EURO 2020 qualifying draw pots confirmed

The pots have been confirmed for the UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying draw, which takes place in Dublin on Sunday 2 December.

After placing fourth in League D3 of the UEFA Nations League, Malta was placed in Pot 6 along with Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino.

All the teams involved in the UEFA Nations League were classified from 1-55 following the conclusion of the League Phase on Tuesday. Individual league rankings were established according to their position in a group, points gained, goal difference, goals scored etc., with the 12 League A teams ranked 1st to 12th, the 12 League B teams 13th to 24th and so on.

The teams were then allocated, according to the rankings, to the following pots:

UEFA Nations League pot:
Switzerland*, Portugal*, Netherlands*, England*

Pot 1 (Teams ranked 5th to 10th):
Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland

Pot 2 (Teams ranked 11th to 20th):
Germany, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Ukraine*, Denmark*, Sweden*, Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic

Pot 3 (Teams ranked 21st to 30th):
Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland*, Norway*, Serbia*, Finland*, Bulgaria, Israel

Pot 4 (Teams ranked 31st to 40th):
Hungary, Romania, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Georgia*

Pot 5 (41st to 50th):
FYR Macedonia*, Kosovo*, Belarus*, Luxembourg, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Gibraltar, Faroe Islands

Pot 6 (Teams ranked 51st to 55th):
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino

* Already ensured at least a play-off place after winning UEFA Nations League group

Malta is therefore sure to play in a group of six teams and cannot be drawn with one of the UEFA Nations League finalists – Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands and England. 

How does the draw work?

The four teams in the UEFA Nations League pot will be drawn into first position in Groups A to D. This is to ensure they have two dates free to play the UEFA Nations League Finals in June.

The teams in Pot 1 will then be drawn into first position in Groups E to J. The teams in Pot 2 will be drawn into second positions in the ten groups, with the draw continuing in similar style for Pots 3, 4 and 5 to fill positions 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The teams in Pot 6 will be drawn into sixth position in the six-team Groups F to J.

How does qualifying work?

The top two teams in each of the ten groups will automatically qualify for UEFA EURO 2020. The remaining four berths will be filled by the play-offs, which are contested by the 16 UEFA Nations League group winners (i.e. the four group winners in each of the four divisions) or the next best-ranked team in their league.

If a league does not have four teams to compete, the remaining slots are allocated to teams from another league, according to the overall UEFA Nations League rankings.

Match Calendar

Matchday 1: 21–23 March 2019
Matchday 2: 24–26 March 2019
(UEFA Nations League semi-finals: 5 & 6 June 2019)
Matchday 3: 7–8 June 2019
(UEFA Nations League final/third-place match: 9 June 2019)
Matchday 4: 10–11 June 2019
Matchday 5: 5–7 September 2019
Matchday 6: 8–10 September 2019
Matchday 7: 10–12 October 2019
Matchday 8: 13–15 October 2019
Matchday 9: 14–16 November 2019
Matchday 10: 17–19 November 2019

Play-off draw: 22 November 2019
Final tournament draw: 1 December 2019
Play-off semi-finals: 26–28 March 2020
Play-off finals: 29–31 March 2020
Final tournament: 12 June–12 July 2020