There are not many big surprises in the qualifying round when the heroes of European football all participate in the EURO 2024 finals taking place next summer. The biggest surprise was probably that Albania won top spot in Group E to join the Czech Republic in winning tickets to Germany, while Poland ranked third and had to play off.
Italy (right) could face a difficult group at the EURO 2024 finals
Along with host Germany, 20 teams won direct tickets to EURO 2024, including: Spain, Scotland (group A), France, the Netherlands (group B), England and defending champion Italy (group C), Turkey, Croatia (group D), Albania, Czech Republic (group E), Belgium, Austria (group F), Hungary, Serbia (group G), Denmark, Slovenia (group H), Romania, Switzerland (group I), Portugal and Slovakia (group J). Immediately after the end of the group stage, 12 teams were determined to play in the play-off round to compete for the remaining 3 tickets. Teams qualify for the play-off round depending on each team’s performance in Leagues A, B and C of the 2022 – 2023 UEFA Nations League. The top team in Leagues A, B and C will advance to the next round. Play-offs take place in March 2024. As the Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Scotland and Serbia top the groups in the UEFA Nations League, they will be replaced by the next highest ranked team in these groups. Accordingly, the 12 play-off teams are divided into 3 groups to determine the remaining 3 tickets to the finals. Specifically, group A includes Poland, Wales, Estonia and Finland; Group B is Israel, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Ukraine and Iceland; Group C has Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg. The drawing groups are divided into pairs to compete in the semi-finals and finals. The top 3 teams in each group will win tickets to Europe’s biggest football festival next year.
The possibility of a “death panel”
UEFA has divided the seeding groups based on rankings and achievements in the qualifying round to draw groups at the EURO 2024 finals. Specifically, the number 1 seeding group includes the home team Germany, Portugal, France, and Spain. Nha, Belgium and England; Group 2 has the presence of Hungary, Türkiye, Romania, Denmark, Albania, Austria; Group 3 with the Netherlands, Scotland, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Italy, Serbia, Switzerland and 3 teams that passed the play-off round are ranked in seed group number 4. UEFA will draw 24 teams divided into 6 groups (4 teams each) for the EURO 2024 finals on December 2 in Hamburg City (Germany).
With the determination of the seeding group, the EURO 2024 Finals are likely to have notable clashes between European football giants right from the group stage. The Italian champions may face a difficult group because they are in group 4 due to poor performance in the qualifying round (only winning 4 out of 8 matches). Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that Italy will be in the same group with the Netherlands as well as one of the strong teams in group 1. In particular, the most awaited “group of death” scenario is Italy in the same group with Denmark. The Netherlands and one of the “big guys” in group 1 such as world runner-up France, Spain…
EURO 2024 finals take place from June 14 to July 14, 2024 and group stage matches will be played in 10 cities: Berlin, Dortmund, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen and Dusseldorf. The two best teams from each group and the four best third-place teams advance to the round of 16. The opening match took place at the Allianz Arena (Munich), and the final match at the Olympic Stadium (Berlin).
