By Paul Nicholson
February 23 – Europe’s federations took their minds off World Cup 2014 today as the draw for Euro 2016 qualifying competition took place in Nice, France. This is the first finals to be competed under UEFA’s increased format of 24 teams. It is also the first qualifying competition to have matches staggered from Thursday to Tuesday to create UEFA’s so-called Week of Football.
53 teams went into the draw to create eight groups of six teams and one group of five – France will compete in the group of five, the first time an automatically qualified nation will play in the qualifiers, though its results will not count in the qualifying standings.
UEFA newcomers Gibraltar went into their first major competition draw with the draw restriction that they could not be drawn in the same group as Spain for political reasons – Spain has asserted a claim to the territory at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula. Armenia and Azerbaijan were similarly separated.
Gibraltar were delighted with their group being drawn with Germany, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Scotland and Georgia. The British Overseas Territory will generate plenty of local interest in the Irish and Scottish fixtures.
For television rights reasons – big TV audiences and big TV revenues – England, Germany, Italy, Spain and Holland went into the draw guaranteed to be in a group of six.
The top two teams in each group qualify as will the third placed country with the best record against the other teams in their group. The remaining eight third-placed teams will play off in home and away legs to fill the final four places.
Spain will be bidding to be the first nation to win the tournament three times in a row.
Critics of the 24-team format say that it has diluted a very competitive 16-team finals and often nail-biting qualifying rounds making it almost inevitable that the big nations will qualify without upsets. Those in favour of the expanded format say that it provides a greater chance for countries outside the traditional European football super powers to compete realistically for a place on the bigger stage of a major competition finals.
The qualifying groups are:
Group A
Netherlands, Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia, Iceland, Kazakhstan
Group B
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Israel, Wales, Cyprus, Andorra
Group C
Spain, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Luxembourg
Group D
Germany, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Georgia, Gibraltar
Group E
England, Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, San Marino
Group F
Greece, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Northern Ireland, Faroe Islands
Group G
Russia, Sweden, Austria, Montenegro, Moldova, Liechtenstein
Group H
Italy, Croatia, Norway, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Malta
Group I
Portugal, Denmark, Serbia, Armenia, Albania
Bye to finals (hosts): France
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