Euro 2020 qualification draw: when is it, how does it work and who can England face?
The countdown is on to the 2020 edition of the European Championships. Here is everything you need to know about the draw for qualification.
What is it?
This is the draw that will decide the groups for the qualification process for Euro 2020.
When is it?
Sunday December 2 - that's this coming Sunday.
What time will it take place?
The draw is scheduled to start at 11am UK time.
Where is it?
In Dublin - one of the 12 host cities for this special multi-host European Championship.
Where can I follow it?
Come back to this very page for updates on Sunday morning.
How does the draw work?
Here is as simple an explanation for the draw as (we think) possible:
55 competing nations will be drawn into 10 groups: five groups of five teams and five groups of six.
The teams will be seeded based on their Uefa Nations League ranking.
The four winners of Nations League A - England, Portugal, Holland and Switzerland - will go into groups A-D for qualifying, thus guaranteeing them a five-team group and so an empty week in an international break in which to contest the Nations League finals.
The remaining six Pot One teams will fill the first spots in groups E-J, and then each group will be assigned a team from Pots Two-Five. Groups F-J will also have a Pot Six team in them.
Some restrictions:
No more than two of the 12 host nations can be in any one group, allowing for the possibility that they all qualify for the tournament.
Certain nations, such as Ukraine and Russia, and Spain and Gibraltar cannot be drawn together for political reasons.
A maximum of two nations considered at risk of severe winter conditions - Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Ukraine - can be put in each group.
Team with excessive travel distances will be placed with only one team that is considered too far from them.
How will qualifying work?
In the usual way - every team in the group will play on another home and away. The teams finishing in the top two positions in each group qualifying for the tournament in the summer of 2020: 10 groups, two qualifiers from each group = 20 teams. There is no automatic qualification spot for any of the nations of the 12 host cities.
The remaining four spots will be filled by the winners of the play-offs, which will be contested by the teams that won their Uefa Nations League groups (or if they have already qualified through traditional means, their play-off place will be handed down to the next team in their Nations League group that hasn't already qualified). For a more detailed explanation have a look here:
Who could England face?
England will avoid all the other teams in the Nations League Pot and Pot One, and they also will not face a Pot Six side.
A potential group of death for England would be:
England
Germany
Serbia
Romania
Macedonia
A potential dream draw for England might be:
England
Czech Republic
Israel
Lithuania
Faroe Islands
When will qualifying games be played?
21–26 March 2019
7–8 & 10–11 June 2019
5–10 September 2019
10–15 October 2019
14–19 November 2019
