The seedings for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2021 qualifying group stage draw which will be held on 21 February in Nyon have been confirmed.
The draw will involve all of the record 48 entrants excluding finals hosts England, with Cyprus appearing in their first senior female competition. Kosovo are also making their UEFA Women’s EURO debut, while Azerbaijan enter for the first time since the 2009 edition.
Nine groups will be formed: two with six teams, and seven with five. Each side is placed in one of five seeding pots (four of nine and one of 11) depending on their coefficient ranking. Based on the UEFA Executive Committee decisions valid at the time of the draw, Kosovo cannot be drawn with either Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia.
Matches will be played home and away from 26 August 2019 to 22 September 2020.
The group winners and the three runners-up with the best record against the sides first, third, fourth and fifth in their sections will join hosts England in the final tournament. The other six runners-up will play off in October 2020 for the remaining three berth in the 16-team finals to be held the following summer.
Seedings
Pot 1: France, Germany, Netherlands (holders), Spain, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Scotland, Italy
Pot 2: Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Belgium, Russia, Wales, Ukraine, Finland, Czech Republic
Pot 3: Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus
Pot 4: Turkey, Slovakia, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Greece, Israel, Kazakhstan, Albania, Moldova
Pot 5: Faroe Islands, Malta, FYR Macedonia, Estonia, Montenegro, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Kosovo