The draw for the qualifying phase of Euro 2024 took place on Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Markthalle in Frankfurt, Germany. Here's everything you need to know.
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What are the qualifying groups for Euro 2024?
The draw consisted of seven groups of five countries, and three groups with six teams. UEFA Nations League A winners Croatia, Netherlands, Italy and Spain were drawn in the smaller groups, and they are among 12 teams guaranteed a playoff place through their performances in the Nations League if they do not qualify for Euro 2024 automatically.
Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus
Group B: Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar
Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta
Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia
Group E: Poland, Czech, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia
Group G: Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group H: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland.
Group I: Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra
Group J: Portugal, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein
How many countries will qualify for Euro 2024?
There will be 24 teams at Euro 2024.
Hosts Germany will be joined by the winners and the runners-up from each of the 10 groups.
The final three places will be decided by playoffs.
How will the Euro 2024 playoffs work?
The playoffs will be created using the final positions in the UEFA Nations League group stage.
There will three playoff paths, one each for UEFA Nations Leagues A, B and C.
The group winners are guaranteed a playoff, should they not qualify automatically. They are:
League A
Netherlands
Croatia
Spain
Italy
League B
Israel
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia
Scotland
League C
Georgia
Greece
Turkey
Kazakhstan
If one of the group winners qualifies automatically, the best-ranked team which requires a playoff in that league path will take the place.
If a league path cannot be filled (for instance if 13 countries qualify from League A automatically), then Estonia (best ranked in League D) will slot into that path. If more than one place has to be filled, after Estonia it reverts to overall rank in the next league.
When will the qualifying games be played?
The group stage will take place in the five international windows of March, June, September, October and November 2023. It starts on March 23, 2023 and finishes on Nov. 21.
The playoffs will be held in March 2024.
When is the final tournament?
The Euro 2024 finals will be held in Germany between Friday, June 14 and Sunday, July 14, 2024.
Will there still be international friendlies?
The 31 countries in the five-team Groups A to G who are not in the UEFA Nations League finals will have two free dates for friendlies in 2023.
How were the draw pots decided?
The teams were divided into seven pots based upon the final positions in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League (UNL) group stage.
The four top-ranked countries were the UNL Pot, with the next six in Pot 1. The UNL Pot exists because these countries must be drawn into a group of five countries to have the June international dates free for the UEFA Nations League finals; they will be drawn into Groups A-D.
The other pots all have 10 teams, other than Pot 6 which contains the three lowest-ranked countries.
What were the draw pots?
UNL POT
Netherlands
Croatia
Spain
Italy
POT 1
Denmark
Portugal
Belgium
Hungary
Switzerland
Poland
POT 2
France
Austria
Czech Republic
England
Wales
Israel
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia
Scotland
Finland
POT 3
Ukraine
Iceland
Norway
Slovenia
Republic of Ireland
Albania
Montenegro
Romania
Sweden
Armenia
POT 4
Georgia
Greece
Turkey
Kazakhstan
Luxembourg
Azerbaijan
Kosovo
Bulgaria
Faroe Islands
North Macedonia
POT 5
Slovakia
Northern Ireland
Cyprus
Belarus
Lithuania
Gibraltar
Estonia
Latvia
Moldova
Malta
POT 6
Andorra
Liechtenstein
San Marino
Where were Germany and Russia?
Germany do not have to qualify as they are the host nation.
Russia are still banned from international competition by UEFA due to the invasion of Ukraine.
What were the restrictions on the draw?
Other than the UEFA Nations League finalists needing to be in Groups A through to D, there were:
- Winter venue restriction: Only two of Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway can be in the same group.
- Prohibited team clashes: Armenia / Azerbaijan - Belarus / Ukraine - Gibraltar / Spain - Kosovo / Bosnia-Herzegovina - Kosovo / Serbia
- Excessive travel restrictions: Kazakhstan, Iceland and Azerbaijan have a series of specific draw conditions to prevent more than two teams being in one group.