UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying

21/03/23 8450

The top European leagues take a break for the final two weeks of March and international football returns.

This will be the first international matches we have seen following the World Cup and the next major event for European nations is the 2024 European Championship, which takes place between the 14th of June and the 14th of July in Germany.

As the host nation, Germany qualify automatically for the tournament and that leaves room for 23 teams to reach the event via regular qualifying and the Nations League.

There are ten groups in total, with seven of the groups featuring 5 teams and three of the groups with 6 teams. The top 2 teams in each group automatically qualify for the European Championship.

Some teams are already assured of a playoff place thanks to their performance in the Nations League and those teams are Spain, Scotland, Georgia, Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Israel, and Bosnia.

Looking through the groups and Spain are the clear favourites to win Group A. Second place will be contested between Scotland and Norway but Georgia are an improving team and could cause an upset to finish below Spain in second.

Group B is between Netherlands and France, with both teams set to qualify automatically, with Republic of Ireland, Greece, and Gibraltar missing out. Italy and England will contest top spot in Group C but Ukraine will want to challenge for second place. Italy and England will be a replay of the Euro 2020 final and it will be interesting to see which nation comes out on top.

Moving to Group D and Croatia are the clear favourites to win the group and progress to Euro 2024 in Germany. Second place will be contested between Wales and Turkey although Armenia will hope to have a say in what looks to be a great opportunity for all three teams to qualify for the tournament.

Poland should have enough to finish top of Group E, leaving Czech Republic the most likely to finish in second place. Albania will hope to compete for second place in the group, with Faroe Islands and Moldova battling to avoid finishing bottom. Group F features Belgium and they are the overwhelming favourites to win the group.

However, Sweden and Austria are both capable teams and will believe they can finish in the top two and qualify. The final group of 5 teams includes Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Lithuania. Serbia could come out on top, with Hungary finishing in second place.

Moving to the groups with 6 teams and Denmark should finish top of Group H but second place is up for grabs between Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, and Northern Ireland. Group I is Switzerland’s for the taking and the leaves Israel, Romania, Kosovo, and Belarus to compete for second spot.

The clear favourites to win Group J is Portugal and they should have little trouble topping the group. Bosnia and Iceland will be hoping they can seal second place but there could be some upsets along the way.