The UEFA Euro 2024 schedule, which many football fans were waiting for, saw 24 of the best football teams in Europe qualify for this championship to fight for the title. So, how many teams qualify for Euro 2024? Eight teams qualify through the qualification phase, while the rest of the 16 teams are grouped in a qualification round; Germany qualifies for the tournament via its status as host nation.
From here, it is worth explaining the qualification process, the timetable and how the final eight teams will be determined.
How the UEFA Euro 2024 live Qualification Process Begins
The qualifying draw was conducted on October 9, 2022, at Frankfurt. With Germany already confirmed as hosts and Russia suspended, 53 teams competed in ten groups: seven groups of five teams and three groups of six teams. In each group, the first two teams qualified for the final tournament in the next stage.
Here’s a breakdown of the groups which played UEFA Euro 2024 matches:
- Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus
- Group B: Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar
- Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta
- Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Türkiye, Latvia
- Group E: Poland, Czechia, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova
- Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia
- Group G: Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania
- Group H: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino
- Group I: Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra
- Group J: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein
They represented many teams as a group, and every team played both home and away games. The two best teams from each group made it to the final tournament.
The Teams That Competed for Play-off Spots
Three places were awarded from the 24 available places in UEFA Euro 2024 based on the playoffs, depending on the 2022/23 UEFA Nation League. Twelve teams took part in the play-offs, and most of them were champions of groups in Leagues A, B and C of the Nations League.
However, if any of these teams had already qualified through the regular qualification stages, they were replaced by the next-best team in the league.
If there were not enough non-qualified teams in a particular league, the selection proceeded to the successive lower league, so the team could end up in League D. The play–offs offered the teams the last chance to qualify for the grand tournament.
Next, let’s check out the UEFA Euro 2024 schedule.
Key Dates and UEFA Euro 2024 Schedule
UEFA Euro 2024 qualification was held in 2023 with matchdays split throughout the year. Below is a typical UEFA Euro 2024 schedule of how each week looked like:
Qualifying Match Dates:
- Matchday 1: 23–25 March 2023
- Matchday 2: 26–28 March 2023
- Matchday 3: 16–17 June 2023
- Matchday 4: 19–20 June 2023
- Matchday 5: 7–9 September 2023
- Matchday 6: 10–12 September 2023
- Matchday 7: 12–14 October 2023
- Matchday 8: 15–17 October 2023
- Matchday 9: 16–18 November 2023
- Matchday 10: 19–21 November 2023
Play-off Match Dates:
- Play-off Semi-finals: 21 March 2024
- Play-off Finals: 26 March 2024
Final Tournament Dates:
- UEFA Euro 2024 Finals Opener: 14 June 2024
- UEFA Euro 2024 Final: 14 July 2024
For the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying standings, visit this guide.
Conclusion
UEFA Euro 2024 schedule was quite an adventurous and highly charged campaign for Europe’s football teams to excel in the tournament. The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers table was so unexpected that all the fans were shocked.
However, after the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying schedule and play-off rounds ended, football supporters globally waited for the final tournament to produce a fantastic spectacle and the best team’s performances.
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