When the Nations League saw the light of day for the first time in the autumn of 2018, they could play a "second chance" to reach the European Championships, which were postponed until next summer due to the pandemic.
As the Nations League now starts again, you can give yourself the opportunity to get to the World Cup 2022 in Qatar "the back road".
It's really the biggest advantage you can get by achieving success in the Nations League, but the UEFA (European Football Association) tournament is more than that.
Played in the fall
55 European national teams are divided into four divisions with four groups in the top three divisions and the teams remaining in the lowest.
There are four teams in each group.
Thanks to Sweden winning its group last time the Nations League was decided, they now play in the a-division and have ended up in a group where they meet world champion France, European champion Portugal and World Cup runner-up Croatia.
All group games are played during the autumn and Blågult meets each team twice.
Since Sweden is in the highest division, you can not advance more, but on the other hand, the team that comes last in the group is relegated to the b-division.
If Sweden were to stand for a feat and win the extremely tough group, they will play a final game to become Nations League champions.
That final will be decided in the autumn of 2021.
Difficult to reach the World Cup via the Nations League
A group victory is also required for the Nations League to function as a new chance to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar 2022. This is because the two highest ranked group winners in the Nations League, who did not make it to the World Cup via the "regular" qualifier, gets a place in the playoffs for the world championship.
There, the two in the ten groups meet in the World Cup qualifiers and settle for three World Cup places.
It can therefore be said that Sweden is disadvantaged by playing in the a-division and is faced with tough opposition.
It will be harder to win the group and thus harder to reach the World Cup playoffs that way.
On the other hand, you now have a very good chance of being among the two highest ranked group winners, if you were to win your group.
The playoff for the World Cup will be played in March 2022.
When the Nations League was decided for the first time, Portugal won over the Netherlands in the final.