The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament is a football competition that is being played from March 2019 to March 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that will advance to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament.[1][2][3] The competition is 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]
There are 55 national teams participating in the qualifying process, with Kosovo taking part for the first time. The draw took place at the Convention Centre Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 2 December 2018
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.[6][7]
With the creation of the UEFA Nations League starting in 2018, the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League will be linked with UEFA Euro qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020.[7][8] The qualifying process will guarantee that at least one team from each division of the previous Nations League season will qualify for the final tournament (either directly or through the play-offs).[9][10]
Group stage
The main qualifying process began in March 2019, instead of late 2018 immediately following the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and will end in November 2019. The qualifiers will be played on double matchdays in March, June, September, October and November 2019.[9] The format will remain largely the same, with 20 of the 24 teams for the finals tournament to be decided by the group stage. Following the admission of Kosovo to UEFA in May 2016, it was announced that the 55 teams will be drawn into 10 groups after the completion of the League phase of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, and the draw seeding will be based on the overall rankings of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.[11] There will be 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 (so they can compete in the Nations League Finals in June 2019). The top two teams in each of the 10 groups qualify for Euro 2020.[12]
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:[1]
Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
Higher number of goals scored away from home in the matches played among the teams in question;
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.[a] If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
Superior goal difference in all group matches;
Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
Higher number of wins in all group matches;
Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
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);
Position in the UEFA Nations League overall ranking.
Notes
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.
Play-offs
Following the qualifying group stage, the qualifying play-offs will take place in March 2020 to determine the remaining 4 teams for the finals tournament. 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 have not already qualified in the conventional qualifying group stage. 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 qualifying group stage, they will be replaced by the next best-ranked team in the same league. However, if there are not enough non-qualified 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.[10]
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]
Position in the group;
Higher number of points;
Superior goal difference;
Higher number of goals scored;
Higher number of goals scored away from home;
Higher number of wins;
Higher number of wins away from home;
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);
Position in the UEFA Nations League overall ranking.
Draw
The qualifying group stage draw was held on 2 December 2018, 12:00 CET (11:00 local time), at the Convention Centre Dublin in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.[5][15][16] The 55 teams were drawn into 10 groups: five groups of five teams (Groups A–E) and five groups of six teams (Groups F–J).[17][18][19]
The teams were seeded based on the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League overall ranking. The four participants of the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in June 2019 were 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, leaving two free matchdays to play in Nations League Finals.[1] The following restrictions were also applied with computer assistance:[20]
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 were placed in each group: Azerbaijan, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain.
Prohibited clashes: For political reasons, matches between following pairs of teams are considered prohibited clashes, unable to be drawn into the same group: Gibraltar / Spain, Kosovo / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo / Serbia. (Armenia / Azerbaijan and Russia / Ukraine were also identified as prohibited clashes, but the teams in these pairs were in the same pots for the draw.)
Winter venues: A maximum of two teams identified as venues with high or medium risk of severe winter conditions were placed in each group: Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Ukraine.
The three "hard winter venues" (Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland) cannot host games in March or November; the others shall play as few home matches as possible in March and November.
Excessive travel: A maximum of one pair of teams identified with excessive travel distance in relation to other countries were placed in each group:
Azerbaijan: with Iceland, Portugal. (Gibraltar was also identified with Azerbaijan for excessive travel distance, but the teams are in the same pots for the draw.)
Iceland: with Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel.
Kazakhstan: with Andorra, England, France, Iceland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales. (Faroe Islands and Gibraltar were also identified with Kazakhstan for excessive travel distance, but the teams are in the same pots for the draw.)
There are 55 national teams participating in the qualifying process, with Kosovo taking part for the first time. The draw took place at the Convention Centre Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 2 December 2018
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.[6][7]
With the creation of the UEFA Nations League starting in 2018, the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League will be linked with UEFA Euro qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020.[7][8] The qualifying process will guarantee that at least one team from each division of the previous Nations League season will qualify for the final tournament (either directly or through the play-offs).[9][10]
Group stage
The main qualifying process began in March 2019, instead of late 2018 immediately following the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and will end in November 2019. The qualifiers will be played on double matchdays in March, June, September, October and November 2019.[9] The format will remain largely the same, with 20 of the 24 teams for the finals tournament to be decided by the group stage. Following the admission of Kosovo to UEFA in May 2016, it was announced that the 55 teams will be drawn into 10 groups after the completion of the League phase of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, and the draw seeding will be based on the overall rankings of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.[11] There will be 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 (so they can compete in the Nations League Finals in June 2019). The top two teams in each of the 10 groups qualify for Euro 2020.[12]
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:[1]
Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
Higher number of goals scored away from home in the matches played among the teams in question;
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.[a] If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
Superior goal difference in all group matches;
Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
Higher number of wins in all group matches;
Higher number of away wins in all group matches;
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);
Position in the UEFA Nations League overall ranking.
Notes
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.
Play-offs
Following the qualifying group stage, the qualifying play-offs will take place in March 2020 to determine the remaining 4 teams for the finals tournament. 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 have not already qualified in the conventional qualifying group stage. 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 qualifying group stage, they will be replaced by the next best-ranked team in the same league. However, if there are not enough non-qualified 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.[10]
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]
Position in the group;
Higher number of points;
Superior goal difference;
Higher number of goals scored;
Higher number of goals scored away from home;
Higher number of wins;
Higher number of wins away from home;
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);
Position in the UEFA Nations League overall ranking.
Draw
The qualifying group stage draw was held on 2 December 2018, 12:00 CET (11:00 local time), at the Convention Centre Dublin in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.[5][15][16] The 55 teams were drawn into 10 groups: five groups of five teams (Groups A–E) and five groups of six teams (Groups F–J).[17][18][19]
The teams were seeded based on the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League overall ranking. The four participants of the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals in June 2019 were 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, leaving two free matchdays to play in Nations League Finals.[1] The following restrictions were also applied with computer assistance:[20]
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 were placed in each group: Azerbaijan, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain.
Prohibited clashes: For political reasons, matches between following pairs of teams are considered prohibited clashes, unable to be drawn into the same group: Gibraltar / Spain, Kosovo / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo / Serbia. (Armenia / Azerbaijan and Russia / Ukraine were also identified as prohibited clashes, but the teams in these pairs were in the same pots for the draw.)
Winter venues: A maximum of two teams identified as venues with high or medium risk of severe winter conditions were placed in each group: Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Ukraine.
The three "hard winter venues" (Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland) cannot host games in March or November; the others shall play as few home matches as possible in March and November.
Excessive travel: A maximum of one pair of teams identified with excessive travel distance in relation to other countries were placed in each group:
Azerbaijan: with Iceland, Portugal. (Gibraltar was also identified with Azerbaijan for excessive travel distance, but the teams are in the same pots for the draw.)
Iceland: with Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel.
Kazakhstan: with Andorra, England, France, Iceland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales. (Faroe Islands and Gibraltar were also identified with Kazakhstan for excessive travel distance, but the teams are in the same pots for the draw.)
