Euro 2024 features a compacted qualification campaign with all automatic spots set to be confirmed before the end of 2023.
Due to the schedule disruption to the traditional calendar caused by the Qatar World Cup last year, UEFA has opted to fit qualifiers into fewer international windows to reduce the risk of a fixture overload.
Defending champions Italy face a rematch with their Euro 2020 final opponents against England in Group C as Roberto Mancini looks to begin the defence of their title in a positive fashion.
Hosts Germany have secured an automatic berth in the tournament, as per UEFA rules, with the remaining 23 places up for grabs.
MORE: When is the draw for Euro 2024? All the details on next year’s finals in Germany
In total, 24 teams will compete at Euro 2024, following the pattern of previous tournaments since UEFA’s expansion from 16 national sides at Euro 2016.
Germany are the only team confirmed as finalists before a ball is kicked in qualification with Hansi Flick’s side expected to play a host of friendly matches to prepare for the competition.
That means there are 23 places up for grabs.
As tournament hosts, Germany were the only team to have qualified for Euro 2024 before the October qualifying matches.
Here are the teams who joined them over the course of the closing fixtures.
Team | Qualification method |
Germany | Hosts |
Belgium | Group F — 1st place |
France | Group B — 1st place |
Portugal | Group J — 1st place |
Scotland | Group A — 2nd place |
Spain | Group A — 1st place |
Turkiye | Group D – 1st place |
Austria | Group F — 2nd place |
England | Group C — 1st place |
Hungary | Group G — 1st place |
Slovakia | Group J — 2nd place |
Albania | Group E – 1st place |
Czechia | Group E – 2nd place |
Denmark | Group H — 1st place |
Netherlands | Group B — 2nd place |
Romania | Group I – 1st place |
Switzerland | Group I – 2nd place |
Slovenia | Group J — 2nd place |
Serbia | Group G — 2nd place |
Croatia | Group D – 2nd place |
Italy | Group C — 2nd place |
Poland | Playoff final |
Georgia | Playoff final |
Ukraine | Playoff final |
Fifty-three national sides were involved in the qualifying draw in October 2022, with Germany removed and Russia banned following a FIFA/UEFA suspension following the invasion of Ukraine.
Teams were seeded and drawn into 10 groups (A-J) based on their FIFA rank: there are seven groups of five teams, and three of six, as part of a reformatted structure.
The automatic qualification picture is relatively straightforward: the top two teams from each group (A-J) automatically secure a place at Euro 2024.
Final group placings are decided by the highest number of points gained in group matches. If teams are tied on points, it comes down to the following tiebreaker criteria: head-to-head results, head-to-head goal difference and head-to-head goals scored in matches between the tied teams.
Following the initial qualifying phase, 20 teams will join Germany in the draw for the finals. That leaves three more places to be determined via the playoffs.
The final three spots at Euro 2024 will be decided by a playoff structure previously used in both European Championship and World Cup qualification.
Qualification for the playoffs is not impacted by Euro 2024 qualifiers; the places are pre-determined based on performances in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League.
The Nations League divides teams into four leagues (A-D), also based on FIFA rankings. These mini-leagues are then played out in a tournament that was introduced by UEFA to reduce the number of exhibition matches from the football calendar.
Following the completion of each mini-league, teams are placed in an overall league table, with the top four nations from Leagues A-C guaranteed a Euro 2024 playoff spot.
If a team from the top four of each league secures automatic qualification through the group phase, however, their place goes to the highest-ranked side below them in each league, until a final four is confirmed.
Those four teams will fight it out in a semifinal-to-final format, and the winner of that mini-tournament will qualify for Euro 2024.
Ahead of the start of Euro 2024 qualification the latest playoff rankings are outlined below:
League A: Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, Italy
League B: Israel, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Scotland
League C: Georgia, Greece, Turkey, Kazakhstan
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