International football is returning to our screens after England's narrow miss in the World Cup.

The newly founded UEFA Nations League started on Thursday, with 55 European nations competing in four leagues.

There will be a few blockbuster games to start the tournament as England take on Spain and World Cup winners France face previous champions Germany.

Here is all you need to know.

:: What is the UEFA Nations League?


It is a new international tournament. England will go up against other European nations in a league format for the chance to compete in the Final Four summer showpiece in 2019, where the winner will be crowned the Nations League champion.

In a bid to improve the quality of international football and reduce the number of meaningless friendlies, UEFA - which has been planning the competition since 2011 - has devised a new format to add excitement and competition to country clashes. Portugal won Euro 2016 - but the qualification for Euro 2020 will be affected by the Nations League.

Image: Cristiano Ronaldo's form will be vital to Portugal's chances

:: How will it work?

There will be 55 teams involved, split into four leagues (A, B, C and D) based on their UEFA ranking at the end of the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers.

Within those four leagues, teams will be split again into groups, which will be made up of either three or four teams.

Within each league, four teams will be promoted at the end of the cycle, while four teams will be relegated.

They will then play at their new level in the next competition, which starts in 2020. The winners of the four groups in League A will qualify for the Final Four competition.

:: How have the groups been divided?

Full League A draw

Group 1: Germany, France, Netherlands

Group 2: Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland

Group 3: Portugal, Italy, Poland

Group 4: Spain, England, Croatia

Full League B draw

Group 1: Slovakia, Ukraine, Czech Republic

Group 2: Russia, Sweden, Turkey

Group 3: Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Northern Ireland

Group 4: Wales, Republic of Ireland, Denmark



Full League C draw

Group 1: Scotland, Albania, Israel

Group 2: Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia

Group 3: Slovenia, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus

Group 4: Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania

Full League D draw

Group 1: Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Andorra

Group 2: Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova, San Marino

Group 3: Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo

Group 4: FYR Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar

:: When will the Nations League take place?

Match day 1: 6-9 September 2018

Match day 2: 9-11 September 2018

Match day 3: 11-13 October 2018

Match day 4: 14-16 October 2018

Match day 5: 15-17 November 2018

Match day 6: 18-20 November 2018

Finals: 5-9 June 2019

Image: Diego Costa celebrates after giving Spain the lead

:: What games should we look forward to?

The tournament kicked off in style as the winners of the last two World Cups met on Thursday.

Germany and France drew 0-0 in Munich, while Wales thrashed Republic of Ireland 4-1 on the opening day.

The heavyweight clashes continue on Sunday as France face the Netherlands and Wales take on Denmark, who reached the last 16 of the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal face Italy on Monday, as Scotland start their campaign against Albania.

The opening round of fixtures then finishes on 11 September, with Iceland against Belgium and Spain against World Cup finalists Croatia.

All home nations games will be shown on Sky Sports.

:: What is the Final Four?

The Final Four is the climax to the Nations League. It will take place in June 2019 and pits the group winners from League A against each other. There will be a one-game semi-final stage, followed by the final.

The winner will be named as Nations League champion.

The Final Four tournament will occur in odd years, meaning that in years when there isn't a World Cup or European Championships, there will be a Nations League winner.

There will still be openings in the international calendar for friendlies.

:: How will the Nations League affect European Qualifiers?

Euro qualifiers for 2020 will commence in March 2019, with double headers in the March, June, September, October and November international breaks.

Teams will be split into five groups of five teams and five groups of six teams. In total, there will be 10 match days - the same number as now.

The top two teams from the 10 groups qualify automatically for the Euros, while four more places at the finals will be awarded to play-off winners. Sixteen teams will compete in the play-offs.

Image: World Cup winners France will be looking to continue their success

Now, here's the interesting bit...

Each Nations League league gets four play-off spots. If the winner of a group has already qualified for the Euros, the next best team which has not qualified goes into the play-offs.

Those 16 teams will go into four groups, with the top team going to the Euros. The four teams play two one-off semi-finals and one one-off final to determine play-off winners.

So, if one of the Home Nations fails to qualify the traditional way, each league has a path of its own to the finals.

The UEFA Nations League rankings will also determine the composition of draw pots for subsequent European Qualifiers.

:: What are the benefits?

"The UEFA Nations League creates more meaningful and competitive matches for teams and a dedicated calendar and structure for national team football," say UEFA, who believe the new format addresses concerns national associations raised about friendlies no longer providing adequate competition.

The format gives Home Nations sides an alternative route to major tournaments.

As well as the appeal of being named National League winner after the Final Four showpiece event for top teams, weaker teams will have better opportunities to qualify for European Championships - the bottom 16 in the rankings are now guaranteed one of the 24 qualifying spots.

Weaker teams will also face teams of a similar level - so there will be fewer thrashings and more meaningful games for fans.

:: Is this the end of friendlies?

Not completely. There will still be some space in the calendar for friendlies - particularly for the top teams, who are in groups of three within League A and B and the top group in League C.

Image: Gareth Southgate will be hoping for the sort of performances England produced in the World Cup

There will also be room for pre-tournament warm-up games ahead of World Cups and European Championships. But, essentially, the outcome of more international games will matter.

:: Will the new format increase players' workload?

The Nations League and new Euros qualification process operates within the current international calendar, so there are not increased demands in terms of the number of matches.

In fact, UEFA claims the new product will actually reduce strain on players. That's because there is likely to be less travel and players will be playing at their own level. Players will also go back to their clubs earlier than is currently the case.

:: How can I watch the Nations League?

You will be able to watch all of the Home Nations in the UEFA Nations League on Sky Sports, through September, October and November 2018. You'll also be able to watch the Final Four finale in June 2019 on Sky Sports.

In fact, there will be up to 900 live international matches on Sky Sports between 2018 and 2022, with the new rights agreement also including qualifiers for Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022.