Nations Cup
A knockout between the eight strongest nations. Every nation calls up its best players from the clubs of the game.
The cup has not been drawn yet
Nation ranking
Nations are ranked by the mean rating of the squad each could name today. The 8 strongest nations that can each name 18 players, a goalkeeper among them, play the next edition.
How the Nations Cup works
Every nation is a computer-managed team. When its match kicks off, the nation names a squad from the best players of its nationality in the game, wherever they play. A player is called up only if he is fit and his club has no match at the same time, so clubs and their managers always come first.
A player who is called up is away from his club until the match is over: his club cannot pick him and he cannot be sold in that time. Injuries picked up in a match stay with the player and are treated by his club. Cards do not carry over.
A nation that cannot field eleven players only because their clubs are playing does not lose its match: the match waits and is tried again every quarter of an hour. A nation loses by forfeit only when so many of its players are injured that it could not name a side even if no club were playing, or when the wait has lasted as long as a round.
The 8 strongest nations that can each name 18 players, a goalkeeper among them, enter an edition. They play quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final at neutral venues, with extra time and penalties when a match is level. After the final the cup rests, and the next edition is drawn from the nations as they are by then.