Euro 2016 (France)

[Iztok]

I think there is no regional key for UEFA based competitions. FIFA rankings is usually all that matters.

[Rack]

Yep, I'm talking about the rankings for the 2016 competition. Although the final qualifying format isn't fully decided yet, we here know that we'll be in Pot 2 if Romania doesn't win both games in the WC play-off .

The qualifying for the next tournament is going to be a joke. 51 teams contested the last Euro qualifying and for 2016 there are going to be 24 in the Finals. So, almost half of the teams will eventually get through to the Finals!

I'd guess that they'll have 9 groups of 5 teams and one group of 6 teams, with the top 2 teams from each group qualifying automatically (i.e 20 teams). That would leave the top 8 out of 10 third place teams going into a playoff for the last 4 tickets.

So, being in Pot 2 is a huge advantage to us.

[Riazor]

Originally Posted by Rack

Yep, I'm talking about the rankings for the 2016 competition. Although the final qualifying format isn't fully decided yet, we here know that we'll be in Pot 2 if Romania doesn't win both games in the WC play-off .

The qualifying for the next tournament is going to be a joke. 51 teams contested the last Euro qualifying and for 2016 there are going to be 24 in the Finals. So, almost half of the teams will eventually get through to the Finals!

I'd guess that they'll have 9 groups of 5 teams and one group of 6 teams, with the top 2 teams from each group qualifying automatically (i.e 20 teams). That would leave the top 8 out of 10 third place teams going into a playoff for the last 4 tickets.

So, being in Pot 2 is a huge advantage to us.

Oh, I see, I should learn to read better I blame all the WC hype here in Belgium (though Germany's obviously going to win it haha)

I'm curious about the new format of the EC. Is there a set duration for this format? Maybe they throw it in the trash bin after one edition

[Iztok]

I think there will be 9 groups (8 with 6 and 1 with 5 countries).


First two placed progress directly (18) + one best placed 3rd country.

Remaining 8 3rd placed will play playoffs to decide the final 4 contenders to go to France.

[deporik]

Originally Posted by Iztok

I think there will be 9 groups (8 with 6 and 1 with 5 countries).


First two placed progress directly (18) + one best placed 3rd country.

Remaining 8 3rd placed will play playoffs to decide the final 4 contenders to go to France.

That only makes 23 teams though

1st x 9
2nd x 9
3rd x 5 (1 direct and 4 playoff winners)

[deporiginal]

Originally Posted by deporik

That only makes 23 teams though

1st x 9
2nd x 9
3rd x 5 (1 direct and 4 playoff winners)

You're forgetting that France, as hosts, don't need to play the qualification.

I solved it!

[deporik]

Goddamit!!! Je suis un doofus !!!

[Rack]

Maybe a Mod can bring across the last few posts in the FIFA WC 2014 thread to here?

And let's keep this thread civilised and not have to split in into two separate threads like last time!!

[deporiginal]

I reckon the opening post should be Rik's "Je suis un doofus".

Would be nice if that stuck for a couple of years

[Rack]

Originally Posted by deporiginal

I reckon the opening post should be Rik's "Je suis un doofus".

Would be nice if that stuck for a couple of years

Normally I would agree 100% but are we sure that the hosts qualify automatically the next time? In the back of my mind, I seem to remember something about every team having to qualify...

[deporiginal]

Originally Posted by Rack

Normally I would agree 100% but are we sure that the hosts qualify automatically the next time? In the back of my mind, I seem to remember something about every team having to qualify...

We're sure Only from 2020 onwards there won't be an automatic qualification, because Euro 2020 will be held in 13 different cities all over Europe.

[Philip]

Never heard that about the EURO across the Europe! Can you give us some link?

Personally, I don't like this new format, that is too many teams. Although, It makes it easier to qualify.

Yes, France won't play the qualifications.

[DepHun]

Platini pushes for a strange double group stage format:
1. First phase - 12 groups of 4 teams (yes, that's 48 teams and UEFA now have 54 members including Gibraltar). Only winners qualify.
2. Second phase - in the remaining six match-days (Platini mentions 12 in total), the remaining teams somehow contest the remaining spots, while the 12 teams qualified previously will be involved in a great pre-EURO friendly tournament in USA/Brazil/Argentina/London/France. Based on the 2011 plan, all UEFA members will get a (equal?) share of the TV rights for this friendly tournament.

Once this was voted down/against, but Platini wants this.

[Philip]

So, another tournament in the football calendar. I wouldn't be surprised if this comes to life, due to the big potential income. But we will also soon see players retiring at the age of 25.

[Rack]

Ok, I found this somewhere and it gives the current ranking figure (before this week's games) beside each team. This seems to confirm what Iztok predicted (i.e. 8 groups of 6 teams and 1 group of 5 teams).

Bosnia in Pot 1 is a great result for them. Despite their blip versus Japan, nobody in Pot 1 will fancy drawing Belgium from Pot 2.

The other thing that strikes me is that most of the Pot 3 teams could easily figure in Pot 2, so the qualifying for the automatic places is gonna be a scrap.

1 1 Spain 42158
2 2 Germany 41365
3 3 Netherlands 38541
4 4 Italy 35343
5 5 England 34885
6 7 Russia 32946
7 6 Portugal 32414
8 8 Greece 32307
9 11 Bosnia-Herzegovina 31416
-------------------------------
10 10 Sweden 30278
11 13 Denmark 29660
12 12 Ukraine 29652
13 14 Switzerland 29572
14 9 Croatia 29418
15 15 Belgium 28732
16 17 Czech Republic 28234
17 16 Hungary 27802
18 18 Republic of Ireland 26733
-------------------------------
19 22 Serbia 25985
20 21 Turkey 25955
21 24 Slovenia 25835
22 23 Israel 25442
23 19 Norway 25341
24 20 Slovakia 25333
25 26 Romania 24871
26 25 Austria 24572
27 27 Montenegro 22991
-------------------------------
28 30 Armenia 22861
29 28 Poland 22464
30 31 Scotland 22233
31 29 Finland 22001
32 33 Latvia 20771
33 36 Wales 20551
34 32 Bulgaria 20391
35 34 Estonia 19988
36 35 Belarus 19646
-------------------------------
37 37 Northern Ireland 19201
38 38 Albania 19151
39 39 Iceland 19076
40 40 Lithuania 19026
41 43 Moldova 18301
42 41 FYR Macedonia 17376
43 44 Azerbaijan 16901
44 42 Georgia 16766
45 46 Cyprus 14236
-------------------------------
46 45 Luxembourg 14050
47 47 Kazakhstan 13961
48 48 Liechtenstein 12220
49 49 Faroe Islands 11751
50 50 Malta 10740
51 51 Andorra 8560
52 52 San Marino 7420
53 53 Gibraltar 0