When is the draw for the Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs?
- 12 teams will compete in the qualifying play-offs to decide the final three participants at Euro 2024
- The draw will be held at UEFA's headquarters in Switzerland once the automatic qualification process concludes in November
- The likes of Poland, Israel and Finland will be involved in the draw
Johan Cruyff famously opined: "Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is."
It seems that constructing a simple qualification process may be even harder.
The 20 winners and runners-up from each of the ten qualifying groups will join hosts Germany at the 2024 European Championships next summer. Yet, that still leaves three free spots.
The powers that be at UEFA have concocted a baffling system, incorporating results from the Nations League - remember that? - to decide the final three teams via a play-off series next year.
Here's everything you need to know about the draw for this complex addendum to what should have been a simple process.
When is the Euro 2024 qualifying play-off draw?
Two days after the final competitive European matches of the November international window, the great and good of the continent's governing body gather together for the play-off draw on Thursday 23 November, exactly eight months after the qualification process first began.
The balls will be plucked at 11:00 GMT.
Where is the Euro 2024 qualifying play-off draw?
Fittingly for an event relating to the European Championships, the draw will be made at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, the grandly named House of European Football on the shore of Lake Geneva.
How to watch the Euro 2024 qualifying play-off draw on TV and live stream?
For fans eagerly awaiting their fate, they can tune in to inspect the process live on UEFA's official website. The stream will also be beamed across the UEFA Euro 2024 app, while updates can be caught on their social media channels.
Which teams will be involved in the Euro 2024 qualifying play-off draw?
The final Euro 2024 qualifiers take place on 21 November 2023. Once every group - from A to J - has been finalised, the teams involved in the play-off system can be determined based entirely on their performance in the most recent season of Nations League results.
The 12 group winners split across Leagues A, B and C were guaranteed a place in the play-offs if they failed to automatically qualify via the traditional route.
While the likes of Spain and the Netherlands replicated their Nations League success in Euro 2024 qualifying, group winners Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Greece had to rely upon the safety net of the play-offs.
Each tier of the Nations League - A, B or C - is entitled to four play-off spots. For those countries that didn't win their Nations League group or qualify directly, they can sneak into the play-offs by being the next best-ranked team within their league.
Take Poland as an example. The side spearheaded by Robert Lewandowski finished third in Group 4 of League A in the Nations League but managed to take seven points from their six games, the 11th-best record across the top tier of the competition. Eight of the ten teams in League A that performed better than Poland in the Nations League automatically qualified, thereby opening up a slot in the play-offs for the Poles to gleefully fill.
Finland qualified for the play-offs as a League B team by the same token - group-winners Scotland were already assured of their place in Germany, vacating one of the play-offs spots that the Finns, as the highest-ranked non-group winners in League B, filled.
Confirmed nations in Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs
Nation | Nations League | Nations League ranking |
|---|---|---|
Poland | A | 11th |
Israel | B | 17th |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | B | 18th |
Finland | B | 21st |
Georgia | C | 33rd |
Greece | C | 34th |
Luxembourg | C | 37th |
How do the Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs work?
Once the dozen participants have been finalised, four teams are split across three paths; A, B and C. Each path will produce one team for the finals in Germany, with each set of four nations duking out a semi-final and final.
All matches are held over just one leg and will be decided on the day, with the prospect of extra time and penalties available if the sides cannot be separated.
When are the Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs?
The six semi-finals have all been scheduled for 21 March 2024. The three finals will take place five days later on 26 March 2024, almost two years after the first Nations League matches were played.
Simple, right?
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