Euro 2020 Qualifiers

The humdrum of Premier League football is over for a couple of weeks, and now we can concentrate on the last qualifiers for Euro 2020.
Some groups are done, but there is still some drama. Some nations will also be looking at the play off picture with great interest.

GROUP A - England 15pts, Czech Rep. 12pts, Kosovo 11pts
With England needing a point to qualify, this is mainly about who gets second. And to add to the drama, Kosovo travel to the Czech Republic on Thursday. The Czechs have the easier final game, away to Bulgaria. Kosovo come to England in their final game.
Kosovo have the bonus of being guaranteed of a play off place.

GROUP B - Portugal 11pts, Serbia 10pts
Ukraine have already won this group. Portugal have a home game against Lithuania followed by a trip to Luxembourg so should have little trouble qualifying. Needing a slip up, Serbia host Luxembourg and Ukraine knowing 6 points may not be enough.

GROUP C - Netherlands 15pts, Germany 15pts, Northern Ireland 12pts
The Irish could beat both Netherlands (Saturday) and Germany (Tuesday) and still finish 3rd, so need to better the reverse results. The Dutch host Estonia while Germany host Belarus in the other games.

GROUP D - Ireland 12pts, Denmark 12pts, Switzerland 11pts.
Denmark host Gibraltar while Switzerland have Georgia on Friday before playing Gibraltar on Monday.
The big game will be Mondays match up between Ireland and Denmark, with the Irish likely needing a win to qualify.

GROUP E - Croatia 14pts, Hungary 12pts, Slovakia 10pts, Wales 8pts
Croatia and Hungary only have one fixture left, while Slovakia and Wales play twice.
Croatia qualify with a win or draw against Slovakia on Saturday.
Hungary qualify if they beat Wales on Tuesday.
Slovakia will definitely be through if they beat Croatia and Azerbaijan.
Wales need 2 wins against Azerbaijan and Hungary and hope other results go their way.

GROUP F - Sweden 15pts, Romania 14pts, Norway 11pts.
Spain are already through.
On Friday Romania host Sweden in what could be a decider, however Romania go to Spain in their last game while Sweden have a much easier looking fixture against Faroe Islands.
Norway will be hoping for both to slip up, knowing a win either way on Friday will knock them out. Norway play the bottom 2, Faroe Islands and Malta.

GROUP G - Austria 16pts, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Israel all 11pts
Poland are through.
Austria play North Macedonia and pointless Latvia needing one win to guarantee a place. Will take a massive shock for the other 3 to get a sniff.

GROUP H - Turkey 19pts, France 19pts, Iceland 15pts
Thursdays game between Turkey and Iceland could shake the group up, but in reality this is about the fight for 1st and a top seeding in the Euro20 draw. Turkeys final game is against Andorra, while France have Moldova and Albania.

Group I
Belgium and Russia are through.

GROUP J - Finland 15pts, Armenia 10pts, Bosnia-Herzegovina 10pts
Hosting Liechtenstein on Friday, Finland should qualify behind already through Italy. If Bosnia fail to beat Italy on the same then even a draw is enough. Finland also have a game against already out Greece if needed.


Play-offs
A lot could change, but this is how it looks at the moment:

Path A: Switzerland, Iceland, Bulgaria/Israel/Romania*
Path B: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales, Slovakia, Northern Ireland
Path C: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Bulgaria/Israel/Romania*
Path D: Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus

*In the current scenario, a draw would decide which of Bulgaria, Israel or Romania would fill the empty slot in Path C, and which two would go into Path A.


EURO 20 DRAW
Unlike previous tournaments, seeding is not done on coefficients but performance in qualifiers. Top seeds will be the best 6 performing winners of the 10 groups. The remaining winners and best 2 performing 2nd placed teams will be in pot 2, with the next best 6 2nd placed teams in pot 3. The remaining two 2nd placed teams and play-off winners will be in pot 4.

The draw also has pre-ordained positions for hosts - if they qualify.
Group A - Italy and Azerbaijan
Group B - Denmark and Russia
Group C - Netherlands and Romania
Group D - England and Scotland
Group E - Spain and Ireland
Group F - Germany and Hungary.

The draw is on November 30th.