Euro 2024 Qualifiers: Italy face an uphill battle as England book a spot

Euro 2024 is still about eight months away, but the competition is already shaping up to be one of the toughest ever after the latest round of qualifiers. 

The penultimate round of qualifiers took place in the just-concluded international break, with some countries playing two matches. 

The action started on Thursday and ended on Tuesday. Following the latest round of qualifiers, some teams now know their fate, while others will have to wait until next month. 

We look at the situation of play in all the groups. 

Group A 

In Group A, Spain and Scotland sealed qualification after La Roja beat Norway. Going into this international break, Scotland needed to win against Spain or hope La Roja beat Norway. 

Although the Tartan Army failed to beat Spain, Norway’s loss to the 2010 World champions meant both Spain and Scotland booked their spot with two games to spare. 

Norway can still qualify, but they must wait until the final round to see if they make the playoffs. 

Group B

France booked their spot after a 2-1 win over the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday night. Les Bleus are six points clear of the Dutch with two games to go. 

Meanwhile, Ronald Koeman’s men took control of the second automatic spot after securing a 1-0 win over Greece. 

Both Greece and the Netherlands are currently levelled on the same number of points, but the Oranje currently have the advantage. 

Group C 

England are also on the plane to Germany after beating Italy in Wembley on Tuesday night. The Three Lions needed just a point going into the match, but they went a step further by grabbing three points. 

As for Italy, they are in danger of missing a second successive major tournament as they currently sit in third place behind Ukraine. 

Ukraine sit second, three points ahead of the four-time World Champions after beating Malta. However, Italy still have the advantage as they have a game in hand and need only four points from their final two games against North Macedonia and Ukraine to qualify. 

Group D 

Turkey are heading back to the Euros after beating Croatia and Latvia. The Turks are six points clear of Wales and Croatia, who are likely to battle it out for the second spot. Wales put themselves back in contention after a 1-0 win over Croatia in Cardiff. 

Group E

Group E is still wide open with four teams still in with a chance of progressing. Albania currently lead the way with 13 points, two ahead of the Czech Republic.

Czech are one point ahead of Poland after bouncing back from their 2-0 defeat to Albania with a 1-0 win over Faroe Island. 

The Poles face an uphill battle to qualify as they have played one more game than all their rivals, including fourth-placed Moldova, who sit on nine points. 

Group F 

Belgium and Austria have picked the top two spots. Belgium sealed their place when they beat Austria, while Ralf Ragnick’s men booked their spot following a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan. 

Group G 

Hungary and Serbia are almost guaranteed to finish in the top two in Group G. Hungary currently lead Serbia by one point after beating them 2-1 in Budapest and playing a draw with Lithuania. 

Serbia are second with 13 points after beating Montenegro 3-1 following their loss to Serbia. 

Group H 

Group H is a three-way battle, with Slovenia and Denmark sitting in pole position with 19 points each. 

Kazakhstan are third, four points behind the top two. However, they can overtake Slovenia- a country they face in their final clash next month. 

Group I 

Romania and Switzerland sit in the pole position in Group I. Romania lead the group with 16 points after picking up a draw against Belarus before beating Andorra 4-0. 

Meanwhile, Switzerland are one point behind after they failed to beat Belarus, although they also beat Andorra 3-0. 

While Romania and Switzerland are still in the driving seat, Israel are still with an outside chance of qualifying as they only sit four points behind the Swiss. 

Group J 

Portugal booked their spot as Group J winners following wins over Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Slovakia are the most likely to join them as they are currently five points ahead of Luxembourg in third place. 

Who has qualified for Euro 2024? 

Germany (hosts)

Belgium

France

Portugal

Spain

Scotland

Turkey

Austria

England

At least playoffs: Georgia, Greece, Netherlands, Italy, Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia, Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Israel, Luxembourg and Bosnia Herzegovina.

Eliminated: Cyprus, Gibraltar, North Macedonia, Malta, Latvia, Sweden, Lithuania, Northern Ireland, San Marino, Belarus, Andorra and Liechtenstein.

HOW MANY TEAMS QUALIFY FOR UEFA EURO 2024?

There will be 24 teams in next year’s tournament. The top two teams from each qualifying group will qualify, while Germany qualify as hosts. 

The rest of the three spots will be decided by play-offs, but that is linked to the 2022/2023 UEFA Nations League performances. 

HOW DO THE PLAYOFFS WORK? WHO QUALIFIES FOR THE PLAYOFFS?

The playoffs will feature 12 teams, paired against each other in three playoff brackets of four teams each. These teams will take on each other in a one-legged knockout tie before battling it out in the final for the three tickets. 

Initially, the three slots were allocated to group winners in each Nations League. However, because most of the group winners in the Nations League qualified directly via the qualifiers, their spot is allocated to the next best-ranked team in their league. 

Who are the UEFA Nations League Group winners

League A: The Netherlands, Croatia, Spain and Italy.

League B: Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Scotland 

League C:  Georgia, Greece, Turkey and Kazakhstan 

Spain, Scotland and Turkey are already through, meaning their playoff spot will go to the next best-ranked team in their league. 

Italy, The Netherlands, and Serbia are favourites to also qualify via the qualifiers, meaning they are likely not going to need the playoffs. 

WHEN DO THE UEFA EURO 2024 QUALIFIERS FINISH? WHEN ARE THE PLAY-OFFS?

Matchday 9: November 15-18, 2023

Matchday 10: November 19-21, 2023

Play-off semi-finals: March 21, 2024

Play-off finals: March 26, 2024