Nations League Matchday 1: Every Kick-Off Time in CEST, BST and US Eastern
Every League A match on Nations League matchday 1 kicks off at 20:45 CEST on 24, 25 or 26 September 2026 — that is 19:45 in the UK and 14:45 on the US East Coast. The opening night is Thursday 24 September, when Netherlands host Germany and defending champions Portugal host Wales. Matchday 1 carries 26 matches in total: eight in each of Leagues A, B and C, and two in League D. Below is every kick-off time converted, the four ties worth your evening, and where the competition is shown.
The Short Answer
If you only need one line: the League A openers are all 20:45 CEST, which is 19:45 BST and 14:45 US Eastern, spread across Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September. Every other kick-off on matchday 1 sits in Leagues B and C, which also use 15:00 and 18:00 CEST -- so League A is the only tier where all four days share one start time.
Eight of the 26 fixtures belong to League A. The other 18 are spread across the three lower leagues, and a few of those are worth knowing about because they throw up the longest away trips of the round.
Matchday 1 Kick-Off Times, Converted
All eight League A fixtures. The group column tells you which of the four pools the match belongs to, so you can track a single group across the week.
| Date (CEST) | Fixture | Group | UK (BST) | US Eastern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands v Germany | A2 | 19:45 | 14:45 | |
| Serbia v Greece | A2 | 19:45 | 14:45 | |
| Norway v Denmark | A4 | 19:45 | 14:45 | |
| Portugal v Wales | A4 | 19:45 | 14:45 | |
| Italy v Belgium | A1 | 19:45 | 14:45 | |
| Turkiye v France | A1 | 19:45 | 14:45 | |
| Czechia v Croatia | A3 | 19:45 | 14:45 | |
| England v Spain | A3 | 19:45 | 14:45 |
The 16 Nations in Action on Matchday 1
Every League A nation on the opening matchday, with the opponent it starts against. Each of them plays three home and three away matches across the six matchdays, so every fixture below reverses later in the league phase.
FRAFrancevs TUR
ITAItalyvs BEL
BELBelgiumvs ITA
GERGermanyvs NED
NEDNetherlandsvs GER
SRBSerbiavs GRE
GREGreecevs SRB
ESPSpainvs ENG
CROCroatiavs CZE
ENGEnglandvs ESP
CZECzechiavs CRO
PORPortugalvs WAL
DENDenmarkvs NOR
NORNorwayvs DEN
WALWalesvs PORFor reference, CEST applies in Germany, Italy, Spain and France. The United Kingdom runs on BST during this window, one hour behind, and US Eastern is six hours behind CEST — which is why a Thursday night fixture in Europe lands in the middle of the American afternoon.
What 20:45 CEST Means Where You Are
Every League A fixture on matchday 1 starts at the same moment; only the clock in front of you changes. Find your zone below and add the offset to 20:45 CEST.
| Where you are | Zone | Offset from CEST | 20:45 CEST is |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BST) | UTC+1 | -1 h | 19:45 same day |
| US Eastern (EDT) | UTC-4 | -6 h | 14:45 same day |
| US Pacific (PDT) | UTC-7 | -9 h | 11:45 same day |
| Brazil (BRT) | UTC-3 | -5 h | 15:45 same day |
| India (IST) | UTC+5:30 | +3 h 30 | 00:15 next day |
| Japan (JST) | UTC+9 | +7 h | 03:45 next day |
| Australia (AEST) | UTC+10 | +8 h | 04:45 next day |
Two things catch people out. US Eastern is six hours behind central Europe rather than the five you might expect, which is what puts a Thursday evening match in the middle of the American afternoon. And zones east of Europe push the kick-off past midnight, so the same Thursday fixture is a Friday morning start in India, Japan and Australia.
The Four Ties Worth Clearing Your Evening For
The Rest of Matchday 1: Leagues B, C and D
Eighteen further fixtures complete the round. League B and League C each stage eight matches per matchday, while League D — two groups of three — stages two.
League B — matchday 1
- B3 · Austria v Israel · CEST
- B3 · Kosovo v Republic of Ireland · CEST
- B2 · Georgia v Northern Ireland · CEST
- B2 · Hungary v Ukraine · CEST
- B4 · Poland v Bosnia and Herzegovina · CEST
- B4 · Sweden v Romania · CEST
- B1 · Slovenia v Scotland · CEST
- B1 · North Macedonia v Switzerland · CEST
League C — matchday 1
- C2 · Armenia v Latvia/Gibraltar · CEST
- C2 · Montenegro v Cyprus · CEST
- C1 · San Marino v Finland · CEST
- C3 · Faroe Islands v Kazakhstan · CEST
- C4 · Bulgaria v Luxembourg/Malta · CEST
- C4 · Iceland v Estonia · CEST
- C1 · Albania v Belarus · CEST
- C3 · Slovakia v Moldova · CEST
League D — matchday 1
- D1 · Andorra v Malta/Luxembourg · CEST
- D2 · Liechtenstein v Lithuania · CEST
Two of these are worth a diary note. Kosovo host the Republic of Ireland in League B Group B3 on the opening night, and Kazakhstan travel to the Faroe Islands in League C Group C3 — the longest journey any team makes on matchday 1.
Where to Watch the Nations League by Market
Coverage is sold market by market, so the channel depends entirely on where you are. These are the rights holders that appear on published broadcaster listings for this cycle.
| Market | Where it is shown |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | ITV holds the competition rights through 2028 and shows England's matches; the BBC carries the home-nations fixtures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with S4C covering Wales in Welsh. BBC iPlayer and BBC Radio 5 Live add streaming and radio. |
| United States | FOX Sports shows around 44 matches a season in English across FS1, FS2 and FOX Soccer Plus, streamed through the FOX Sports app and Tubi. TelevisaUnivision carries Spanish-language coverage on Univision, TUDN and ViX, and Fubo also streams the competition. |
| Italy | Sky Sport confirmed its 2026/27 coverage, including the league phase and the June 2027 finals. |
| Elsewhere in Europe | Each market has its own domestic rights holder, and coverage is often split between free-to-air and subscription channels. Check your local listings before kick-off. |
Practical tip. Kick-off times on foreign listings are almost always local to the broadcaster, not to you. If a schedule reads 02:45, it is probably listed in Beijing time — subtract six hours to get CEST.
Sources
Broadcaster information from published rights listings for the 2026/27 cycle and Sky Sport's coverage announcement of 16 September 2026. Fixture dates and kick-off times converted from the published league phase schedule. Last updated: .
Why the Kick-Off Times Differ From What You May Have Read
This is the single most common source of confusion around the Nations League, and it is worth two minutes because it will save you a wasted evening.
The schedule is widely republished in Beijing time. A match listed there as 25 September, 02:45 is not a Friday morning fixture in Europe — it is the same match as 24 September, 20:45 CEST. Beijing runs on UTC+8 and central Europe on UTC+2 during the September window, so the Chinese listing is six hours ahead and late kick-offs roll over into the next calendar day.
The consequence: sources that describe the league phase as running from 25 September to 7 October are not contradicting the competition's own published window of 24 September to 6 October. They are describing the same six matchdays from a different time zone. When you plan around these fixtures, always check which clock the listing is using.
Key Terms
Matchday 1. The opening round of the league phase, played across 24, 25 and 26 September 2026 in European time.
CEST / BST / ET. Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), British Summer Time (UTC+1) and US Eastern Time (UTC−4). All three apply through this window, so no daylight-saving change affects the conversion.
League A. The top tier of the Nations League, 16 teams in four groups of four, feeding the March 2027 quarter-finals.
Rights holder. The broadcaster that has bought coverage for a given market; it differs from country to country.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does the Nations League start on matchday 1?
The League A fixtures on matchday 1 all kick off at 20:45 CEST, which is 19:45 in the UK and 14:45 on the US East Coast. The competition opens on Thursday 24 September 2026 with Netherlands v Germany and Portugal v Wales.
How many matches are played on Nations League matchday 1?
Twenty-six. Leagues A, B and C each stage eight matches and League D stages two, because it is made up of two groups of three teams.
Why do some schedules show the Nations League starting on 25 September?
Those listings use Beijing time, which runs six hours ahead of central Europe. A 02:45 kick-off in a Beijing-time table is 20:45 CEST on the previous evening, so the league phase does start on 24 September in European time.
Where can I watch the Nations League in the UK and the US?
In the UK, ITV holds the competition rights and shows England's matches, while the BBC and S4C carry home-nations fixtures. In the US, FOX Sports shows around 44 matches a season in English, with Spanish-language coverage on Univision, TUDN and ViX.
How do I convert a Nations League kick-off time to my own time zone?
Start from 20:45 CEST, the standard League A slot, then apply your offset from central European summer time: minus one hour for the UK, minus six for US Eastern, plus three and a half for India, plus seven for Japan and plus eight for Australia. Zones east of Europe push the fixture past midnight, so check the day as well as the clock.
Do all Nations League matchday 1 games kick off at the same time?
No. Only League A is uniform, with all eight fixtures at 20:45 CEST. Leagues B and C also use 18:00 CEST and one League B match starts at 15:00, so the round spreads across three start times on 24, 25 and 26 September.
Which jersey should I wear for the opening matchday?
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