Euro 2020 qualifying: All you need to know
Alexis Nunes and Ale Moreno flex their knowledge in predicting European Qualifying fixtures containing Belgium, England and France. (1:28)
Euro 2020 qualifying is getting under way. Find out the groups, how many teams qualify and how the playoffs and finals map out.
GROUP A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo
GROUP B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
GROUP C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus
GROUP D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar
GROUP E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan
GROUP F: Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands, Malta
GROUP G: Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia
GROUP H: France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova, Andorra
GROUP I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, San Marino
GROUP J: Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein
There will be 24 nations at Euro 2020. As the finals are being played across Europe, there is no host nation.
The top two teams in each group qualify automatically, meaning there are 20 places up for grabs from the 10 groups.
There are then 4 places via playoffs. There will be 16 participating teams, allocated based on UEFA Nations League group positions and performance to those who have not qualified directly.
The match dates are all in 2019 and as follows:
March 21-23
March 24-26
June 7-8
June 10-11
September 5-7
September 8-10
October 10-12
October 13-15
November 14-16
November 17-19
Sixteen nations will take part in the playoffs.
There will be four playoff routes, each with four nations taking part.
Each route will have two semifinals and a final. All games are one-off matches, and not two-legged.
In the semifinals, the best-ranked team of those to qualify to the playoff path (as per the list in the next section) will be at home to the fourth-ranked team, and the second-best ranked team will host the third-best.
The home team in each final will be drawn in November 2019 and will not be based on ranking.
Check out this handy video UEFA has created to explain the playoffs.
In its purest form, the winners of each of the 16 groups across the four UEFA Nations League levels (A, B, C and D) will go to the playoffs. It means we will see a minimum of one team from each of the weaker Leagues C and D at Euro 2020.
However, at least half of the Nations League group winners are likely to qualify for Euro 2020 automatically, so who takes their place in the playoff route? It goes to the next best-ranked team at that League level.
This is the ranked order in which nations will be granted a playoff, should they need it:
League A: England, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Germany, Iceland
League B: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland
League C: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland, Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania
League D: Georgia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus, Luxembourg, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino
Remember, best-ranked will face worst-ranked at home in the semifinals.
Let’s take League C as an example, as the top-ranked nations in Leagues A and B are likely to qualify automatically.
If all four of the group winners require a playoff then the semifinals would be Scotland vs. Finland and Norway vs. Serbia. That’s 1st vs. 4th and 2nd vs. 3rd.
If, say, Serbia qualified automatically, then the playoffs would be Scotland vs. Bulgaria and Norway vs. Finland. That’s 1st vs. 5th and 2nd vs. 4th.
How your team can qualify for UEFA EURO 2020 via the UEFA Nations League: pic.twitter.com/jUUyYYlCXf
With 20 teams qualifying automatically, and the 24 strongest nations in Leagues A and B, it is highly probable that most, if not all, of the 20 will come from those two leagues.
So that means, in all probability, there will not four teams in Leagues A and/or B who have not qualified automatically.
If Leagues A and/or B need additional nations to create the playoff fixtures, they will most likely be added from League C.
As a result, it means that eight teams in League C (rather that four) will probably get a route to the finals (either automatically or via a playoff).
The playoffs will be played on March 26-28 and 29-31 in 2020, less than three months before the finals begin.
The finals will be hosted across Europe for this edition of the European Championship, running from June 12 to July 12.
If a host nation from a particular group qualifies automatically, they will be pre-drawn into that group. So if both England and Scotland do so, they will meet in the group stage of Euro 2020. If both hosts qualify automatically, there will be a draw to decide who plays at home.
Group A: Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Italy) and Olympic Stadium, Baku (Azerbaijan)
Group B: Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg (Russia) and Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Group C: Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Arena Naționala, Bucharest (Romania)
Group D: Wembley Stadium, London (England) and Hampden Park, Glasgow (Scotland)
Group E: San Mames, Bilbao (Spain) and Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Republic of Ireland)
Group F: Allianz Arena, Munich (Germany) and Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest (Hungary)
Round of 16: Wembley Stadium, London (England), Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (Denmark), Arena Naționala, Bucharest (Romania), Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Republic of Ireland), San Mames, Bilbao (Spain), Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest (Hungary), Hampden Park, Glasgow (Scotland)
Quarterfinals: Allianz Arena, Munich (Germany), Olympic Stadium, Baku (Azerbaijan), Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Italy)
Semifinals and final: Wembley Stadium, London (England)