the 2021 Nations League against Spain. France made it to the final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, losing out to Argentina.
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“You need to ask my successor what they think about the teams in the group,” joked Deschamps, following the draw in Brussels.
“It’s something of a déjà vu,” he added. “We had Italy and Belgium in the group last year and this time it’s Turkey who replace Israel. It’s the same as always in the four pools in the A band, you always have the top nations. There are always some glamorous ties."
The Nations League is contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Deschamps added: "Even if the European championships and World Cup are more prestigious, the Nations League is still a great tournament.”
In other pools in the top band, current champions Portugal will play in A4 with Denmark, Norway and Wales.
Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia and Greece feature in A2, while Spain, Croatia, England and Czech Republic play in A3.
"It’s a difficult group and a very competitive group,” England boss Thomas Tuchel told Uefa.com.
“We’re playing against Croatia in the World Cup group stages and we’ve got them again. But that’s what you get – a competitive group in the A band. You want to play against the best and see what level you are at. In any competition we play in, we dream big and we believe in ourselves."
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Each team in the Nations League will face every other team in their group twice, once at home and once away, between September and November 2026.
Each group winner in Leagues B, C and D will be promoted one league, while the teams finishing bottom of their groups in Leagues A, B and C will be relegated to the next level.
The top two teams from each group in League A advance to the quarter-finals which are held in March 2027. The semi-finals and final take place in June to determine the Nations League champions.
