Playoff system for EURO 2024
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Based on their performances in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League, three teams will advance to the UEFA EURO 2024 finals via play-offs on March 21 and 26, 2024.
Twelve teams will compete in the UEFA EURO 2024 play-offs on March 21 and 26, 2024, based on their performances in the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League.
Who gets to play who, when, and where
Following the conclusion of the European Qualifiers for the final tournament, fixtures will be determined by a series of draws. On March 21, 2024, there will be six semi-finals and three finals, with the three winning teams completing the 24-team finals line-up.
Are the playoffs brand new?
Six of the last seven EUROs have had play-offs, beginning with a one-off match between the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland in Liverpool for EURO '96. The UEFA EURO 2020 play-offs, on the other hand, had a very different format. Teams had to go through more than one round for the first time, and unlike previous editions, teams qualified through the UEFA Nations League rather than the European Qualifiers.
How do the playoffs function?
Twelve teams will be chosen based on their performance in the 2022/23 Nations League - nominally the group winners of Leagues A, B, and C, but if they have already qualified, the next best-ranked team in their league will take their place. If there aren't enough non-qualified teams in one league, it moves down to the next, ending with League D.
Winners of the League A group
Croatia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy
Winners of the League B group
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Scotland
Winners of the League C group
Georgia, Greece, Turkey, and Kazakhstan are among the countries represented.
Previous EURO play-off encounters
1996: Republic of Ireland 0-2 Netherlands, Liverpool 2000: Scotland 1-2 agg England (0-2 1-0) 2000: Israel 0-8 agg Denmark (0-5 0-3) 2000: Slovenia 3-2 agg Ukraine (2-1 1-1) 2000: Republic of Ireland 1-1 agg Turkey (1-1 0-0) 2000: Slovenia 3-2 agg Ukraine (2-1 1-1) 2004: Scotland 1-6 agg Netherlands (1-0 0-6) 2004: Croatia 2-1 agg Slovenia (1-1 1-0) 2004: Russia 1-0 agg Wales (0-0 1-0) 2004: Latvia 3-2 agg Turkey (1-0 2-2) 2004: Spain 5-1 agg Norway (2-1 3-0) 2012: Turkey 0-3 agg Croatia (0-3 0-0) 2012: Czech Republic 3-0 agg Montenegro (2-0 1-0) 2012: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-6 agg Portugal (0-0 2-6) 2016: Ukraine 3-1 agg Slovenia (2-0 1-1) 2016: Sweden 4-3 agg Denmark (2-1 2-2) 2016: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-3 agg Republic of Ireland (1-1 0-2) 2020: Path A semi-finals: Bulgaria 1-3 Hungary 2020: Path A semi-finals: Iceland 2-1 Romania2020: Path B semi-finals: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Northern Ireland (aet) Northern Ireland wins 4-3 on penalties) 2020: Path B semi-final: Slovakia 0-0 Republic of Ireland (aet, Slovakia wins 4-2 on penalties) 2020: Path C semi-final: Norway 1-2 Serbia (aet) 2020: Path C semi-final: Scotland 0-0 Israel (aet) 2020: Path C semi-final: Scotland 0-0 Israel (aet) 2020: Path C semi-final: Scotland 0-0 Israel (aet) 2020: Path C semi- 2020: Path D semi-final: Georgia 1-0 Belarus 2020: Path D semi-final: North Macedonia 2-1 Kosovo 2020: Path A final: Hungary 2-1 Iceland 2020: Path B final: Northern Ireland 1-2 Slovakia (aet)2020: Path C final: Serbia 1-1 Scotland (aet, Scotland win 5-4 on pens)2020: Path D semi-final: North Macedonia 2-1 Kosovo 2020: Path D semi-final: North Macedonia 2-1 Kosovo 2020: Path D semi-final
Path D final, 2020: Georgia 0-1 North Macedonia
Statistics and records
The majority of playoff goals
3: Zlatan Ibrahimovi (Sweden), 3: Robbie Keane (Ireland), 3: Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark), 3: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands).
3 Jon Walters (Ireland, Republic of)
Biggest playoff victory (tie)
Denmark defeated Israel 8-0 in 1999.
The biggest play-off victory (match)
2003, Netherlands 6-0 Scotland
Play-off with the highest score (tie)
Denmark defeated Israel 8-0 in 1999.
2-6 agg Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, 2011.
Highest scoring match (play-off)
Portugal defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-2 in 2011.
The first goal was scored
The team that scores first has won 22 of the 30 EURO play-off matches. The exceptions (aside from the two who failed to score):
2000: Slovenia 3-2 agg Ukraine (2-1 1-1) 2000: Republic of Ireland 1-1 agg Turkey (1-1 0-0, Turkey win on away goals) 2004: Scotland 1-6 agg Netherlands (1-0 0-6) 2004: Spain 5-1 agg Norway (2-1 3-0) 2020 semi-final: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Northern Ireland
Hungary defeated Iceland 2-1 in the 2020 final.
The first leg was lost.
Only one team has ever lost the first leg and advanced to the EURO play-offs: the Netherlands, who beat Scotland 1-0 at home in 2003.
Hat-tricks in the playoffs
Ruud van Nistelrooy is the only player to score a hat-trick in a play-off, scoring three goals in the Netherlands' 6-0 second-leg thrashing of Scotland in 2003.
Taking both legs
Only four teams (out of 17) have won both games of a two-game play-off tie:
Denmark (vs. Israel in 1999), Spain (vs. Norway in 2003), and the Czech Republic (vs. Montenegro in 2011).
Hungary (2015 vs. Norway)
EURO finals play-off winners
• Quarter-finals: Netherlands (1996), Turkey (2000), Czech Republic (2012) • Round of 16: Hungary (2016), Republic of Ireland (2016)
After the group stage, the remaining 15 play-off winners withdrew.
EURO play-off performance
Belarus: W0 L1Bosnia and Herzegovina: W0 L3Bulgaria: W0 L1Croatia: W2 L0 Czech Republic: W1 L0 Denmark: W1 L0 England: W1 L0 Estonia: W0 L1 Georgia: W1 L1Hungary: W3 L0 Iceland: W1 L1Israel: W0 L2Kosovo: W0 L1Latvia: W1 L0 Monten L0Norway: W0 L3 Portugal: W1 L0 Republic of Ireland: W2 L3Russia: W1 L0 Scotland: W2 L2 Serbia: W1 L1Slovakia: W2 L0Slovenia: W1 L2 Spain: W1 L0 Turkey: W1 L2 Ukraine: W1 L1
W0 L1 Wales
Trivia
• The Netherlands in 2003 and Portugal in 2011 both scored six goals in their play-off second legs. Both would make it to the semi-finals of the tournament the following summer.
• There had never been a goalless play-off tie until two occurred on the same night, October 8, 2020: Slovakia vs. Republic of Ireland and Scotland vs. Israel.
• Scotland is the first team to qualify for the EURO through a penalty shoot-out (the same method they used to reach the play-off final).
• On December 13, 1995, Patrick Kluivert scored the first play-off goal for the Netherlands against Ireland. He also added a second goal.
EURO play-offs: a look back
• EURO '96: The two runners-up with the fewest points meet in a one-off tie at neutral Anfield.
• EURO 2000: Two-leg play-offs are introduced, with four ties featuring the runners-up from the eighth-lowest-ranked qualifying group.
• EURO 2004: All ten qualifying group runners-up compete in two-leg play-offs.
• EURO 2008: There will be no play-offs.
• EURO 2012: Return to the EURO 2000 format, which will be repeated for EURO 2016.
• EURO 2020: Four play-off tickets were available for the final tournament, but this time teams were chosen based on their performance in the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League rather than their performance in the EURO qualifying groups; 16 teams competed in two rounds of one-off ties.
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