The
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying draw took place in Warsaw on 7 February 2010. Nine groups were formed, six sections of six sides and three of five, as teams chase 14 finals places alongside co-hosts Poland and Ukraine.
The seeding pots were formed on the basis of the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system which was finalised after the completion of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, with reigning European champions Spain automatically top seeded. All groups contain one nation from the first five pots and groups A to F also include a team from Pot 6.
The nine group winners and the best runners-up qualify directly for the final tournament. The eight remaining runners-up contest play-off matches. The four ties are determined by means of a draw which will take place at UEFA headquarters in mid-October 2011.
After the play-offs are completed, the 14 teams who will join the co-hosts in the final tournament will be known. The draw for the finals, in which the 16 teams will be drawn into four groups of four, will take place in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in December 2011.
UEFA EURO 2012 will be played from 8 June to 1 July 2012.
European champions Spain must negotiate a tough group including the Czech Republic if they are to defend their title in Poland and Ukraine after Sunday's
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying draw in Warsaw.
Vicente del Bosque's team will have to overcome the Czechs, Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein in Group I in order to reach the 2012 finals and retain a trophy they claimed in Vienna 18 months ago. Runners-up Germany, the three-time tournament winners, are in Group A alongside neighbours Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and the side they beat in a dramatic
UEFA EURO 2008 semi-final, Turkey.
Italy will attempt to regain the FIFA World Cup crown in South Africa this summer, accompanied by 12 other European nations, and their task beyond that is Group C, a section including Serbia and Slovenia. England, the surprise absentees from
UEFA EURO 2008, will aim to put that right in Group G against Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales and Montenegro. One of three pools of five teams, theirs is the only group in the draw that does not feature a former UEFA European Championship winner.
Qualifying explained
Fifty-one countries participated in the
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying draw, which was conducted by four famous names from Polish and Ukrainian football: Andriy Shevchenko, Andrzej Szarmach, Oleg Blokhin and Zbigniew Boniek. The groups will be contested according to a league system on a home-and-away basis, with games scheduled between September 2010 and October 2011.
The nine winners and the runner-up with the best record against the top five sides in their pool qualify directly for the final tournament, the last before the championship is expanded to 24 teams. The eight remaining runners-up go into play-off matches in November 2011 to decide the final four sides to join co-hosts Poland and Ukraine.
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying draw
Group A
|
| Germany |
| Turkey |
| Austria |
| Belgium |
| Kazakhstan |
| Azerbaijan |
|
Group B
|
| Russia |
| Slovakia |
| Republic of Ireland |
| FYR Macedonia |
| Armenia |
| Andorra |
|
Group C
|
| Italy |
| Serbia |
| Northern Ireland |
| Slovenia |
| Estonia |
| Faroe Islands |
|
Group D
|
| France |
| Romania |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina |
| Belarus |
| Albania |
| Luxembourg |
|
Group E
|
| Netherlands |
| Sweden |
| Finland |
| Hungary |
| Moldova |
| San Marino |
|
Group F
|
| Croatia |
| Greece |
| Israel |
| Latvia |
| Georgia |
| Malta |
|
Group G
|
| England |
| Switzerland |
| Bulgaria |
| Wales |
| Montenegro |
|
Group H
|
| Portugal |
| Denmark |
| Norway |
| Cyprus |
| Iceland |
|
Group I
|
| Spain |
| Czech Republic |
| Scotland |
| Lithuania |
| Liechtenstein |
|
| Bye to finals (hosts) |
| Poland |
| Ukraine |
|
