UEFA European Championship qualifying

This page is a summary of the UEFA European Championship qualifying, the process that UEFA-affiliated national football teams go through in order to qualify for the UEFA European Championship.

UEFA European Championship qualifying
Founded1958
RegionEurope (UEFA)
Number of teams55 (currently)
56 (overall)
Qualifier forUEFA European Championship
Related competitionsUEFA Nations League
WebsiteOfficial website
UEFA European Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship

In this article, the years represent the final tournaments of the European Championship, and are not meant to correspond to the actual dates when the qualification matches were played.

Format evolution
Number of teams entering qualification

1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996

2000
2004

2008

2012
2016
2020
2024
Total entrants[lower-alpha 1] 1729313232313232344749505051535554
Played at least one match[lower-alpha 1] 2833
Qualified through qualification 4444477771514151414232423
Qualified automatically 00000111112122101
Total finalists 4444488881616161616242424
  1. Data is about qualifications only (automatic qualifiers are not counted).

Resume

The 1960 and 1964 qualifications consisted of knock-out tournaments only. The four quarter-final-winning teams qualified for the final stages, and one of them was chosen to host the tournament.

The 1968, 1972, and 1976 qualifying tournaments included a group stage of eight groups. The eight group winners advanced to a quarter-final stage, which was still part of the qualifying. The four quarter-final winners progressed to the finals. Again, the host nation was chosen among the four finalists.

From 1980 onwards, the hosting rights would be assigned in advance, and the host teams would be guaranteed automatic spots in the finals. Also, the format was expanded to feature 8 teams. The 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992 qualifications included seven qualifying groups, and the seven group winners would progress to the finals joining the host team, although in 1992 one of the group winners was eventually banned from participating and was replaced by the runner-up of its group.[note]

From 1996, a 16-team format was employed. The 1996 qualifying consisted of eight groups; the eight group winners and the six best runners-up qualified directly, while the two worst runners-up met in a play-off to determine the last team to earn a spot in the finals, joining the host country.

In 2000, the winners of the nine qualifying groups qualified for the finals, and so did the best runner-up. The remaining eight runners-up entered a play-off round, where they were paired off against each other; the winners of each pairing qualified too. For the first time, there were two host countries; they both received automatic berths in the finals.

In 2004, along with the host team, the ten qualifying group winners qualified, as did the winners of each of the five play-off ties which were contested by the ten runners-up.

In 2008, the top two teams from each of the seven qualifying groups joined the two host teams to bring the number of finalists to 16.

The 2012 qualification used a format similar to that of 2000: spots were given to nine group winners and the best runner-up, and the remaining eight runners-up entered play-offs to determine the remaining four finalists, with automatic berths being guaranteed to the two host countries.

From 2016, the finals format was expanded again, now featuring 24 teams. The 2016 qualifying included nine groups; the winners, the runners-up, and the best third-placed team qualified directly, while the remaining eight third-placed teams formed four play-off pairings to determine the last four finalists. The host nation still qualified automatically.

For the 2020 finals, hosted by multiple cities across Europe, there were no automatic qualifying berths. Twenty qualifying places went to the winners and runners-up of the ten groups of the 2020 qualifying, while the remaining four were determined via play-offs, which were formed based on the teams' performances in the newly created UEFA Nations League and not in the qualifying itself. From each of the four divisions of the 2018–19 Nations League, the four best-placed teams not yet qualified for Euro 2020 (the group winners, unless already qualified) advanced to a play-off bracket for that division consisting of semi-finals and a final. The four final winners qualified for the Euro main tournament, which was actually postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe but retained its original branding.

The structure of the 2024 qualifying is yet to be announced. The host will receive a direct spot, and another 23 finalists will be determined via qualifiers.

Participating teams

All national teams that are members of UEFA are eligible to enter the qualification for the European Championship. A total of 56 distinct entities have made attempts to qualify for the European Championship. Of those, 55 are still active in the competition. Due to political changes, a few of the entities have appeared under multiple incarnations (see the footnotes to the below table), and the East Germany team is now defunct.

Saarland, a former UEFA member, merged into West Germany in 1957 and therefore did not enter the qualifiers of any European Championships.

Year Debuting teams Successor teams Renamed teams
Teams No. CT
1960  Austria,  Bulgaria,  Czechoslovakia,[S 1]  Denmark,  East Germany,[P 1]  France,  Greece,  Hungary,  Norway,  Poland,  Portugal,  Republic of Ireland,  Romania,  Soviet Union,[S 2]  Spain,  Turkey,  Yugoslavia[S 3] 17 17
1964  Albania,  Belgium,  England,  Iceland,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  Malta,  Netherlands,  Northern Ireland,  Sweden,   Switzerland,  Wales 12 29
1968  Cyprus,  Finland,  Scotland,  West Germany[S 4] 4 33
1972 0 33
1976 0 33
1980 0 33
1984 0 33
1988 0 33
1992  Faroe Islands,  San Marino 2 35  Germany[S 4]
1996  Armenia,[P 2]  Azerbaijan,[P 2]  Belarus,[P 2]  Croatia,[P 3]  Estonia,[P 2]  Georgia,[P 2]  Israel,  Latvia,[P 2]  Liechtenstein,  Lithuania,[P 2]  Macedonia,[R 1][P 3]  Moldova,[P 2]  Slovakia,[P 4]  Slovenia,[P 3]  Ukraine[P 2] 15 50  Czech Republic,[S 1]  Russia[S 2]
2000  Andorra,  Bosnia and Herzegovina[P 3] 2 52  FR Yugoslavia[S 3][R 2]
2004 0 52  Serbia and Montenegro[R 2][S 3]
2008  Kazakhstan[P 2] 1 53  Serbia[S 3]
2012  Montenegro[P 3] 1 54
2016  Gibraltar 1 55
2020  Kosovo[P 3] 1 56  North Macedonia[R 1][P 3]
Successor teams inheriting the records of former teams (as considered by UEFA and FIFA)
  1. Czechoslovakia dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia and was succeeded by the Czech Republic from the 1996 qualification onwards.
  2. After completing the 1992 qualification, the Soviet Union dissolved into multiple countries and was succeeded and replaced by the provisional Commonwealth of Independent States team for the 1992 finals, which in turn was succeeded by Russia from the 1996 qualification onwards.
  3. SFR Yugoslavia broke up into multiple countries and was succeeded from the 2000 qualification by FR Yugoslavia, later renamed as Serbia and Montenegro. It entered the 2008 qualification, but, before playing any matches, split into the independent countries of Serbia and Montenegro and was succeeded and replaced by Serbia.
  4. West Germany entered the 1992 qualification, but, before playing any matches, reunified with East Germany and was succeeded and replaced by the reunited nation of Germany.
Teams competing as parts of other teams
  1. East Germany entered the 1992 qualification, but withdrew before playing any matches, joined West Germany, and since then competes as part of the reunited nation of Germany.
  2. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine previously competed as parts of the Soviet Union (1960–1992). All of them except Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania also competed in the Euro 1992 finals as parts of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
  3. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia (later renamed as North Macedonia), Montenegro, and Slovenia previously competed as parts of SFR Yugoslavia (1960–1992). Kosovo and Montenegro then competed as parts of FR Yugoslavia, later renamed as Serbia and Montenegro (2000–2004). Kosovo then competed as part of Serbia (2008), before unilaterally breaking off from it and eventually being admitted to UEFA.
  4. Slovakia previously competed as part of Czechoslovakia (1960–1992).
Renamed teams
  1. Macedonia was renamed as North Macedonia from the 2020 qualification onwards.
  2. FR Yugoslavia was renamed as Serbia and Montenegro during the 2004 qualification.

Overview
Team 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
 Albania —r163/34/4——5/54/45/56/65/64/55/75/62/54/6
 Andorra 6/65/57/76/66/65/6
 Armenia 6/65/64/57/83/65/55/6
 Austria QFr163/42/43/42/53/53/44/54/63/53/5Qhost4/61/62/6
 Azerbaijan 6/65/65/58/85/65/65/5
 Belarus 4/65/55/54/74/64/64/5+p
 Belgium —pr2/41/4QW1/4QF1/51/43/53/43/6Qhost3/55/83/61/61/6
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3/64/54/72/6+p3/6+p4/6+p
 Bulgaria r16r161/4QF2/43/44/53/42/54/52/64/51/53/75/54/64/5+p
 Croatia 1/63/52/5+p1/72/6+p2/61/5
 Cyprus —4/44/44/44/45/55/55/55/64/54/56/75/55/64/6
 Czech Republic (1996—)
 Czechoslovakia (1960–1992)		 QWpr2/42/41/4QW1/43/52/42/51/61/61/51/72/5+p1/62/5
 Denmark r16QW4/44/44/45/51/51/42/5inv2/62/5+p1/54/71/53/5+p2/5
 East Germany r16r162/43/42/43/53/42/5w
 England —pr1/4QW1/4QF2/41/52/51/41/4Qhost2/5+p1/53/71/51/61/5
 Estonia 6/65/64/56/72/6+p4/65/5
 Faroe Islands 5/55/66/65/57/76/65/65/6
 Finland ——4/44/44/43/44/44/44/54/63/54/54/84/64/62/6
 France QWQF1/4QF3/43/42/4Qhost3/51/52/61/61/52/71/6Qhost1/6
 Georgia 3/66/65/56/75/65/64/5+p
 Germany (1992—)
 West Germany (1960–1988)		 ——2/31/4QW1/4QW1/41/5Qhost1/41/61/51/52/71/61/61/5Qhost
 Gibraltar 6/65/5
 Greece r16w2/43/42/41/43/52/53/53/63/61/51/71/66/63/6
 Hungary r16QW1/4QF1/4QW2/42/44/53/54/54/54/64/56/73/63/6+p4/5+p
 Iceland —pr——4/45/54/54/54/55/54/63/56/74/52/63/6+p
 Israel 5/62/5+p3/54/73/64/65/6+p
 Italy —r161/4QW1/4QF3/4Qhost4/51/52/52/61/51/51/71/61/61/6
 Kazakhstan 6/86/65/65/6
 Kosovo 3/5+p
 Latvia 5/64/62/5+p5/74/66/66/6
 Liechtenstein ————6/66/65/57/75/55/66/6
 Lithuania 3/64/64/55/74/55/65/5
 Luxembourg —QF4/44/44/44/45/55/54/45/65/55/57/76/65/64/5
 Malta pr—4/44/44/45/55/55/56/65/55/57/76/66/66/6
 Moldova 4/65/54/55/75/66/66/6
 Montenegro 2/5+p4/65/5
 Netherlands —r163/42/41/4QW1/52/51/51/52/6+pQhost2/5+p2/71/64/62/5
 North Macedonia (2020—)
 Macedonia (1996–2016)		 4/64/54/55/75/66/63/6+p
 Northern Ireland —r164/43/42/42/52/53/43/53/64/55/53/75/61/63/5+p
 Norway r16pr4/44/44/45/54/45/53/53/61/62/5+p3/73/53/6+p3/6+p
 Poland r16pr3/42/42/42/53/44/53/44/63/53/51/8Qhost2/61/6
 Portugal QFpr2/42/43/43/51/43/52/51/62/6Qhost2/82/5+p1/52/5
 Republic of Ireland prQF3/44/42/43/53/51/52/42/6+p2/5+p3/53/72/6+p3/6+p3/5+p
 Romania QFpr2/41/4QF2/43/41/52/43/51/61/63/51/73/62/64/6+p
 Russia (1996—)
 Soviet Union (1960–1992)		 QWQW1/4QW1/4QW1/4QF4/42/41/51/51/63/62/5+p2/71/62/62/6
 San Marino 5/56/65/55/57/76/66/66/6
 Scotland ——2/43/43/44/54/44/51/52/62/6+p2/5+p3/73/54/63/6+p
 Serbia (2008—)
 Serbia and Montenegro (2004)
 FR Yugoslavia (1996–2004)
 Yugoslavia (1960–1992)		 QWr161/3QW1/4QF1/4QW2/41/42/41/5dsqs1/53/53/83/64/53/5+p
 Slovakia 3/63/63/54/74/62/63/5+p
 Slovenia 5/62/6+p2/5+p6/74/63/6+p4/6
 Spain QFQW1/4QF2/41/4QF1/41/51/43/51/61/52/5+p1/71/51/61/6
 Sweden —QF3/43/43/43/42/52/5Qhost3/51/51/52/72/63/6+p2/6
  Switzerland —pr3/42/44/44/52/44/52/51/53/51/5Qhost3/52/61/5
 Turkey r16pr4/43/43/42/44/54/44/42/52/5+p2/5+p2/72/6+p3/62/6
 Ukraine 4/62/6+p3/54/7Qhost3/6+p1/5
 Wales —pr3/43/41/4QF3/42/43/42/45/64/52/5+p5/74/52/62/5
Team 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Key

  • golden background = successful qualifying campaign
  • grey background = did not take part in qualifying
  • bold red typeface = participated in the final tournament
X/Y Came Xth in a group of Y teams
X/Y+p Came Xth in a group of Y teams, then qualified through a play-off round
QW Qualified as quarter-final winner
X/YQW Came Xth in a group of Y teams, then qualified as quarter-final winner
X/Ydsq Qualified as Xth in a group of Y teams, but was banned from participating in the finals (Yugoslavia in 1992)[note]
X/Y Came Xth in a group of Y teams
X/Y+p Came Xth in a group of Y teams, then was eliminated in a play-off round
X/Yinv Failed to qualify coming Xth in a group of Y teams, but was invited to the finals as a replacement (Denmark in 1992)[note]
QF Was eliminated in the quarter-finals
X/YQF Came Xth in a group of Y teams, then was eliminated in the quarter-finals
r16 Was eliminated in the round of 16
pr Was eliminated in the preliminary round
Qhost Qualified automatically as host
w Entered but withdrew before playing any matches
s Was suspended from taking part (Yugoslavia in 1996)[note]
— Did not enter despite being a UEFA member
Was not a UEFA member

Team records

The below table compares the overall records of all teams that have participated in qualification. Teams are ordered by points using the three points for a win system, then by goal difference, and then by goals scored. Note that this order does not represent any official rankings, and qualification tournaments are not direct competitions between all teams.

The "Qualifying attempts" column only counts qualifying campaigns where the team played at least one match, while the "Appearances in the finals" also include automatic qualifiers.

As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

The table is accurate as of UEFA Euro 2020.

Legend
Team has won the European Championship
Team has qualified for the main tournament
Team hasn't qualified for the main tournament
Team is defunct (and never qualified for the main tournament)

Notes on the table:

No. Team Qualifying attempts Appearances
in the finals		 Overall qualification record Points
Total Successful Pld W D L GF GA GD Total Avg
1  Spain 16111112589181831491+2232852.280
2  Russia
 Soviet Union		 16121213081292026894+1742722.092
3  Czech Republic
 Czechoslovakia		 161010124812122251102+1492642.129
4  Italy 1491011874301422476+1482522.136
5  Germany
 West Germany		 13121310676201026768+1992482.340
6  Netherlands 1491011777162427492+1822472.111
7  England 1491010873241125864+1942432.250
8  France 1481011267271823191+1402282.036
9  Romania 1655126633726226118+1082261.794
10  Portugal 1578115662623216107+1092241.948
11  Sweden 1467114612627197111+862091.833
12  Serbia
 Serbia and Montenegro
 FR Yugoslavia
 Yugoslavia		 1565114602826206128+782051.798
13  Belgium 1456114592629210115+952031.781
14  Denmark 1689123573036208145+632011.634
15  Republic of Ireland 1633130534136190141+492001.538
16  Hungary 1644131582647210174+362001.527
17  Scotland 1433122572837183139+441991.631
18  Greece 1544119562439170136+341921.613
19  Poland 1534110522830182115+671841.673
20  Turkey 165512051294015215201821.517
21  Bulgaria 1622122502943164140+241791.467
22  Austria 1523109511741202155+471701.560
23  Norway 1611125472553167171−41661.328
24  Northern Ireland 1511120442749131154−231591.325
25  Wales 1522112452344135139−41581.411
26   Switzerland 1445100442432172122+501561.560
27  Croatia 766704516913546+891502.143
28  Finland 1411114332457125172−471231.079
29  Slovakia 7227033122510989+201111.586
30  Iceland 131110831185998160−621111.028
31  Ukraine 623622917169057+331041.677
32  Slovenia 711762916319991+81031.355
33  Israel 7007128142911296+16981.380
34  Bosnia and Herzegovina 600652612279594+1901.385
35  Albania 131110120235888173−85830.822
36  Latvia 7117221133870116−46761.056
37  East Germany 800462012147657+19721.565
38  Cyprus 140011419158098288−190720.632
39  Lithuania 700662093755108−53691.045
40  North Macedonia
 Macedonia		 7117017163774104−30670.957
41  Georgia 7007019104171101−30670.957
42  Armenia 7006815134065110−45580.853
43  Belarus 7006715133953104−51580.866
44  Estonia 700701594649129−80540.771
45  Moldova 700681294755140−85450.662
46  Luxembourg 15001178119851319−268350.299
47  Kazakhstan 4004478293780−43290.659
48  Azerbaijan 700686105241165−124280.412
49  Faroe Islands 80078766544212−168270.346
50  Montenegro 3002868142045−25260.929
51  Malta 14001124149452315−263260.232
52  Liechtenstein 70068595421207−186240.353
53  Kosovo 10093241418−4111.222
54  Andorra 60060115814169−15540.067
55  San Marino 8007601758340−33210.013
56  Gibraltar 200180018587−8200.000

Notes
  1. Note: Yugoslavia won their 1992 qualifying group and were due to compete at UEFA Euro 1992 (as FR Yugoslavia), but were banned from participating as the country was under international sanctions by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 because of the Yugoslav Wars.[2] The sanctions also resulted in the team being banned from entering the 1996 qualification. Denmark, who had originally failed to qualify for the 1992 finals finishing second in Yugoslavia's qualifying group, were invited to replace Yugoslavia in the finals. In the tables in this article, the 1992 qualifying campaign is treated as successful for Yugoslavia and unsuccessful for Denmark.

References
  1. "European Championship 1968". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  2. "United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 (Implementing Trade Embargo on Yugoslavia)". University of Minnesota Human Rights Center. Retrieved 27 July 2014.

See also
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