UEFA European Championship qualifying explained

UEFA European Championship qualifying
Founded:1958
Number Of Teams:55
Region:Europe (UEFA)
Qualifier For:UEFA European Championship
Related Comps:UEFA Nations League
Website:Official website
Current:UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

The UEFA European Championship qualifying, branded as the European Qualifiers, is the process that UEFA-affiliated national football teams go through in order to qualify for the UEFA European Championship.

In this article, the years represent the final tournaments of the European Championship, and are not meant to correspond to the actual dates when the qualification matches were played.

Format evolution

Number of teams entering qualification

1960

1964

1968

1972

1976

1980

1984

1988

1992

1996


2000

2004


2008


2012

2016

2020

2024


2028


2032
Total valid entries17 29 31 32 32 31 32 32 34 47 49 50 50 51 53 55 53
Played at least one match28 33
Qualified through qualification4 4 4 4 4 7 7 7 7 15 14 15 14 14 23 24 23
Qualified automatically0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 0 1 2
Total finalists4 4 4 4 4 8 8 8 8 16 16 16 16 16 24 24 24 24

Resume

Qualifying groups
Year Groups Teams
8 3–4
8 4
8 4
7 4–5
7 4–5
7 4–5
7 4–5
8 5–6
9 5–6
10 5
7 7–8
9 5–6
9 5–6
10 5–6
10 5–6
12 4–5

The 1960 and 1964 qualifications were knock-out tournaments. The four quarter-final-winning teams qualified for the final stages, and one of them was chosen to host the competition.

From 1968 onwards, a group stage began to be used as the main, or sole, component of qualification. In 1968, 1972 and 1976, the winners of the eight groups advanced to a quarter-final stage, which was still part of the qualifying. The four quarter-final winners progressed to the finals. Again, the host nation was selected among the four finalists.

From 1980, the hosting rights would be assigned in advance, and the host teams would be guaranteed automatic qualification. The format of the finals was expanded to feature 8 teams. Winners of qualifying groups now proceeded to the finals directly. The 1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992 qualifications included seven groups, the winners of which would join the hosts in the finals, although in 1992 one winner was eventually banned from appearing and was replaced by the runner-up of its group.

From 1996, a 16-team format was employed for the main tournament. Runners-up in qualifying groups now could also gain access to the finals. Play-off pairings were introduced as a second opportunity for teams that narrowly miss out direct qualification. The 1996 qualifying consisted of eight groups; the group winners as well as the six best runners-up qualified, and so did the winner of the play-off between the remaining two runners-up, joining the host country.

In 2000, the first-placed teams in the nine qualifying groups as well as the best runner-up progressed directly to the finals, while another four spots were taken by winners of play-offs contested by the remaining runners-up. For the first time there were two host countries; they both received automatic berths in the finals.

In 2004, along with the host team, the ten qualifying group winners advanced, as did the winners of the five play-off ties formed by the runners-up.

In 2008, the top two teams from each of the seven qualifying groups joined the two host teams to bring the number of finalists to 16. No play-off stage was held.

The 2012 qualification replicated the format of that of 2000: places were taken by nine group winners and the best runner-up, while the other runners-up determined four more finalists via play-offs, with the two host countries qualifying by default.

Starting from 2016, the finals format was expanded again, now featuring 24 teams. It became possible for third-placed teams in qualifying groups to get to the Euros too. The 2016 qualifying included nine groups; the winners, the runners-up, and the best third-placed team advanced directly, while play-offs played by the other third-placed teams determined the last four finalists. The host nation still qualified automatically. The 2016 qualification tournament was the first one to be branded as the European Qualifiers, a trademark used from that point on for both the European Championship qualifications and the FIFA World Cup qualification tournaments in Europe.[1]

From 2020, qualification began to be linked with the newly created UEFA Nations League: participation in the qualifying play-offs was now determined based on the teams' performances in that competition and not in qualification itself.[2] The play-offs themselves were restructured into four-team brackets consisting of semi-finals and a final. In the 2020 qualifying, the top two teams of the ten qualifying groups took twenty places in the main tournament. From each of the four divisions of the 2018–19 Nations League, the four best-ranked teams not already qualified for Euro 2020 filled in a play-off bracket for that division, and the winner of each bracket got a spot in the Euros too. There were no automatic berths for Euro 2020 as it was hosted by multiple cities across the continent. It was actually postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but retained its original branding.

In a similar fashion, the 2024 qualifying granted spots to the winners and runners-up of the ten qualifying groups, while this time only the top three divisions of the 2022–23 Nations League formed play-off brackets to determine three more finalists, and the host country got an automatic spot.

For both 2028 and 2032, the number of groups will be increased to twelve. The winners will advance to the finals, while the runners-up will either also advance directly or participate in play-offs. For 2028, however, it is to be announced how many and which of the five host countries will qualify by default or will play qualification matches while in 2032, the two host countries qualify automatically.[3] [4] [5]

Participating teams

All national teams that are members of UEFA are eligible to enter the qualification for the European Championship. A total of 56 distinct entities have made attempts to qualify for the European Championship. Of those, 55 are still active in the competition. Due to political changes, a few of the entities have appeared under multiple incarnations (see the footnotes to the below table), and the East Germany team is now defunct.

Saarland, a former UEFA member, merged into West Germany in 1957 and therefore did not enter the qualifiers of any European Championships.

width=40 rowspan=2YearDebuting teamswidth=60 rowspan=2Successor teamsRenamed teams
Teamswidth=40width=40
1960,,,[6],,[7],,,,,,,,,[8],, [9] 1717
1964,,,,,,,,,,, 1229
1968,,, [10] 433
1972033
1976033
1980033
1984033
1988033
1992, 235
1996,[11],,,[12],,,,,,,[13],, 1449,,
2000, 251[14]
2004051
2008152
2012153
2016154
2020155
2024055
2028055
2032055
Successor teams inheriting the records of former teams (as considered by UEFA and FIFA)
Teams competing as parts of other teams
Renamed teams

Overview

Teamwidth=381960width=381964width=381968width=381972width=381976width=381980width=381984width=381988width=381992width=381996width=382000width=382004width=382008width=382012width=382016width=382020width=382024width=382028width=382032
r163/34/45/54/45/56/65/64/55/75/6bgcolor=gold4/6bgcolor=gold
6/65/57/76/66/65/66/6
6/65/64/57/83/65/55/64/5
QFr163/42/43/42/53/53/44/54/63/53/54/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
6/65/65/58/85/65/65/54/5
4/65/55/54/74/64/64/5+p4/6
pr2/4bgcolor=gold1/4QFbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/53/43/63/55/83/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
3/64/54/72/6+p3/6+p4/6+p5/6+p
r16r161/4QF2/43/44/53/42/54/5bgcolor=gold4/5bgcolor=gold3/75/54/64/5+p5/5
bgcolor=gold3/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
4/44/44/44/45/55/55/55/64/54/56/75/55/64/65/5

bgcolor=goldpr2/42/4bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/52/42/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
r16bgcolor=gold4/44/44/45/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold4/7bgcolor=gold3/5+pbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
r16r162/43/42/43/53/42/5
prbgcolor=gold1/4QF2/4bgcolor=gold2/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/7bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
6/65/64/56/72/6+p4/65/55/5+p
5/55/66/65/57/76/65/65/65/5
4/44/44/43/44/44/44/54/63/54/54/84/64/6bgcolor=gold3/6+p
bgcolor=goldQF1/4QF3/43/42/43/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
3/66/65/56/75/65/64/5+pbgcolor=gold

2/3bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
6/65/55/5
r162/43/42/4bgcolor=gold3/52/53/53/63/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold6/63/63/5+p
r16bgcolor=gold1/4QFbgcolor=gold2/42/44/53/54/54/54/64/56/73/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
pr4/45/54/54/54/55/54/63/56/74/5bgcolor=gold3/6+p4/6+p
5/62/5+p3/54/73/64/65/6+p3/6+p
r16bgcolor=gold1/4QF3/44/5bgcolor=gold2/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
6/86/65/65/64/6+p
3/5+p5/6
5/64/6bgcolor=gold5/74/66/66/65/5
6/66/65/57/75/55/66/66/6
3/64/64/55/74/55/65/54/5
QF4/44/44/44/45/55/54/45/65/55/57/76/65/64/53/6+p
pr4/44/44/45/55/55/56/65/55/57/76/66/66/65/5
4/65/54/55/75/66/66/64/5
2/5+p4/65/53/5
r163/42/4bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold2/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold4/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold

4/64/54/55/75/66/6bgcolor=gold4/5
r164/43/42/42/52/53/43/53/64/55/53/75/6bgcolor=gold3/5+p5/6
r16pr4/44/44/45/54/45/53/53/6bgcolor=gold2/5+p3/73/53/6+p3/6+p3/5
r16pr3/42/42/42/53/44/53/44/63/53/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
QFpr2/42/43/43/5bgcolor=gold3/52/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
prQF3/44/42/43/53/5bgcolor=gold2/42/6+p2/5+p3/53/7bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/5+p4/5
QFpr2/41/4QF2/43/4bgcolor=gold2/43/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/5bgcolor=gold3/6bgcolor=gold4/6+pbgcolor=gold
bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold1/4QF4/42/4bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
5/56/65/55/57/76/66/66/66/6
2/43/43/44/54/44/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold2/6+p2/5+p3/73/54/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold



bgcolor=goldr16bgcolor=gold1/4QFbgcolor=gold2/4bgcolor=gold2/4bgcolor=gold1/5dsqbgcolor=gold3/53/83/64/53/5+pbgcolor=gold

bgcolor=goldpr2/42/4bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/52/42/53/63/63/54/74/6bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
5/6bgcolor=gold2/5+p6/74/63/6+p4/6bgcolor=gold
QFbgcolor=gold1/4QF2/41/4QFbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
QF3/43/43/43/42/52/53/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/5
pr3/42/44/44/52/44/52/5bgcolor=gold3/5bgcolor=gold3/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
r16pr4/43/43/42/44/54/44/4bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold2/5+pbgcolor=gold2/6+pbgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
4/62/6+p3/54/7bgcolor=goldbgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold
pr3/43/41/4QF3/42/43/42/45/64/52/5+p5/74/5bgcolor=goldbgcolor=gold3/5+p
Team1960196419681972197619801984198819921996200020042008201220162020202420282032

Key

width=38 bgcolor=goldCame Xth in a group of Y teams
bgcolor=goldCame Xth in a group of Y teams, then qualified through a play-off round
bgcolor=goldQualified as quarter-final winner
bgcolor=goldCame Xth in a group of Y teams, then qualified as quarter-final winner
bgcolor=goldX/YdsqQualified as Xth in a group of Y teams, but was banned from participating in the finals (Yugoslavia in 1992)
X/YCame Xth in a group of Y teams
X/Y+pCame Xth in a group of Y teams, then was eliminated in a play-off round
Failed to qualify coming Xth in a group of Y teams, but was invited to the finals as a replacement (Denmark in 1992)
QFWas eliminated in the quarter-finals
X/YQFCame Xth in a group of Y teams, then was eliminated in the quarter-finals
r16Was eliminated in the round of 16
prWas eliminated in the preliminary round
Qualified automatically as host
Entered but withdrew before playing any matches (Greece in 1964 and East Germany in 1992)
Was suspended from taking part (Yugoslavia in 1996 and Russia in 2024)
Did not enter despite being a UEFA member
Was not a UEFA member

Team records

The below table compares the overall records of all teams that have participated in qualification. Teams are ordered by points using the three points for a win system, then by goal difference, and then by goals scored. Note that this order does not represent any official rankings, and qualification tournaments are not direct competitions between all teams.

The "Qualifying attempts" column only counts qualifying campaigns where the team played at least one match, while the "Appearances in the finals" also include automatic qualifiers.

As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Legend
Team has qualified for the main tournament
Team has not qualified for the main tournament
Team is defunct (and never qualified for the main tournament)

Notes on the table:

Teams highlighted in bold participated in the 2024 qualifying. The table is updated to the matches played in March 2024.

RankTeamQualifying attemptsAppearances
in the finals
Overall qualification recordPoints
width=20Totalwidth=20Successfulwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=40Totalwidth=40
117 12 12 133 96 18 19 339 96 +243 306 2.301
2
17 11 11 132 85 24 23 263 108 +155 279 2.114
3
16 12 12 130 81 29 20 268 94 +174 272 2.092
415 10 11 126 78 32 16 240 85 +155 266 2.111
515 10 11 125 83 16 26 291 99 +192 265 2.120
615 10 11 116 79 26 11 280 68 +212 263 2.267
716 8 9 125 76 26 23 252 109 +143 254 2.032
815 9 11 120 74 28 18 260 94 +166 250 2.083
9
13 12 14 106 76 20 10 267 68 +199 248 2.340
1017 6 6 136 69 41 26 242 123 +119 248 1.824
11
17 6 6 136 71 26 39 233 145 +88 239 1.757
1215 6 7 122 65 28 29 232 119 +113 223 1.828
1317 9 10 133 64 31 38 227 155 +72 223 1.677
1415 6 7 122 64 27 31 211 123 +88 219 1.795
15


16 7 6 122 64 30 28 221 137 +84 219 1.795
1617 5 5 139 63 29 47 226 181 +45 218 1.568
1715 4 4 130 62 30 38 200 147 +53 216 1.662
1817 3 3 138 55 41 42 199 151 +48 206 1.493
1916 4 4 127 60 25 42 184 144 +40 205 1.614
2017 6 6 128 56 31 41 166 159 +7 199 1.555
2116 3 4 118 55 30 33 192 125 +67 195 1.653
2216 3 4 117 57 18 42 219 162 +57 189 1.615
2317 2 2 130 50 33 47 171 154 +17 183 1.408
2417 1 1 133 50 27 56 181 183 −2 177 1.331
2515 5 6 110 48 29 33 194 133 +61 173 1.573
2616 2 2 120 48 26 46 145 149 −4 170 1.417
2716 1 1 130 47 27 56 140 167 −27 168 1.292
288 7 7 78 50 17 11 148 50 +98 166 2.128
2915 1 1 124 39 24 61 143 182 −39 141 1.137
308 2 2 86 36 17 33 119 100 +19 125 1.453
3114 1 1 118 34 19 65 115 176 −61 121 1.025
327 2 3 70 33 19 18 101 65 +36 118 1.686
338 0 0 81 32 17 32 123 107 +16 113 1.395
347 0 0 75 29 12 34 104 114 −10 99 1.320
3514 2 2 109 24 26 59 100 177 −77 98 0.899
368 1 1 80 22 13 45 75 135 −60 79 0.988
378 1 1 78 21 12 45 83 119 −36 75 0.962
38
8 1 1 78 19 18 41 84 124 −40 75 0.962
398 0 0 74 21 12 41 63 122 −59 75 1.014
408 0 0 46 20 12 14 76 57 +19 72 1.565
4115 0 0 122 19 15 88 101 316 −215 72 0.590
428 0 0 77 18 16 43 62 118 −56 70 0.909
438 0 0 76 17 15 44 74 121 −47 66 0.868
448 0 0 76 14 13 49 62 150 −88 55 0.724
458 0 0 78 15 10 53 51 151 −100 55 0.705
4616 0 0 127 13 13 101 64 338 −274 52 0.409
475 0 0 54 13 8 33 53 92 −39 47 0.870
484 0 0 36 9 10 17 29 56 −27 37 1.028
498 0 0 76 8 11 57 48 182 −134 35 0.461
509 0 0 86 7 8 71 46 225 −179 29 0.337
5115 0 0 120 4 14 102 54 335 −281 26 0.217
528 0 0 78 5 9 64 22 235 −213 24 0.308
532 0 0 19 5 7 7 24 28 −4 22 1.158
547 0 0 70 1 3 66 17 189 −172 6 0.086
559 0 0 86 0 1 85 11 371 −360 1 0.012
563 0 0 26 0 0 26 5 128 −123 0 0.000

External links

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: UEFA.com . 2013-04-15 . European qualifiers branding launched UEFA EURO . 2024-02-14 . UEFA.com . en.
  2. Web site: UEFA.com . 2023-06-18 . What is the UEFA Nations League? UEFA Nations League . 2024-02-14 . UEFA.com . en.
  3. Web site: UEFA.com . 2023-01-25 . New formats for UEFA men’s national team competitions approved Inside UEFA . 2024-02-14 . UEFA.com . en.
  4. Web site: Dunbar . Graham . 2023-01-25 . UEFA to have smaller groups for World Cup, Euros qualifying . 2024-02-14 . AP News . en.
  5. Web site: Gardner . Jamie . 2023-01-25 . UEFA to introduce quarter-final stage and play-offs to men’s Nations League . 2024-02-14 . The Independent . en.
  6. Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia competed as part of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 1992. Czechoslovakia was succeeded by both the Czech Republic and Slovakia from the 1996 qualification.
  7. East Germany competes as part of the reunited nation of Germany since the 1992 qualification.
  8. The Soviet Union was succeeded and replaced for the 1992 finals by the provisional Commonwealth of Independent States team, which in turn was succeeded by Russia from the 1996 qualification.
  9. [Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]
  10. West Germany was succeeded by the reunited nation of Germany from the 1992 qualification.
  11. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine competed as parts of the Soviet Union from 1960 to 1992. All of them except Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania also competed in the 1992 finals as parts of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
  12. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovenia competed as parts of Yugoslavia from 1960 to 1992. Kosovo and Montenegro then competed as parts of FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro from 2000 to 2004. Kosovo then competed as part of Serbia in 2008, before unilaterally breaking off from it and eventually being admitted to UEFA.
  13. Macedonia was renamed as North Macedonia from the 2020 qualification.
  14. FR Yugoslavia was renamed as Serbia and Montenegro during the 2004 qualification.
  15. Web site: European Championship 1968. RSSSF. 26 May 2016.