UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
Tournament details
Dates 21 March 2019 – 31 March 2020
Teams 55 (from 1 confederation)

The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament is an upcoming football competition that will be played from March 2019 to March 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that will enter into the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament.[1][2][3] The competition will be linked with the 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, giving countries a secondary route to qualify for the final tournament. For the first time since 1976, no team will automatically qualify for the UEFA European Championship as the host country.[4]

55 national teams will participate in the qualifying process, with Kosovo taking part for the first time.

Format

There will be no automatic qualifying berth, and all 55 UEFA national teams, including the 12 national teams whose countries will stage matches, must compete in the qualifiers for the 24 places at the finals tournament.[2][3] As the host cities were appointed by UEFA in September 2014, before the qualifiers of UEFA Euro 2020, it is possible for the national teams from the host cities to fail to qualify for the finals tournament.[5][6]

With the creation of the UEFA Nations League starting in 2018,[6][7][8][9] the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League will be linked with UEFA Euro qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020.

The main qualifying process will now begin in March 2019 instead of immediately in September 2018 following the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and will end in November 2019. The format will remain largely the same, although only 20 of the 24 spots for the finals tournament will be decided from the main qualifying process, leaving four spots still to be decided. Following the admission of Kosovo to UEFA in May 2016, it was announced that the 55 members at the time would be drawn into 10 groups after the completion of the UEFA Nations League (five groups of five teams and five groups of six teams, with the four UEFA Nations League Finals participants guaranteed to be drawn into groups of five teams), with the top two teams in each group qualifying. The draw seeding will be based on the overall rankings of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.[10] The qualifiers will be played on double matchdays in March, June, September, October and November 2019.[8]

Following the qualifying group stage, the qualifying play-offs will take place in March 2020. Unlike previous editions, the participants of the play-offs will not be decided based on results from the qualifying group stage. Instead, 16 teams will be selected based on their performance in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. These teams will be divided into four paths, each containing four teams, with one team from each path qualifying for the final tournament. Each league will have its own play-off path if at least four teams are available. The Nations League group winners will automatically qualify for the play-off path of their league. If a group winner has already qualified through the conventional qualifying group stage, they will be replaced by the next best-ranked team in the same league. However, if there are not enough teams in the same league, then the spot will go to the next best team in the overall ranking. However, group winners cannot face teams from a higher league.[1]

Each play-off path will feature two single-leg semi-finals, and one single-leg final. The best-ranked team will host the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team will host the third-ranked team. The host of the final will be decided by a draw, with semi-final winner 1 or 2 hosting the final. The four play-off path winners will join the 20 teams which have already qualified for UEFA Euro 2020.[9]

Tiebreakers

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:[1]

  1. Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
  2. Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
  3. Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
  4. Higher number of goals scored away from home in the matches played among the teams in question;
  5. If, after having applied criteria 1 to 4, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings.[lower-alpha 1] If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
  6. Superior goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Higher number of wins in all group matches;
  10. Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
  11. Fair play conduct in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  12. Position in the UEFA Nations League overall ranking.
Notes
  1. ↑ When there are two or more teams tied in points, criteria 1 to 4 are applied. After these criteria are applied, they may define the position of some of the teams involved, but not all of them. For example, if there is a three-way tie on points, the application of the first four criteria may only break the tie for one of the teams, leaving the other two teams still tied. In this case, the tiebreaking procedure is resumed, from the beginning, for those teams that are still tied.

Criteria for overall ranking

To determine the overall rankings of the European Qualifiers, results against teams in sixth place are discarded and the following criteria are applied:[1]

  1. Position in the group;
  2. Higher number of points;
  3. Superior goal difference;
  4. Higher number of goals scored;
  5. Higher number of goals scored away from home;
  6. Higher number of wins;
  7. Higher number of wins away from home;
  8. Fair play conduct (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  9. Position in the UEFA Nations League overall ranking.

Schedule

Below is the schedule of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.[10]

Stage Matchday Dates
Qualifying group stage Matchday 1 21–23 March 2019
Matchday 2 24–26 March 2019
Matchday 3 7–8 June 2019
Matchday 4 10–11 June 2019
Matchday 5 5–7 September 2019
Matchday 6 8–10 September 2019
Matchday 7 10–12 October 2019
Matchday 8 13–15 October 2019
Matchday 9 14–16 November 2019
Matchday 10 17–19 November 2019
Play-offs Semi-finals 26–28 March 2020
Finals 29–31 March 2020

Draw

The qualifying group stage draw will be held on 2 December 2018, 12:00 CET at the Convention Centre Dublin in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.[11] The 55 teams will be drawn into 10 groups: five groups of five teams (Groups A–E) and five groups of six teams (Groups F–J).[12]

The teams will be seeded based on the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League overall ranking. The four participants of the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in June 2019 will be placed in a separate pot and drawn into Groups A–D which only have five teams so that they only have to play eight qualifying matches.[1] The following restrictions will also be applied by computer assistance:

  • Host teams: In order to allow all 12 teams from the host associations to have a chance to qualify as group winners and runners-up, a maximum of two will be placed in each group: Azerbaijan, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain.
  • Political clashes: The following pairs of teams cannot be drawn into the same group due to political clashes: Armenia / Azerbaijan, Gibraltar / Spain, Kosovo / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo / Serbia, Ukraine / Russia.
  • Winter venues: A maximum of two teams identified as venues with high or medium risk of severe winter conditions will be placed in each group: Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Ukraine.
  • Excessive travel: A maximum of one pair of teams identified with excessive travel distance in relation to other countries will be placed in each group:
    • Azerbaijan: with Gibraltar, Iceland, Portugal.
    • Iceland: with Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel.
    • Kazakhstan: with Andorra, England, France, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales.

Seeding

The teams will be seeded based on the November 2018 UEFA Nations League overall rankings.

  • UNL Pot: Four qualified teams of the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals
  • Pot 1: Teams ranked 5–10 in UEFA Nations League overall rankings
  • Pot 2: Teams ranked 11–20 in UEFA Nations League overall rankings
  • Pot 3: Teams ranked 21–30 in UEFA Nations League overall rankings
  • Pot 4: Teams ranked 31–40 in UEFA Nations League overall rankings
  • Pot 5: Teams ranked 41–50 in UEFA Nations League overall rankings
  • Pot 6: Teams ranked 51–55 in UEFA Nations League overall rankings

Groups

Matches will take place from 21 March to 19 November 2019.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD — TBD
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD — TBD
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD — TBD
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group I

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD — TBD
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Group J

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualify for final tournament — TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD — TBD TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD — TBD TBD TBD
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD — TBD TBD
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD — TBD
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD —
First match(es) will be played on March 2019. Source: UEFA

Play-offs

Teams which fail in qualifying group stage may still qualify for the final tournament through the play-offs. Each league in the UEFA Nations League will be allocated one of the four remaining UEFA Euro 2020 places. Four teams from each league which have not already qualified for the European Championship finals will compete in the play-offs of their league, to be played in March 2020. The play-off berths will be first allocated to each pool winner, and if any of the pool winners have already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best ranked team of the division, etc.

Draw

The qualifying play-off draw will take place on 22 November 2019 in order to determine the paths which the non-group winners will participate in. The final hosts will also be drawn between the two semi-final pairings.

Overall ranking

The overall rankings will be used for seeding in the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament draw.

Rnk Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 A 1st best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 B 2nd best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C 3rd best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D 4th best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 E 5th best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 F 6th best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 G 7th best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 H 8th best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 I 9th best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 J 10th best group 1st place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 A 1st best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 B 2nd best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 C 3rd best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 D 4th best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 E 5th best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 F 6th best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 G 7th best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 H 8th best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 I 9th best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 J 10th best group 2nd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 A 1st best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 B 2nd best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 C 3rd best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 D 4th best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 E 5th best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 F 6th best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 G 7th best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
28 H 8th best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 I 9th best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 J 10th best group 3rd place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 A 1st best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 B 2nd best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 C 3rd best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 D 4th best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 E 5th best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 F 6th best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 G 7th best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38 H 8th best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
39 I 9th best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
40 J 10th best group 4th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
41 A 1st best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 B 2nd best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
43 C 3rd best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
44 D 4th best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
45 E 5th best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
46 F 6th best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
47 G 7th best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
48 H 8th best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
49 I 9th best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
50 J 10th best group 5th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
51 F 1st best group 6th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
52 G 2nd best group 6th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
53 H 3rd best group 6th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
54 I 4th best group 6th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
55 J 5th best group 6th place 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 21 March 2019. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Ranking criteria

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2018–20" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 "UEFA Euro 2020 Tournament Requirements" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  3. 1 2 "Bids for Euro 2020 due today; tournament to be held all across Europe". NBC Sports. 12 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "European Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2020: how it works". UEFA.com. 25 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "All you need to know about UEFA EURO 2020". UEFA.com. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  6. 1 2 "UEFA Nations League/UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  7. ↑ "UEFA Nations League receives associations' green light". UEFA.com. 27 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 "UEFA Nations League: all you need to know". UEFA.com. 27 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 "UEFA Nations League format and schedule confirmed". UEFA.com. 4 December 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League 2018/19" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Dublin to stage European Qualifiers draw on 2 December 2018". UEFA.com. 28 September 2017.
  12. ↑ "UEFA Euro 2020: Qualifying Draw Procedure" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
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