Football
England grouped with Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta; Scotland to face Spain and Norway in Group A; Republic of Ireland paired with Netherlands and France; Wales to play Croatia in Group D; Northern Ireland up against Denmark and Finland
Monday 10 October 2022 10:42, UK
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England will face Italy and Ukraine in their Euro 2024 qualifying group.
Defending champions Italy and England met in the final of Euro 2020 but have now been pitted against each other in their bid to qualify for the tournament in Germany. North Macedonia, who prevented Roberto Mancini’s side from reaching the World Cup, will also feature in Group C.
The Three Lions will start their qualifying campaign away at Italy in March 23 in what will be their first match after the Qatar World Cup, before hosting Ukraine three days later. England then play Malta and North Macedonia in June.
Reacting to England’s qualifying group, manager Gareth Southgate told Sky Sports News: “It’s clearly a tough draw, given the quality of the opposition, and we’ve had draws in qualification that have probably been a little bit more comfortable than that.
“But I’d have to say, Poland and Hungary in the last qualifying group (for the Qatar World Cup) was particularly tough as well. So we’re used to that, and the draws are what they are, it’s about how you perform on the day.”
On facing familiar opposition in Italy, the England manager added: “There are not too many surprises. We know the quality that they have and we know the depth that they have. England’s record against Italy, generally, is not very good so we’ve got to improve that.”
The top two countries from each qualifying group – seven of which include just five countries – will qualify.
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Scotland have been grouped with Spain and Norway while Wales will face Croatia.
But the Republic of Ireland seemingly face a tough challenge after being drawn with Netherlands and France.
Two teams from each of the three groups with six countries will also qualify for Euro 2024.
Northern Ireland, also in a six-country group, will play Denmark, Finland and Slovenia.
Germany, as hosts, have qualified automatically for the tournament while three countries will qualify from the play-offs.
The qualifiers start in March and will conclude next November.
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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, Turkey, Latvia.
Group E: Poland, Czech Republic, 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, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein.
Scotland
Scotland vs Cyprus – March 25 2023, 2pm KO
Scotland vs Spain – March 28 2023, 7.45pm KO
Norway vs Scotland – June 17 2023, 5pm KO
Scotland vs Georgia – June 20 2023, 7.45pm KO
Cyprus vs Scotland – September 8 2023, 7.45pm KO
Spain vs Scotland – October 12 2023, 7.45pm KO
Georgia vs Scotland – November 16 2023, 5pm KO
Scotland vs Norway – November 19 2023, 7.45pm KO
Wales
Croatia vs Wales – March 25 2023, 7.45pm KO
Wales vs Latvia – March 28 2023, 7.45pm KO
Wales vs Armenia – June 16, 2023, 7.45pm KO
Turkey vs Wales – June 19, 2023, 7.45pm KO
Latvia vs Wales – September 11 2023, TBC KO
Wales vs Croatia – October 15 2023, 7.45pm KO
Armenia vs Wales – November 18 2023, 3pm KO
Wales vs Turkey – November 21 2023, 7.45pm KO
Northern Ireland (kick-offs TBC)
San Marino vs Northern Ireland – March 23 2023
Northern Ireland vs Finland – March 26 2023
Denmark vs Northern Ireland – June 16 2023
Northern Ireland vs Kazakhstan – June 19 2023
Slovenia vs Northern Ireland – September 7 2023
Kazakhstan vs Northern Ireland – September 10 2023
Northern Ireland vs San Marino – October 14 2023
Northern Ireland vs Slovenia – October 17 2023
Finland vs Northern Ireland – November 17 2023
Northern Ireland vs Denmark – November 20 2023
Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland v France – March 27 2023
Greece v Republic of Ireland – June 16 2023
Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar – June 19 2023
France v Republic of Ireland – September 7 2023
Republic of Ireland v Netherlands – September 10 2023
Republic of Ireland v Greece – October 13 2023
Gibraltar v Republic of Ireland – October 16 2023
Netherlands v Republic of Ireland – November 18 2023
Two teams – the group winners and runners-up – will qualify automatically from each of the 10 groups.
Three teams will then qualify via the play-offs.
Germany, as hosts, are the only country currently certain to be one of the 24 nations in action at next summer’s tournament.
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The first round of qualifiers takes place between March 23-25 2023, while the final matches are on November 19-21 2023.
However, the four Nations League finalists will not be in action on either matchday three or four as they will be competing in the finals of that tournament.
Each country that won their Nations League group make it automatically into the play-offs, unless they progress to the tournament itself by finishing in the top two of their qualifying group.
In that situation, the next best nation in the respective league will take their play-off place, with this decided by the following criteria: position in the group, points and goal difference.
The draw for the play-offs takes place in November 2023, with the play-off semi-finals and finals being played between March 21 and 26, 2024.
The final tournament draw will take place in December 2023 at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.
The teams will be seeded in accordance with the overall European Qualifiers rankings. Germany will be automatically seeded into pot 1 as hosts, and placed in position A1.
The three play-off winners will not be known at the time of the draw but will be placed into pot 4 for the draw.
The opening game of Euro 2024 is June 14 2024 with the final taking place on July 14 2024 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin.
Germany, the team of the EURO 2024 host association, qualify automatically for the final tournament and therefore did not take part in the qualifying draw.
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