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Euro 2024 qualifying recap – Who will be going to Germany?

The 2024 European Championship is under a year away, and we now have most of our line-up for the final tournament.

Hosts Germany were given an automatic qualification spot. Twenty more teams have now booked their place at the competition, with three more still to be determined via the play-offs.

Here is a rundown from every qualifying group.

Group A

Qualified: Spain, Scotland
Play-offs: Georgia
Eliminated: Norway, Cyprus
Top scorer: Scott McTominay (7)

Spain enjoyed a fairly comfortable qualifying campaign. Luis de la Fuente’s men won seven of their eight outings, scoring 25 while conceding just five.

Scotland also cruised through to the tournament, booking their place in Germany with two games to spare. This is largely thanks to the goalscoring form of Scott McTominay, who netted on seven occasions.

But perhaps the biggest story from Group A was Norway’s failure. Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Odegaard will have to wait at least another two years for their first appearances at a major international tournament.

Georgia finished in fourth place but will advance to the play-offs after topping their Nations League group. Meanwhile, Cyprus lost all eight matches.


Group B

Qualified: France, Netherlands
Play-offs: Greece
Eliminated: Republic of Ireland, Gibraltar
Top scorer: Kylian Mbappe (9)

Group B was dubbed a ‘group of death’ early on, with two of Europe’s top nations set to compete against each other. There were no surprises from this group, as France and Netherlands claimed the top two spots.

Les Bleus enjoyed a near-perfect qualifying campaign, dropping points just once in their final game against Greece. Netherlands found it a bit tougher but progressed after winning six from eight.

Greece put up a valiant effort, taking 13 points, but they will have to settle for a play-off spot. Republic of Ireland missed out, while Gibraltar got zero points and ended with a goal difference of -41.

Group C

Qualified: England, Italy
Play-offs: Ukraine
Eliminated: North Macedonia, Malta
Top scorer: Harry Kane (8)

The Euro 2020 finalists clashed once again in Group C, and England came out on top this time. The Three Lions remained unbeaten throughout their qualifying bid, winning six and drawing two.

Things weren’t as comfortable for Italy. They secured qualification in their final game with a 0-0 draw against Ukraine.

Ukraine went into that fixture with Italy knowing that a win would take them to the tournament automatically. They will get a second chance via the play-offs.

North Macedonia put up a commendable fight, taking points off the top two, but failed to qualify. Malta lost all eight matches.

Group D

Qualified: Turkey, Croatia
Play-offs: Wales
Eliminated: Armenia, Latvia
Top scorer: Andrej Kramaric (4)

Croatia have reached the World Cup semi-final and were a penalty shoot-out away from winning the Nations League in the last year.

However, they found things a bit more difficult in Euro 2024 qualifying, needing a victory on the final day against Armenia to guarantee their place at the tournament.

Turkey claimed first place, taking 17 points from a possible 24. Wales narrowly missed out on an automatic spot but will go into the play-offs.

Armenia provided an unlikely threat but were unable to get over the line. As for Latvia, they were eliminated after losing seven from eight.

Group E

Qualified: Albania, Czechia
Play-offs: Poland
Eliminated: Moldova, Faroe Islands
Top scorer: Ion Nicolaescu (4)

Albania booked their tickets to Euro 2024, taking 15 points from their eight matches. This was the lowest tally of any group winners.

They are joined by Czechia, who also picked up 15 points. At the previous edition, the Nadorak reached the quarter-finals, eliminating Netherlands in the round of 16.

Ranked 157th in the world, Moldova came close to pulling off one of the most unlikely underdog stories. They remained in with a chance of qualifying automatically going into their final game, but a defeat to Czechia knocked them out.

Poland finished four points off the top two but will get a second chance through the play-offs. Faroe Islands took just two points and were eliminated.

Group F

Qualified: Belgium, Austria
Play-offs: Estonia
Eliminated: Sweden, Azerbaijan
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku (14)

Belgium claimed top spot in Group F, having gone unbeaten. More notably, Romelu Lukaku set the record for the most goals in a single European Championship qualifying campaign, netting an astonishing 14.

This takes him up to 83 international goals, putting him eighth in the all-time charts and behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Ferenc Puskas in Europe.

Austria took second place fairly comfortably, finishing nine points clear of Sweden in third. The Blue and Yellow miss out for the second tournament running.

Despite only picking up one point, Estonia remain in with a chance of progressing. They will participate in the play-offs, having won their Nations League group. Azerbaijan were knocked out.

Group G

Qualified: Hungary, Serbia
Eliminated: Montenegro, Lithuania, Bulgaria
Top scorer: Aleksandar Mitrovic (5)

Hungary were one of six European nations to end their qualifying campaign without a defeat. They won five and drew three, scoring 16 while conceding seven.

Joining them in Germany will be Serbia, who qualify for their first European Championships as an independent nation. They claimed their spot on the final day with a 2-2 draw against Bulgaria.

None of the teams from Group G advanced to the play-offs. Montenegro, Lithuania and Bulgaria were all eliminated.

Group H

Qualified: Denmark, Slovenia
Play-offs: Finland, Kazakhstan
Eliminated: Northern Ireland, San Marino
Top scorer: Rasmus Hojlund (7)

Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark finished top of the group, as they seek to make amends for last year’s disappointing World Cup showing. Their place at the summit was secured with a 2-1 win over Slovenia.

Slovenia managed to take second place, although it was far from comfortable. They needed a victory over Kazakhstan in their final game to take them through.

Kazakhstan put up a strong fight, taking 18 points from a possible 30. They will go into the play-offs, with the chance to qualify for a major tournament for the first time as an independent nation.

Finland will also join them in the play-offs, having also racked up 18 points. They featured at the previous edition but were knocked out in the group stage.

Northern Ireland and San Marino were both eliminated but ended with some consolation. The former defeated Denmark in their last outing, while the latter scored in three consecutive matches for the first time in their history.

Group I

Qualified: Romania, Switzerland
Play-offs: Israel
Eliminated: Belarus, Kosovo, Andorra
Top scorer: Zeki Amdouni (6)

Group I was a fairly close one. Romania and Switzerland managed to progress this month, with the former defeating the latter in the final game week to take top spot.

Israel narrowly missed out due to defeats against Romania and Kosovo. They will have to go through the play-offs if they wish to qualify.

Kosovo had an outside chance of qualifying going into the international break but missed out. Belarus and Andorra were also eliminated.

Group J

Qualified: Portugal, Slovakia
Play-offs: Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Eliminated: Liechtenstein
Top scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (10)

Portugal’s qualifying campaign couldn’t have gone much better. They were the only side in Europe to maintain a 100% record, scored the most goals, and conceded the fewest.

Joining them at the tournament will be Slovakia. They won seven of their ten outings, losing only to Portugal.

Rather astonishingly, up to five teams from Group J could qualify for the final tournament. Luxembourg, Iceland, and Bosnia & Herzegovina will all go into the play-offs, with only Liechtenstein eliminated.

Luxembourg have the opportunity to make history in the play-offs, as they could feature at their first-ever major international tournament.

They have participated in every set of qualifiers since the 1934 World Cup.

What next?

Qualified (Pot 1): Germany (H), Portugal, France, Spain, England, Belgium
Qualified (Pot 2): Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Denmark, Albania, Austria
Qualified (Pot 3): Netherlands, Scotland, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic
Qualified (Pot 4): Italy, Serbia, Switzerland, Play-off winner A, Play-off winner B, Play-off winner C
Play-off path A: Poland, Wales, Estonia, Finland/Ukraine/Iceland
Play-off path B: Israel, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland/Ukraine/Iceland, Finland/Ukraine/Iceland
Play-off path C: Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg

The group stage draw for the final tournament will be carried out on Saturday, December 2. The three play-off winners will not be known at the time of the draw, with the play-offs scheduled for March.

Poland, Wales and Estonia will be in play-off path A and will be joined by either Finland, Ukraine or Iceland. This will be determined by a draw on November 23.

The other two will go into play-off path B, alongside Israel and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Play-off path B will comprise Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg.

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