The qualifiers for Euro 2024 are set to get underway (Picture: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
The qualifying stage for Euro 2024 will see sides around Europe battle it out for a place at UEFA’s flagship tournament next year.
The competition, which is being held in Germany from June 14 until July 14 next summer, will feature 24 teams competing for glory.
But with England drawn in the same group as defending champions Italy, there is a very real possibility that Gareth Southgate and the Three Lions could finish second, while the likes of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland may also occupy the runners-up places in their groups.
So, will the teams in second place in the qualifiers qualify automatically for Euro 2024? Here is everything you need to know.
Who qualifies automatically for Euro 2024?
A total of 53 teams will take part in qualifying for Euro 2024, with the teams divided into seven groups of five and three groups of six.
The sides finishing first and second in their groups will indeed qualify automatically for Euro 2024.
A top two finish will be enough to see England qualify (Picture: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
This means that 20 teams will qualify straight through to the tournament itself, alongside Germany who have qualified automatically as hosts.
The remaining three spots at Euro 2024 will be determined by a play-off system, which will involve 12 teams selected based on their performance in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League.
Nominally, these will be the group winners of Leagues A, B and C, but if they have already qualified their play-off spot will be taken by the next best-ranked country in their Nations League group.
If there is an insufficient number of non-qualified teams in the same league, then it will filter to the league below – all the way down to League D.
Euro 2024 qualifying groups
Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus
Group B: Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar
Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta
Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Türkiye, Latvia
Group E: Poland, Czechia, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia
Group G: Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group H: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino
Group I: Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra
Group J: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein
England and Wales were relegated from their Nations League groups in League A, Scotland topped their League B group while Northern Ireland finished third in their League C group.
If two or more teams finish Euro 2024 qualifying with the same number of points, then the first tiebreaker to separate the sides will be goal difference, followed by the number of goals scored.
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When are the qualifiers and play-offs?
The Euro 2024 qualifying stage will take place between March 2023 and November 2023, with the play-offs scheduled for March 2024.
The play-offs will see the 12 teams separated into three different sections, with each one containing four nations.
Each section will include two semi-finals and one final, with the three victorious sides in the finals qualifying for Euro 2024.
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The qualifiers are about to get underway.