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UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying

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The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, played across Europe in June and July 2021.[1][2][3] The competition was linked with the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, giving countries a secondary route to qualify for the final tournament. For the first time since 1976, no team automatically qualified for the UEFA European Championship as the host country.[4]

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
Tournament details
Dates21 March 2019 – 12 November 2020
Teams55
Tournament statistics
Matches played262
Goals scored826 (3.15 per match)
Attendance5,225,403 (19,944 per match)
Top scorer(s)England Harry Kane (12 goals)
← 2016
2024 →

The national teams of all 55 UEFA member associations entered the qualifying process, with Kosovo taking part for the first time. The group stage draw took place at the Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland, on 2 December 2018.[5]

Qualified teams

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  Team qualified for UEFA Euro 2020
  Team failed to qualify


Team[A] Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in tournament[B]
  Belgium Group I winner 10 October 2019 5 (1972, 1980, 1984, 2000, 2016)
  Italy Group J winner 12 October 2019 9 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Russia[C] Group I runner-up 13 October 2019 11 (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Poland Group G winner 13 October 2019 3 (2008, 2012, 2016)
  Ukraine Group B winner 14 October 2019 2 (2012, 2016)
  Spain Group F winner 15 October 2019 10 (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  France Group H winner 14 November 2019 9 (1960, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Turkey Group H runner-up 14 November 2019 4 (1996, 2000, 2008, 2016)
  England Group A winner 14 November 2019 9 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2016)
  Czech Republic[D] Group A runner-up 14 November 2019 9 (1960, 1976, 1980, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Finland Group J runner-up 15 November 2019 0 (debut)
  Sweden Group F runner-up 15 November 2019 6 (1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Croatia Group E winner 16 November 2019 5 (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Austria Group G runner-up 16 November 2019 2 (2008, 2016)
  Netherlands Group C runner-up 16 November 2019 9 (1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
  Germany[E] Group C winner 16 November 2019 12 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
  Portugal Group B runner-up 17 November 2019 7 (1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
   Switzerland Group D winner 18 November 2019 4 (1996, 2004, 2008, 2016)
  Denmark Group D runner-up 18 November 2019 8 (1964, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012)
  Wales Group E runner-up 19 November 2019 1 (2016)
  North Macedonia Play-off Path D winner 12 November 2020 0 (debut)
  Hungary Play-off Path A winner 12 November 2020 3 (1964, 1972, 2016)
  Slovakia[D] Play-off Path B winner 12 November 2020 4 (1960, 1976, 1980, 2016)
  Scotland Play-off Path C winner 12 November 2020 2 (1992, 1996)
  1. ^ Italic indicates team from one of the eleven host associations.
  2. ^ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.
  3. ^ From 1960 to 1988, Russia competed as the Soviet Union, and in 1992 as CIS.
  4. ^ a b From 1960 to 1980, both the Czech Republic and Slovakia competed as Czechoslovakia.[6][7][8]
  5. ^ From 1972 to 1988, Germany competed as West Germany.

Format

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There was no automatic qualifying berth, and all 55 UEFA national teams, including the twelve national teams whose countries were selected to stage matches, had to 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 qualifying, it was possible for the national teams from the host cities to fail to qualify for the finals tournament.[9][10]

With the creation of the UEFA Nations League starting in 2018, the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was linked with UEFA Euro qualifying, providing teams another chance to qualify for the tournament.[10][11] The qualifying process guaranteed that at least one team from each division of the previous Nations League season would qualify for the final tournament (either directly or through the play-offs).[12][13]

The main qualifying process began with the qualifying group stage in March 2019, instead of late 2018 immediately following the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and ended in November 2019. The qualifiers were played on double matchdays in March, June, September, October, and November 2019.[12] As with the 2016 qualifying tournament, the group stage decided 20 of the 24 teams that advanced to the final tournament. Following the admission of Kosovo to UEFA in May 2016, it was announced that the 55 teams would be drawn into ten groups after the completion of the league phase of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, and the draw seeding would be based on the overall rankings of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League.[14] There were 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 could compete in the Nations League Finals in June 2019). The top two teams in each of the ten groups qualified for the final tournament.[15][16]

Following the qualifying group stage, the qualifying play-offs took place to determine the remaining four teams for the final tournament. Unlike previous editions, the participants of the play-offs were not decided based on results from the qualifying group stage. Instead, sixteen teams were selected based entirely on their performance in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. These teams were divided into four paths, each containing four teams, with one team from each path qualifying for the final tournament. Each league had its own play-off path if at least four teams had not already qualified in the conventional qualifying group stage. The Nations League group winners automatically qualified for the play-off path of their league. If a group winner had already qualified through the qualifying group stage, they were replaced by the next best-ranked team in the same league. However, if there were not enough non-qualified teams in the same league, then the spot went to the next best team in the overall ranking. However, group winners could not face teams from a higher league.[1]

Each play-off path featured two single-leg semi-finals, and one single-leg final. In the semi-finals, the best-ranked team hosted the lowest-ranked team, and the second-ranked team hosted the third-ranked team. The host of the final was drawn between the winners of the semi-final pairings. The four play-off path winners joined the twenty teams that had already qualified for the final tournament.[13] The UEFA Executive Committee approved the use of the video assistant referee system for the play-offs during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland on 4 December 2019, the first time the technology was used in the qualifying competition.[17]

Tiebreakers for group ranking

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If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were 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 had an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 were reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings.[a] If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 applied;
  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 were two or more teams tied in points, criteria 1 to 4 were applied. After these criteria were applied, they may have defined 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

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To determine the overall rankings of the European Qualifiers, results against teams in sixth place were discarded and the following criteria were 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

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Below was the schedule of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.[14]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the qualifying play-offs, originally scheduled for 26 and 31 March 2020, were postponed by UEFA on 17 March 2020.[18][19] Afterwards, UEFA tentatively scheduled for the matches to take place on 4 and 9 June 2020.[20] However, the play-offs were later postponed indefinitely by UEFA on 1 April 2020.[21] The scheduling of the play-offs was reviewed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting on 17 June 2020.[22] At the meeting, UEFA decided to stage the play-off semi-finals on 8 October 2020, and the finals on 12 November 2020.[23] To facilitate this, an additional matchday was added to both international windows, allowing for triple-headers to be played in order to complete the league phase of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League as scheduled.[24] The changes to the International Match Calendar for October and November 2020 were approved by the FIFA Council on 25 June 2020.[25]

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 8 October 2020[A]
Finals 12 November 2020[B]
  1. ^ Originally scheduled for 26 March 2020, and later for 4 June 2020
  2. ^ Originally scheduled for 31 March 2020, and later for 9 June 2020

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 2 December 2018 following the draw.[26][27]

Draw

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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, Ireland.[5][28][29] 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).[30][31][32]

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 had five teams so that they only had 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:[33]

  • 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 were 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 whose venues were identified as having 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) generally could not host games in March or November; the others played 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 were in the same pot 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 were in the same pot for the draw.)

Seeding

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The teams were seeded based on the November 2018 UEFA Nations League overall rankings.[34][35] Teams in italics are final tournament hosts. Teams in bold qualified to the final tournament.

UNL pot
Team Rank
   Switzerland 1
  Portugal (title holders) 2
  Netherlands 3
  England 4
Pot 1
Team Rank
  Belgium 5
  France 6
  Spain 7
  Italy 8
  Croatia 9
  Poland 10
Pot 2
Team Rank
  Germany 11
  Iceland 12
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 13
  Ukraine 14
  Denmark 15
  Sweden 16
  Russia 17
  Austria 18
  Wales 19
  Czech Republic 20
Pot 3
Team Rank
  Slovakia 21
  Turkey 22
  Republic of Ireland 23
  Northern Ireland 24
  Scotland 25
  Norway 26
  Serbia 27
  Finland 28
  Bulgaria 29
  Israel 30
Pot 4
Team Rank
  Hungary 31
  Romania 32
  Greece 33
  Albania 34
  Montenegro 35
  Cyprus 36
  Estonia 37
  Slovenia 38
  Lithuania 39
  Georgia 40
Pot 5
Team Rank
  Macedonia 41
  Kosovo 42
  Belarus 43
  Luxembourg 44
  Armenia 45
  Azerbaijan 46
  Kazakhstan 47
  Moldova 48
  Gibraltar 49
  Faroe Islands 50
Pot 6
Team Rank
  Latvia 51
  Liechtenstein 52
  Andorra 53
  Malta 54
  San Marino 55

Summary

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  Group winners and runners-up qualified directly for UEFA Euro 2020
  Teams advanced to the play-offs, selected based on their performance in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League
  Other teams were eliminated after the qualifying group stage
Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I Group J
 
England
 
Czech Republic 		 
Ukraine
 
Portugal 		 
Germany
 
Netherlands 		 
Switzerland
 
Denmark 		 
Croatia
 
Wales 		 
Spain
 
Sweden 		 
Poland
 
Austria 		 
France
 
Turkey 		 
Belgium
 
Russia 		 
Italy
 
Finland
 
Kosovo 		 
Serbia 		 
Northern Ireland 		 
Republic of Ireland 		 
Slovakia 		 
Norway 		 
North Macedonia 		 
Iceland 		 
Scotland 		 
Greece
 
Bulgaria 		 
Luxembourg 		 
Belarus 		 
Georgia 		 
Hungary 		 
Romania 		 
Slovenia 		 
Albania 		 
Cyprus 		 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
 
Montenegro 		 
Lithuania 		 
Estonia 		 
Gibraltar 		 
Azerbaijan 		 
Faroe Islands 		 
Israel 		 
Andorra 		 
Kazakhstan 		 
Armenia
 
Malta 		 
Latvia 		 
Moldova 		 
San Marino 		 
Liechtenstein

Groups

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Matches took place from 21 March to 19 November 2019.

Group A

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group A
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   England 8 7 0 1 37 6 +31 21 Qualify for final tournament — 5–0 5–3 4–0 7–0
2   Czech Republic 8 5 0 3 13 11 +2 15 2–1 — 2–1 2–1 3–0
3   Kosovo 8 3 2 3 13 16 −3 11 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–4 2–1 — 1–1 2–0
4   Bulgaria 8 1 3 4 6 17 −11 6 0–6 1–0 2–3 — 1–1
5   Montenegro 8 0 3 5 3 22 −19 3 1–5 0–3 1–1 0–0 —
Source: UEFA

Group B

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group B
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Ukraine 8 6 2 0 17 4 +13 20 Qualify for final tournament — 2–1 5–0 1–0 2–0
2   Portugal 8 5 2 1 22 6 +16 17 0–0 — 1–1 3–0 6–0
3   Serbia 8 4 2 2 17 17 0 14 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 2–2 2–4 — 3–2 4–1
4   Luxembourg 8 1 1 6 7 16 −9 4 1–2 0–2 1–3 — 2–1
5   Lithuania 8 0 1 7 5 25 −20 1 0–3 1–5 1–2 1–1 —
Source: UEFA

Group C

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group C
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Germany 8 7 0 1 30 7 +23 21 Qualify for final tournament — 2–4 6–1 4–0 8–0
2   Netherlands 8 6 1 1 24 7 +17 19 2–3 — 3–1 4–0 5–0
3   Northern Ireland 8 4 1 3 9 13 −4 13 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–2 0–0 — 2–1 2–0
4   Belarus 8 1 1 6 4 16 −12 4 0–2 1–2 0–1 — 0–0
5   Estonia 8 0 1 7 2 26 −24 1 0–3 0–4 1–2 1–2 —
Source: UEFA

Group D

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group D
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1    Switzerland 8 5 2 1 19 6 +13 17 Qualify for final tournament — 3–3 2–0 1–0 4–0
2   Denmark 8 4 4 0 23 6 +17 16 1–0 — 1–1 5–1 6–0
3   Republic of Ireland 8 3 4 1 7 5 +2 13 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 1–1 1–1 — 1–0 2–0
4   Georgia 8 2 2 4 7 11 −4 8 0–2 0–0 0–0 — 3–0
5   Gibraltar 8 0 0 8 3 31 −28 0 1–6 0–6 0–1 2–3 —
Source: UEFA

Group E

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group E
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Croatia 8 5 2 1 17 7 +10 17 Qualify for final tournament — 2–1 3–1 3–0 2–1
2   Wales 8 4 2 2 10 6 +4 14 1–1 — 1–0 2–0 2–1
3   Slovakia 8 4 1 3 13 11 +2 13 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–4 1–1 — 2–0 2–0
4   Hungary 8 4 0 4 8 11 −3 12 2–1 1–0 1–2 — 1–0
5   Azerbaijan 8 0 1 7 5 18 −13 1 1–1 0–2 1–5 1–3 —
Source: UEFA

Group F

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group F
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   Spain 10 8 2 0 31 5 +26 26 Qualify for final tournament — 3–0 2–1 5–0 4–0 7–0
2   Sweden 10 6 3 1 23 9 +14 21 1–1 — 1–1 2–1 3–0 3–0
3   Norway 10 4 5 1 19 11 +8 17 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 1–1 3–3 — 2–2 4–0 2–0
4   Romania 10 4 2 4 17 15 +2 14 1–2 0–2 1–1 — 4–1 1–0
5   Faroe Islands 10 1 0 9 4 30 −26 3[a] 1–4 0–4 0–2 0–3 — 1–0
6   Malta 10 1 0 9 3 27 −24 3[a] 0–2 0–4 1–2 0–4 2–1 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Tied on head-to-head points (3) and head-to-head goal difference (0). Head-to-head away goals: Faroe Islands 1, Malta 0.

Group G

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group G
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   Poland 10 8 1 1 18 5 +13 25 Qualify for final tournament — 0–0 2–0 3–2 4–0 2–0
2   Austria 10 6 1 3 19 9 +10 19 0–1 — 2–1 1–0 3–1 6–0
3   North Macedonia 10 4 2 4 12 13 −1 14[a] Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–1 1–4 — 2–1 1–0 3–1
4   Slovenia 10 4 2 4 16 11 +5 14[a] 2–0 0–1 1–1 — 3–2 1–0
5   Israel 10 3 2 5 16 18 −2 11 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 1–2 4–2 1–1 1–1 — 3–1
6   Latvia 10 1 0 9 3 28 −25 3 0–3 1–0 0–2 0–5 0–3 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: North Macedonia 4, Slovenia 1.

Group H

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group H
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   France 10 8 1 1 25 6 +19 25 Qualify for final tournament — 1–1 4–0 4–1 3–0 2–1
2   Turkey 10 7 2 1 18 3 +15 23 2–0 — 0–0 1–0 1–0 4–0
3   Iceland 10 6 1 3 14 11 +3 19 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–1 2–1 — 1–0 2–0 3–0
4   Albania 10 4 1 5 16 14 +2 13 0–2 0–2 4–2 — 2–2 2–0
5   Andorra 10 1 1 8 3 20 −17 4 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–3 — 1–0
6   Moldova 10 1 0 9 4 26 −22 3 1–4 0–4 1–2 0–4 1–0 —
Source: UEFA

Group I

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group I
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   Belgium 10 10 0 0 40 3 +37 30 Qualify for final tournament — 3–1 3–0 6–1 3–0 9–0
2   Russia 10 8 0 2 33 8 +25 24 1–4 — 4–0 1–0 1–0 9–0
3   Scotland 10 5 0 5 16 19 −3 15 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–4 1–2 — 2–1 3–1 6–0
4   Cyprus 10 3 1 6 15 20 −5 10[a] 0–2 0–5 1–2 — 1–1 5–0
5   Kazakhstan 10 3 1 6 13 17 −4 10[a] 0–2 0–4 3–0 1–2 — 4–0
6   San Marino 10 0 0 10 1 51 −50 0 0–4 0–5 0–2 0–4 1–3 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Cyprus 4, Kazakhstan 1.

Group J

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group J
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   Italy 10 10 0 0 37 4 +33 30 Qualify for final tournament — 2–0 2–0 2–1 9–1 6–0
2   Finland 10 6 0 4 16 10 +6 18 1–2 — 1–0 2–0 3–0 3–0
3   Greece 10 4 2 4 12 14 −2 14 0–3 2–1 — 2–1 2–3 1–1
4   Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 4 1 5 20 17 +3 13 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–3 4–1 2–2 — 2–1 5–0
5   Armenia 10 3 1 6 14 25 −11 10 1–3 0–2 0–1 4–2 — 3–0
6   Liechtenstein 10 0 2 8 2 31 −29 2 0–5 0–2 0–2 0–3 1–1 —
Source: UEFA

Play-offs

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Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs

Teams that failed in the qualifying group stage could still qualify for the final tournament through the play-offs. Each league in the UEFA Nations League was allocated one of the four remaining final tournament spots. Four teams from each league that had not already qualified for the European Championship finals competed in the play-offs of their league. The play-off berths were first allocated to each Nations League group winner, and if any of the group winners had already qualified for the European Championship finals, then to the next best ranked team of the league, etc.

Team selection

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The team selection process determined the 16 teams that competed in the play-offs based on a set of criteria that obeyed these principles:[36]

  • Each league formed a path with the four best-ranked teams not yet qualified.
  • If one or more leagues had fewer than four non-qualifying teams, spots were taken by other eligible teams based on ranking.
  • Group winners could not face teams from higher leagues.

Teams in bold advanced to the play-offs.

League A
Rank Team
1 GW   Portugal
2 GW   Netherlands[H]
3 GW   England[H]
4 GW    Switzerland
5   Belgium
6   France
7   Spain[H]
8   Italy[H]
9   Croatia
10   Poland
11   Germany[H]
12   Iceland
League B
Rank Team
13 GW   Bosnia and Herzegovina
14 GW   Ukraine
15 GW   Denmark[H]
16 GW   Sweden
17   Russia[H]
18   Austria
19   Wales
20   Czech Republic
21   Slovakia
22   Turkey
23   Republic of Ireland[H]
24   Northern Ireland
League C
Rank Team
25 GW   Scotland[H]
26 GW   Norway
27 GW   Serbia
28 GW   Finland
29   Bulgaria
30   Israel
31   Hungary[H]
32   Romania[H]
33   Greece
34   Albania
35   Montenegro
36   Cyprus
37   Estonia
38   Slovenia
39   Lithuania
League D
Rank Team
40 GW   Georgia
41 GW   North Macedonia
42 GW   Kosovo
43 GW   Belarus
44   Luxembourg
45   Armenia
46   Azerbaijan[H]
47   Kazakhstan
48   Moldova
49   Gibraltar
50   Faroe Islands
51   Latvia
52   Liechtenstein
53   Andorra
54   Malta
55   San Marino

Key

  1. GW Nations League group winner
  2. H UEFA Euro 2020 host at the time of the draw
  3.   Team advanced to play-offs
  4.   Team qualified directly to final tournament

Draw

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The qualifying play-off draw took place on 22 November 2019, 12:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[37] The draw followed the path formation rules to determine the play-off paths that the non-group winners would participate in.[38][39] Four separate draws determining the host of the play-off final of each path also took place between the winners of the semi-final pairings (identified as semi-final 1 for 1 v 4, and semi-final 2 for 2 v 3).[4]

Based on the 16 teams that advanced to the play-offs, the four play-off paths were formed following the path formation rules, starting with League D and working up to League A:

  • As there were four group-winning teams from League D, they were all placed in Path D.
  • As there were seven teams from League C (three group winners and four non-group winners), the three group winners were placed in Path C, while a draw decided which one of the four non-group winners was also placed in Path C.
  • As there were four teams from League B (one group winner and three non-group winners), they were all placed in Path B.
  • As there was only one non-group winning team from League A, it was placed in Path A. The three non-group winners from League C that were not drawn to Path C were then placed in Path A.

The following four non-group winners from League C (ordered by Nations League ranking) took part in the draw, with one being drawn into Path C, while the remaining three were allocated to Path A:[40]

  1.   Bulgaria
  2.   Israel
  3.   Hungary[H]
  4.   Romania[H]

The team drawn into Path C occupied position C4, while the three teams drawn into Path A occupied positions A2, A3 and A4, following their Nations League ranking.

The following was the composition of the play-off paths:

Path A
Rank Team
1   Iceland
2   Bulgaria
3   Hungary[H]
4   Romania[H]
Path B
Rank Team
1   Bosnia and Herzegovina
2   Slovakia
3   Republic of Ireland[H]
4   Northern Ireland
Path C
Rank Team
1   Scotland[H]
2   Norway
3   Serbia
4   Israel
Path D
Rank Team
1   Georgia
2   North Macedonia
3   Kosovo
4   Belarus

Key

  1. H UEFA Euro 2020 host at the time of the draw

The following semi-final winners were drawn to host the play-off final:

With host Scotland in Path C, and two other hosts Hungary and Romania to be drawn into Path A or C, it was not possible to prevent one of these paths from containing two host teams. Therefore, the winner of the path with two hosts had to be assigned to two final tournament groups.

Path A

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Home team  Score  Away team
Semi-finals
Iceland   2–1   Romania
Bulgaria   1–3   Hungary
Final
Hungary   2–1   Iceland

Path B

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Home team  Score  Away team
Semi-finals
Bosnia and Herzegovina   1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)   Northern Ireland
Slovakia   0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)   Republic of Ireland
Final
Northern Ireland   1–2 (a.e.t.)   Slovakia

Path C

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Home team  Score  Away team
Semi-finals
Scotland   0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)   Israel
Norway   1–2 (a.e.t.)   Serbia
Final
Serbia   1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)   Scotland

Path D

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Home team  Score  Away team
Semi-finals
Georgia   1–0   Belarus
North Macedonia   2–1   Kosovo
Final
Georgia   0–1   North Macedonia

Goalscorers

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There were 826 goals scored in 262 matches, for an average of 3.15 goals per match.

12 goals

11 goals

10 goals

9 goals

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Overall ranking

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The overall rankings were used for seeding in the final tournament draw.[41] Results against sixth-placed teams were not considered in the ranking.[1]

Rnk Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Allocation
1 I   Belgium 8 8 0 0 27 3 +24 24 Draw pot 1
2 J   Italy 8 8 0 0 26 4 +22 24
3 A   England 8 7 0 1 37 6 +31 21
4 C   Germany 8 7 0 1 30 7 +23 21
5 F   Spain 8 6 2 0 22 5 +17 20
6 B   Ukraine 8 6 2 0 17 4 +13 20
7 H   France 8 6 1 1 19 4 +15 19 Draw pot 2
8 G   Poland 8 6 1 1 13 5 +8 19
9 D    Switzerland 8 5 2 1 19 6 +13 17
10 E   Croatia 8 5 2 1 17 7 +10 17
11 C   Netherlands 8 6 1 1 24 7 +17 19 Draw pot 2
12 I   Russia 8 6 0 2 19 8 +11 18
13 B   Portugal 8 5 2 1 22 6 +16 17 Draw pot 3
14 H   Turkey 8 5 2 1 10 3 +7 17
15 D   Denmark 8 4 4 0 23 6 +17 16
16 G   Austria 8 5 1 2 13 8 +5 16
17 F   Sweden 8 4 3 1 16 9 +7 15
18 A   Czech Republic 8 5 0 3 13 11 +2 15
19 E   Wales 8 4 2 2 10 6 +4 14 Draw pot 4
20 J   Finland 8 4 0 4 11 10 +1 12
21 B   Serbia 8 4 2 2 17 17 0 14
22 E   Slovakia 8 4 1 3 13 11 +2 13
23 D   Republic of Ireland 8 3 4 1 7 5 +2 13
24 H   Iceland 8 4 1 3 9 10 −1 13
25 C   Northern Ireland 8 4 1 3 9 13 −4 13
26 F   Norway 8 2 5 1 15 10 +5 11
27 A   Kosovo 8 3 2 3 13 16 −3 11
28 J   Greece 8 3 1 4 9 13 −4 10
29 I   Scotland 8 3 0 5 8 19 −11 9
30 G   North Macedonia 8 2 2 4 7 12 −5 8
31 E   Hungary 8 4 0 4 8 11 −3 12
32 G   Slovenia 8 2 2 4 10 11 −1 8
33 F   Romania 8 2 2 4 12 15 −3 8
34 D   Georgia 8 2 2 4 7 11 −4 8
35 H   Albania 8 2 1 5 10 14 −4 7
36 J   Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 2 1 5 12 17 −5 7
37 A   Bulgaria 8 1 3 4 6 17 −11 6
38 B   Luxembourg 8 1 1 6 7 16 −9 4
39 C   Belarus 8 1 1 6 4 16 −12 4
40 I   Cyprus 8 1 1 6 6 20 −14 4
41 J   Armenia 8 2 0 6 10 24 −14 6
42 G   Israel 8 1 2 5 10 17 −7 5
43 I   Kazakhstan 8 1 1 6 6 16 −10 4
44 A   Montenegro 8 0 3 5 3 22 −19 3
45 E   Azerbaijan 8 0 1 7 5 18 −13 1
46 H   Andorra 8 0 1 7 2 19 −17 1
47 B   Lithuania 8 0 1 7 5 25 −20 1
48 C   Estonia 8 0 1 7 2 26 −24 1
49 F   Faroe Islands 8 0 0 8 2 28 −26 0
50 D   Gibraltar 8 0 0 8 3 31 −28 0
51 H   Moldova 10 1 0 9 4 26 −22 3
52 F   Malta 10 1 0 9 3 27 −24 3
53 G   Latvia 10 1 0 9 3 28 −25 3
54 J   Liechtenstein 10 0 2 8 2 31 −29 2
55 I   San Marino 10 0 0 10 1 51 −50 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Ranking criteria

Team of the European Qualifiers

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Following the completion of the qualifying group stage, UEFA released a "Team of the European Qualifiers" on 29 November 2019. The team featured 11 players based on accumulated scores from the FedEx Performance Zone player rankings, which was based on form from qualifying. Additional weighting was given for teams that played only eight matches.[42]

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Andriy Pyatov   Ragnar Sigurðsson
  Sergio Ramos
  Merih Demiral 		  Ioannis Kousoulos
  Eran Zahavi
  Georginio Wijnaldum
  Bernardo Silva 		  Harry Kane
  Raheem Sterling
  Memphis Depay

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2018–20". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "UEFA Euro 2020 Tournament Requirements" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Bids for Euro 2020 due today; tournament to be held all across Europe". NBC Sports. 12 September 2013.
  4. ^ a b "European Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2020: how it works". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Dublin to stage European Qualifiers draw on 2 December 2018". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 September 2017.
  6. ^ UEFA.com (17 November 2015). "UEFA EURO 2016: How all the teams qualified | UEFA EURO". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  7. ^ UEFA.com (22 February 2021). "UEFA EURO 2020 contenders in focus: Czech Republic | UEFA EURO". UEFA.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  8. ^ UEFA.com (3 March 2021). "UEFA EURO 2020 contenders in focus: Slovakia | UEFA EURO". UEFA.com. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  9. ^ "All you need to know about UEFA EURO 2020". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b "UEFA Nations League/UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2014.
  11. ^ "UEFA Nations League receives associations' green light". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 March 2014.
  12. ^ a b "UEFA Nations League: all you need to know". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 March 2014.
  13. ^ a b "UEFA Nations League format and schedule confirmed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 December 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Regulations of the UEFA Nations League 2018/19" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 28 September 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  15. ^ "All you need to know: European Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2020". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  16. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying: all you need to know". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Game changer: group stage for UEFA Women's Champions League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
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  19. ^ "Resolution of the European football family on a coordinated response to the impact of the COVID-19 on competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  20. ^ "UEFA a comunicat noile date de disputare ale play-off-ului Campionatului European" [UEFA has announced the new dates of the European Championship play-offs]. Romanian Football Federation (in Romanian). 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  21. ^ "UEFA postpones all June national team matches". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  22. ^ "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for June meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  23. ^ "EURO 2020 play-offs to take place in October/November". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  24. ^ "UEFA competitions to resume in August". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  25. ^ "FIFA Council unanimously approves COVID-19 Relief Plan". FIFA. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  26. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying schedule: all the fixtures". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  27. ^ "European Qualifiers 2018–20: Group stage fixture list" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  28. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying draw: 2 December". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  29. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying draw: 2 December". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.
  30. ^ "UEFA Euro 2020: Qualifying Draw Procedure" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 September 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  31. ^ "UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying draw press kit" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 November 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  32. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying draw made in Dublin". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  33. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  34. ^ "EURO 2020 qualifying draw pots confirmed". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  35. ^ "2018/19 UEFA Nations League rankings" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 November 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  36. ^ "UNL Media Briefing" (PDF). Union of European Football Associations. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  37. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 play-off draw: All you need to know". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  38. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 play-off draw". UEFA.com.
  39. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 play-off draw". UEFA.com.
  40. ^ "European Qualifiers 2018–20 – Play-off Draw Procedure" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  41. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 final tournament draw: how it will work". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  42. ^ "Who made the team of UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
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