UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs

The play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament decided the last three teams that qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024 final tournament in Germany. The twelve participants of the play-offs were selected based on their performance in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League. The teams were divided into three paths, each containing four teams, with each play-off path featuring two single-leg semi-finals, and one single-leg final. The three play-off path winners joined hosts Germany and the twenty other teams already qualified for UEFA Euro 2024.

Format

The twelve teams were selected based on their performance in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League. These teams were divided into three paths, each containing four teams, with one team from each path qualifying for the final tournament.

The format was similar to that of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs. However, given there was one fewer qualifying spot available (as no host qualified automatically for Euro 2020), and the UEFA Nations League was restructured from the 2018–19 season, the play-offs now featured only three paths, with the now-downsized League D no longer given its own path.

Team selection

Based on the Nations League rankings, the twelve selected teams were chosen as follows, starting with League C and working up to League A:

1. All available group winners were selected.
2. If a group winner had directly qualified through the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying group stage, then they were replaced by the next best-ranked team from the same league that had not also directly qualified.
3. If fewer than four teams from a given league had failed to qualify, then the remaining slots for that league were allocated as follows:
   1. The best-ranked League D group winner would be selected unless this team had directly qualified.
   2. Any remaining slots would be allocated based on the Nations League overall ranking:
      • If the league had a group winner selected for the play-offs, then the next-best team in the overall ranking from a lower league was selected.
      • If the league had no group winner available, then the best team in the overall ranking was selected.

Path formation

The twelve selected teams were then allocated to paths of four teams each. The draw to allocate teams to the different paths was subject to the following general conditions:

• If four or more teams from a league entered the play-offs, a path with four teams from the league in question had to be formed.
• League B and C group winners could not form a path with a team from a higher league.
• Additional conditions could be applied, including seeding principles, subject to approval of the UEFA Executive Committee.

With these conditions, the general draw procedure was as follows, starting with League C and working up to League A:

• If there were four teams available in a given league, form a path with these four teams.
• If there were more than four teams available in a given league, draw which four teams would participate in the path of the league.
  • All remaining teams were drawn into a path of a higher league.
• If there were fewer than four teams available in a given league, draw available and eligible teams from other leagues so that four teams composed the path of the given league.

Match pairings and rules

Each play-off path featured two single-leg semi-finals, and one single-leg final, taking place in March 2024. In the semi-finals of each path, based on the Nations League rankings, the best-ranked team hosted the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team hosted the third-ranked team. The host of each final was decided by a draw between the two semi-final pairings.

The play-offs were played in single-leg knockout matches. If scores were level at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time were played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the scores remained level.

Teams selected

The team selection process, using a set of criteria, determined the twelve teams that would compete in the play-offs based on the Nations League overall rankings.

Key

• ^GW Group winner from Nations League A, B or C
• ^BD Best group winner from Nations League D
•   Team in bold advanced to play-offs
•   Team qualified directly to final tournament
•  †  UEFA Euro 2024 host, qualified automatically
•  ‡  Banned from qualifying competition

Draw

The qualifying play-off draw took place on 23 November 2023, 12:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw followed the path formation rules to determine the paths in which the non-group winners will participate. Three separate draws determining the host of the play-off final of each path also took place between the winners of the semi-final pairings (identified as semi-final 1 for seed 1 v 4, and semi-final 2 for seed 2 v 3).

Due to the specificity of the draw, the exact procedure could only be finalised following the conclusion of the qualifying group stage. No restrictions were applied to the draw, as none of the clashes prohibited by UEFA for political reasons could occur. Based on the twelve teams that advanced to the play-offs, the three play-off paths were formed following the path formation rules, starting with League C and working up to League A:

• As there were four teams from League C (three group winners and one non-group winner), they were all placed in Path C.
• As there were five teams from League B (two group winners and three non-group winners), the two group winners were placed in Path B, while a draw decided which two of the three non-group winners were also placed in Path B.
• As there were two teams from League A (both non-group winners), they were both placed in Path A, along with the best-ranked League D group winner. The one remaining non-group winner from League B that was not drawn to Path B was then placed in Path A.

The following three non-group winners from League B (ordered by Nations League ranking) took part in the draw, with two being drawn into Path B, while the remaining team was allocated to Path A:

•  Finland (21)
•  Ukraine (22)
•  Iceland (23)

The two teams drawn into Path B occupied positions B3 and B4, following their Nations League ranking, while the team drawn into Path A occupied position A3.

The following was the composition of the play-off paths:

In the semi-finals of each path, the best-ranked team hosted the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team hosted the third-ranked team.

The following semi-final winners were drawn to host the play-off final:

• Path A: Winner semi-final 2 (Wales v Finland)
• Path B: Winner semi-final 2 (Bosnia and Herzegovina v Ukraine)
• Path C: Winner semi-final 1 (Georgia v Luxembourg)

Schedule

The semi-finals took place on 21 March, while the final matches took place five days later on 26 March 2024. The losing semi-finalists in each path still competed in a friendly on the day of the final, hosted by the team that was drawn to hold the play-off final. However, the friendly match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel was cancelled by both Federations and UEFA due to security reasons related to the Israel–Hamas war.

Times are CET (UTC+1), as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).

Path A

The winner of Path A, Poland, entered Group D in the final tournament.

Bracket

Semi-finals

Final

Path B

The winner of Path B, Ukraine, entered Group E in the final tournament.

Bracket

Semi-finals

Final

Path C

The winner of Path C, Georgia, entered Group F in the final tournament.

Bracket

Semi-finals

Final

Goalscorers

There were 29 goals scored in 9 matches, for an average of 3.22 goals per match.

4 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:

• Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
• From the qualifying group stage, receiving three yellow cards in three different matches, as well as after fifth and any subsequent yellow card (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)

Cautions that did not result in a suspension expired on completion of the qualifying group stage, and were not carried forward to the play-offs.

The following suspensions were served during the qualifying play-offs:

Notes

References

External links

• UEFA Euro 2024, UEFA.com
• European Qualifiers, UEFA.com