2008 European Football Championship (qualifying)
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This page describes the qualification procedure for Euro 2008.
Seedings
Qualification coefficients were used to rank the teams according to their results in the 2004 European Championships qualifying stage, and the 2006 World Cup qualifying stage. Only the group matches, and not any additional playoffs, count towards the coefficients, also determining which pot a national team is put in. Some points to note:
- Greece are European Champions, and so are automatically seeded in the top pool.
- Portugal did not have to qualify for Euro 2004 as the hosts.
- Germany did not have to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2006, as the hosts. Their record from the qualifying stage of the 2002 World Cup is used instead.
- Kazakhstan have never competed in the European Championships, so only their World Cup record is used. The team's last continental qualifying was for the 2000 Asian Cup. Its record in that competition (P4,Pts6) is not used.
It remains to be seen how the dissolution of the union of Serbia and Montenegro will affect this qualifying campaign.
Tie-Breakers
If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.- Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question.
- Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question.
- Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question.
- Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question.
- If, after applying criteria 1) to 4) to several teams, two or more teams still have an equal ranking, the criteria 1) to 4) will be reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6) and 7) will apply.
- Results of all group matches: 1. Superior goal difference 2. Higher number of goals scored 3. Higher number of goals scored away from home 4. Fair play conduct.
- Drawing of lots.
Groups
The qualifying process will start in August 2006, a month after the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Austria and Switzerland have already qualified for the tournament finals as host nations.The Qualifying Format has been changed compared to the previous tournament. The winners and runners-up from seven groups will automatically qualify for the Championship, with the hosts filling the other two slots in the 16-team tournament. The move means there will no longer be play-offs between teams finishing in second place in the groups. Six of the qualifying groups will contain seven teams, and the other eight.
Serbia will assume the place originally allotted to Serbia and Montenegro in Group A prior to Montenegro's declaration of independence. Inclusion of the new Montenegro national football team in another qualifying group has not been ruled out, but is seen as unlikely due to the short timespan between Montenegro's independence and the start of qualifying.
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Poland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Serbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Finland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Armenia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Azerbaijan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fixtures
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Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ukraine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Faroe Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fixtures
A random draw was conducted on Thursday March 9, 2006, because fixtures could not be agreed between delegates.
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Group C
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greece | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Turkey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Norway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Moldova | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Malta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fixtures
Group C fixtures were negotiated and finally decided by a draw at a meeting between the participants in Istanbul, Turkey on 17 February 2006. [link]
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Group D
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Czech Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Republic of Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cyprus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
San Marino | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fixtures
Group D fixtures were negotiated at a meeting between the participants in Frankfurt, Germany on 9 February 2006.
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Group E
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Croatia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Russia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Republic of Macedonia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Andorra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fixtures
Group E fixtures were negotiated at a meeting between the participants in Nyon, Switzerland, on March 32006.Group F
Fixtures
The fixtures for group F were settled at a meeting between the participants in Copenhagen, Denmark. [link]Group G
Fixtures
Group G fixtures were negotiated at a meeting between the participants in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 16 February 2006.
Qualified nations
Austria and Switzerland as hosts.
- 7 group winners and 7 runners-up.
Reaction to the draw
On the day of the draw, many people thought that Group E was favourable to England's qualification chances [link], and that Group B was decidedly unfavourable to Scotland's qualifying chances. [link] This group was given added spice when two of its members, Italy and France, reached the 2006 FIFA World Cup final.See also
External links
- [EURO 2008™ seedings confirmed] at UEFA.com
- [Euro 2008 coefficient] according to rdasilva's blog
- [Euro 2008 spreadsheet] — computes standings from scores
- [Fixture lists and news (for all groups)] at England2008.co.uk
- [Austria 2008] - Reviewing the qualifying rounds
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