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Hi. We haven’t had the 2020 European Championship yet, but that doesn’t stop UEFA from going forward with their playoff plans because, God knows, they just can’t get enough football into this most brutal season. Three rounds of group qualifying matches will take place in March, before the Euro (pandemic-permitting) starts in the summer. If you’re wondering how today’s raffle will work, we’ve put together a practical guide here.
The key information is as follows:
There are six pots: 10 nations in each of boats 1-5 and five in boat 6. They will be divided into 10 groups: five groups of five (AE) and five of six (F to J). The teams will play each other at home and away between March and November next year. The 10 group winners qualify for Qatar, the 10 runners-up enter the play-offs along with the two highest-ranked unranked teams from the Nations League (yes, that again!)
Pot 1 Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands
Pot 2 Switzerland, Welsh, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia, Romania
Pot 3 Russia, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, North Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Finland
Pot 4 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, Belarus, Georgia, Luxembourg
Pot 5 Armenia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Andorra
Pot 6 Malta, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, San Marino
The pandemic means that this will not be a dance and song ceremony with national representatives and an audience. However, we’ll be counting on Rafael van De Vaart and Daniele De Rossi to add some stardust. Van De Vaart is a darts player these days.
