The Euros are just around the corner, and as we get closer to the tournament, it’s time to take a closer look at the qualification process. Last night, Hungary and Slovakia joined Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Turkey, Austria, England and Germany as hosts directly qualified for the Euro. However, six national teams that achieved the best result in the League of Nations 2022/2023 without qualifying through the qualifiers will compete.
One of these teams is Croatia. Even if they finished last in their group in the League of Nations 2022/2023, they would still play additional qualifiers for the Euros. This means that their results in the League of Nations were not enough to secure them a direct place in the tournament.
To qualify for the Euros, teams must follow a specific set of rules. Firstly, hosts directly qualify for the tournament without having to go through any additional rounds. Secondly, six national teams that achieve the best results in their groups without qualifying through regular channels will be invited to compete for a place in Europe. Finally, any team that finishes third or fourth in their group will have to play an additional round of matches against one another to determine who will qualify for Europe.
There are still many teams vying for a spot in Europe. Spain and Scotland have already secured their places on behalf of Group D and Group E respectively. However, Germany will not see Erling Haaland with his Norway or Kvič Kvaratškeli with Georgia playing together on home soil as they failed to finish first or second in their respective groups. Cyprus recorded an identical number of defeats as other teams but managed to avoid relegation by finishing fifth instead of sixth place thanks to better goal difference ratio than other bottom-placed team Malta who did not win any match during this season.
France is currently leading Group F with five wins from six games and needs only one more point to secure its position as group winners while Netherlands need one more win over Ireland to secure its place in Europe after finishing second behind France.
England has already secured its place on behalf of Group G after finishing with five wins out of six games while Ukraine and Italy are fighting each other for second place with only two games remaining.
North Macedonia has no chance of qualifying despite winning all its matches so far but can still win European competition if they beat Croatia and Wales lose against Latvia.
Armenia is still mathematically in contention but needs victories against Wales and Croatia while Latvia needs victory against “Vatreni” (Wales) but cannot pass if Wales does not lose against Armenia or draw against Croatia.
Austria has also secured its spot while Belgium is currently leading Group H ahead of Switzerland who can only qualify through playoffs if Kosovo fails to win next match or Israel fails to beat Romania.
In conclusion, there are still many twists and turns left before we know which national teams will make it into Europe’s biggest soccer showdown next summer.