In the draw for the new edition of the Nations League, the Dutch national team was linked to Belgium from pot 1. The the Dutch themselves were in pot 2 and received Poland and Wales from pots 3 and 4 respectively as opponents in the group. The first group matches are from June 2, 2022 and at the same time form part of the preparation for the the Dutch squad for the World Cup in Qatar, which will take place at the end of 2022.
Just like the previous two editions of the Nations League, the the Dutch squad is in Division A, the highest division of the tournament, containing all European top countries. In that division are the sixteen countries that have finished highest in the final ranking of the country coefficients of the 2020/11 season. The numbers one through four of the ranking made up pot 1, the numbers five through eight were in pot 2, and so on. The Netherlands was placed sixth and was therefore in pot 2.
Four group matches will take place in June and two more in September. The four group winners of Division A qualify for the Final Four, a final tournament that will take place in June 2023. The Netherlands lost the final to Portugal in 2019, while France took the title in the Nations League this autumn by beating Spain.
The full draw:
Division A:
Group A1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group A2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group A3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group A4: Belgium, The Netherlands, Poland, Wales
Division B:
Group B1: Ukraine, Scotland, Ireland, Armenia
Group B2: Iceland, Russia, Israel, Albania
Group B3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Romania, Montenegro
Group B4: Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia
Division C*:
Group C1: Turkey, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Faroe Islands
Group C2: Northern Ireland, Greece, Kosovo, Cyprus/Estonia
Group C3: Slovakia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan/Moldova
Group C4: Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar
Division D*:
Group D1: Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan/Moldova, Andorra, Latvia
Group D2: Malta, Cyprus/Estonia, San Marino
*Because Division D only has seven participants, the last players of Division C decide via so-called play-outs who drops to a lower level. The last two countries are Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Estonia and Moldova.