It’s fortunate that Germany is hosting the European Championships itself next year and therefore doesn’t have to worry about qualification. If you take a closer look at all the options for securing a European Championship ticket, a confusing picture emerges that is not exactly simplified by the Nations League.
At first glance, the procedure seems simple. In addition to host Germany, the ten group winners and runners-up from the European Championship qualify. However, these 21 teams are joined by three other teams that get their starting place for the European Championship via three small playoff tournaments in the Nations League.
Curious: draw before the draw
Now things are starting to get complicated: The Nations League, which is itself divided into several leagues, receives a starting place for the European Championship for League A, B and C, which is played for in a four-team tournament in knockout mode without a second leg. In the semi-finals, in a familiar manner, the best team in the Nations League rankings meets the worst and the second best meets the third best. The final is about the longed-for European Championship ticket.
The teams eligible for this are the group winners of the respective Nations League leagues. However, if the group winner has already qualified for the European Championship through regular qualification, the next best team will move up.
Now it gets even more complicated: Because so many countries from League A have already reached the European Championship through regular qualification that only two teams from this league qualify for the playoffs: Poland and Croatia or Wales.
This playoff path is filled by Estonia, the overall winner in League D. But since one team is still missing, a team from League B moves up.
However, not just one, but three teams come into consideration: Finland, Ukraine and Iceland. Therefore, before the actual draw for the playoff tournaments, an extra draw is carried out to assign the three teams to the playoffs of League A and League B.
League C: These teams are fighting for the European Championship ticket
In League C of the Nations League, Georgia, Greece, Turkey and Kazakhstan won their group. Since the Turks have already booked a European Championship ticket through the European Championship qualification, Luxembourg is moving up. This results in the following tournament tree.
Georgia (1st League C) – Luxembourg (5th) Greece (2nd) – Kazakhstan (4th)
So there could be a pretty sensational European Championship participant. Greece may have won the European Championship in 2004 under Otto Rehhagel, but has lost some of its former glory. It would be the first European Championship participation for Luxembourg, Kazakhstan and Georgia.
League B: Five teams in the playoffs – one must compete in League A
In League B, Israel and Bosnia-Herzegovina have secured their playoff places as group winners, while the other group winners Serbia and Scotland have already secured their places for the European Championships through qualification. The teams following in the ranking are Ukraine and Finland, which will move up.
However, since there are not enough participants in League A for the playoffs because the majority of the teams have already won a ticket through the European Championship qualification, Iceland is also moving up from League B to the playoffs.
Now one of the three replacement teams Finland, Ukraine and Iceland has to compete in the League A playoffs. Who that will be will be drawn at UEFA headquarters on Thursday. As things currently stand, the tournament tree would look like this.
Israel (1st League B) – Ukraine (6th) / Iceland (7th)Bosnia-Herzegovina (2nd) – Finland (5th) / Ukraine (6th)
League A: Only Poland and Estonia (League D) are certain to be there
So far, only Poland and Estonia – in the European Championship qualification with zero wins, one draw and seven defeats with a goal difference of 2:22 – are confirmed as participants in League A. Because Estonia won four times in a Nations League group with Malta and San Marino.
Since there is no playoff tournament in League D, the first available place in the League A playoff semifinals goes to the best team in League D.
Another place will then be drawn between Finland, Ukraine and Iceland. The last place is between Croatia and Wales, who both have the chance of a direct European Championship ticket in the long-distance duel of the European Championship qualification. The loser of the long-distance duel then has to compete in the Nations League playoffs. This is what the tournament tree currently looks like. Estonia has tough (possible) opponents in front of it, but despite the disastrous European Championship qualification record, it has a chance of getting a ticket to Germany.
Croatia (2. Liga A) / Poland (11.) – Estonia (1. Liga D) Poland (11.) / Wales (16.) – Finland (5. Liga B) / Ukraine (6.) / Iceland (7 .)
The playoffs will not take place until the end of March. The six semi-finals of the three tournaments will take place on March 21st, 2024, and on March 26th the last European Championship tickets will be contested in the three finals.
The European Championship groups will not yet be completely determined at the draw on December 2nd. The playoff participants then work with placeholders, all of which are allocated to draw pot four.
Incidentally, a similar confusion will also occur at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. There, twelve of the 16 UEFA participants will be determined by winning the qualifying group, while the remaining four places will be played out in four playoff tournaments by the twelve runners-up and four teams from the Nations League.
2023-11-21 16:35:54
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