EURO 2024: Everything You Need To Know About Sunday's Euro 2024 Qualifying Draw

Sports Doctor 10/09/2022 01:45:00 AM

Actually It may feel like only yesterday that Leonardo Bonucci was charging around Wembley after Italy's success at Euro 2020, but the journey to Euro 2024 is firmly underway.

The 2022/23 Nations League set the wheels in motion for the next edition of the European Championship, with teams set to find out their qualifying groups later in autumn.

The road to 2024’s European Championship begins on Sunday with the qualification draw for the tournament.

When is it?

The ceremony begins at 12:00 CET in Frankfurt on Sunday, October 9.

What’s it all about?

The road to Germany in two years, with 53 countries entered in the draw, which will determine the seven groups of five and three groups of six for qualification

Who is involved?

All of UEFA’s member nations are included with the exception of hosts Germany and Russia, who have been excluded as a result of their invasion of Ukraine.

The four Nations League finalists in the top pot will be entered into the smaller groups but are ranked as top seeds along with those in pot one.

The pots are as follows:

Nations League pot: Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, Italy

Pot 1: Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary, Switzerland, Poland

Pot 2: France, Austria, Czech Republic, England, Wales, Israel, Bosnia-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, San Marino, Liechtenstein

Who qualifies?

The top two teams in each of the 10 groups will gain automatic entry to Euro 2024.

Germany are automatic qualifiers as host nation, while the remaining three teams will be decided via the Nations League play-offs.

The teams already guaranteed a Nations League play-off berth via their performances in the most recent edition of that competition are Croatia, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Turkey, Greece, Kazakhstan, Georgia.

Is there draw restrictions?

For political reasons, Armenia-Azerbaijan, Belarus-Ukraine and Spain-Gibraltar cannot be paired together, while Kosovo are restricted from drawing Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia.

Only two Nordic or Baltic countries can be drawn together due to severe weather conditions and Iceland, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan can only be drawn against a maximum of one other team from that region due to the travel difficulties.