UEFA confirmed the expansion of the final tournament from 16 to 24 teams, as from the 2016 edition.
Looking at yesterday's post about the EURO 2016 qualifying scenarios, only 2 possibilities remain for both cases - one host and two hosts.
One host scenario (France)
1. 9 groups (2 x 5, 7 x 6)
Top two from each group and the best team in third place advance. The other eight play-off for the final four spots.
2. 10 groups (8 X 5, 2 X 6)
Top two from each group advance. The best six teams in third place play-off for the final three spots. The other four stay at home.
Assuming the top 23 nations in the current UEFA coefficient ranking qualify, these would be the final tournament pots:
Pot 1: France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Croatia
Pot 2: England, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Sweden, Russia
Pot 3: Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Israel, Ukraine, Scotland
Pot 4: Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Norway, Ireland
Two host scenario (Sweden and Norway)
1. 9 groups (3 X 5, 6 X 6)
Top two from each group advance. The best eight teams in third place play-off for the final four spots. The other one stays at home.
2. 10 groups (9 X 5, 1 x 6)
Top two from each group advance. The best four teams in third place play-off for the final two spots. The other six stays at home.
Assuming the top 22 nations in the UEFA coefficient ranking qualify, these would be the final tournament pots:
Pot 1: Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands
Pot 2: Croatia,England, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, France
Pot 3: Russia, Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Israel, Ukraine
Pot 4: Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ireland
The 9 groups option seems more likely as it leaves less third placed teams at home.
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