How promotion, relegation and knockouts work in Nations League

England are on the brink of qualification for the 2026-27 Nations League quarter-finals after beating the Czech Republic 3-0 at Wembley on Tuesday night.

Thomas Tuchel's side sit second after four matches in Group A3, with a point in either of their final two matches in November enough to book a place in March's quarter-finals.

The first four rounds of matches have been completed. The final two full rounds will be played in November's international break.

The eight teams to finish in the top two of the four League A groups will play in the knockout rounds that start in March 2027.

Teams finishing at the top of groups in leagues B and C will earn promotion for the next Nations League cycle, while teams that finish second in a League B or League C group will face either a third-placed or bottom-placed team from the league above them in a promotion/relegation play-off.

The two worst sides to finish bottom of a League A group are automatically relegated. The other bottom sides in League A, third-placed sides in League A and bottom-placed sides in League B are at risk of relegation.

The losers of the play-offs will be relegated.

As the Nations League format is changing for the next cycle, taking place across 2028 and 2029, all League D teams are guaranteed promotion to League C.

Additionally, no teams from League C will be relegated at the end of this cycle.

The new format will consist of three larger leagues, meaning there will not be a League D in the next campaign.

Portugal and Spain are the only sides guaranteed to play in the quarter-finals at present, having both won their opening four matches.

England, who are three points behind Spain in Group A3, are six points clear of third-placed Croatia and with a significantly superior head-to-head record. Unless England were to lose 7-0 or worse to Croatia next month, England will be certain of a place in the last eight.

In Group A1, France and Italy sit in the top two spots. Belgium are a point behind Italy in third. Two of those three sides will advance to the quarter-finals.

It is a similar tale in Group A2. Netherlands and Greece are the top two, three points clear of Germany in third. With Serbia bottom on zero points, two of the current top three will advance.

In A4, Denmark are second and three points clear of Wales and Norway. One of the trio will join table-toppers Portugal.

The quarter-finals are played across two legs in March's international break.

The winners of each tie will advance to the semi-finals in June 2027, which are played in a one-off match across Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 June. The final takes place on Sunday, 13 June.

While England's League A campaign has gone well so far, Wales' has been trickier.

In a tough group with Portugal, Denmark and Norway, Wales have picked up three points from four games after beating Norway 2-1 in Cardiff.

With Portugal already qualified for the last eight, Wales will need close to maximum points in their final matches against Norway and Portugal to stand any chance of making the last eight.

A third-place finish would put them in a play-off to avoid relegation in March, while coming last in the group may ensure a drop down to League B.

Scotland are now unable to reach the top spot in Group B1 and are unlikely to make the promotion/relegation play-offs.

In order to finish second, Scotland need to win both of their final two games and hope Slovenia pick up no more than a point from theirs. Alternatively, Scotland can pick up four points and finish second, providing Slovenia lose their final two matches.

Northern Ireland have had a successful international break with two wins, two draws and no goals conceded in their four matches in Group B2.

They sit top of the group by a point, with their remaining matches against bottom side Ukraine and second-place Hungary.

Should they beat Ukraine and Hungary fail to beat Georgia in November's first round of fixtures, they will guarantee top spot and promotion. A win for them and Hungary doing the same would mean the two sides face off in a promotion-decider in the final round of games.

The Republic of Ireland are third in Group B3 following five points from their first four matches.

Their remaining two fixtures are against the top two teams Austria and Kosovo. Wins in both would guarantee a top-two finish and would also put them in a strong position to win the group, depending on goal difference and the result of Austria's meeting with Israel.

Once the Nations League campaign is concluded, all 54 competing nations will be ranked based on their performance in this edition of the competition.

That ranking will have a direct impact on qualification for the 2028 European Championships, being held in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

The Nations League ranking will also determine the seeding of nations for Euro 2028 qualification.

Regular qualifying will take place between March and November 2027, with play-offs for the remaining spots in the tournament to take place in March 2028.

As there are four co-hosts and none of them have been granted immediate qualification, the number of how many qualify will effectively determine how many play-off spots will be up for grabs.

Uefa have said that up to two places will be given to the best-ranked co-hosts that fail to qualify for the tournament via its primary qualification route.

Scenarios have already been designed for occurrences where either two, one or zero co-hosts are given entry spots.

Depending on which play-off format is required, either eight or 12 teams will enter.

A total of 24 teams will enter the European Championships, 20 of them will consist of the winners of the 12 qualifying groups and the eight best runners-up from those group.

The remaining runners-up will enter the play-offs, alongside the Nations League group winners from League A, League B and League C that failed to finish in the top two of their Euro 2028 qualifying group.

If extra teams are required, the best-ranked League D group winner will enter the play-offs.

Any additional play-off spots that become available after that will filter down to the next-highest ranked Nations League finishers until the play-off spots are filled.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.