England and France could face a tricky route to the finals of Euro 2024 as they will be unseeded in the qualifying draw.
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The seeding pots are decided by the final rankings in the 2022 UEFA Nations League group stage, with both countries positioned outside of the top 10 — only earning them a place in Pot 2 for the draw, which takes place on Sunday, Oct. 9.
England failed to win any of their games in this year’s competition, and suffered an embarrassing 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Hungary on their way to relegation to League B. France’s only victory came at home to relegated Austria, suffering defeats home and away to Denmark and to Croatia in Paris.
It means England and France could face being in the same qualifying group as another of Europe’s heavyweights, with Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain among the seeds. Erling Haaland‘s Norway could also lie in wait from Pot 3.
There will be one team from each pot in a group, creating seven groups of five nations and three groups of six. The four UEFA Nations League A group winners — Croatia, Italy, Netherlands and Spain — will be drawn into a group of five to leave the June 2023 international dates free for the finals. Russia remain suspended and will not take part in qualifying.
UNL FINALISTS / POT 1
Netherlands
Croatia
Spain
Italy
Denmark
Portugal
Belgium
Hungary
Switzerland
Poland
POT 2
France
Austria
Czech Republic
England
Wales
Israel
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia
Scotland
Finland
POT 3
Ukraine
Iceland
Norway
Slovenia
Republic of Ireland
Albania
Montenegro
Romania
Sweden
Armenia
POT 4
Georgia
Greece
Turkey
Kazakhstan
Luxembourg
Azerbaijan
Kosovo
Bulgaria
Faroe Islands
North Macedonia
POT 5
Slovakia
Northern Ireland
Cyprus
Belarus
Lithuania
Gibraltar
Estonia
Latvia
Moldova
Malta
POT 6
Andorra
Liechtenstein
San Marino
The top 2 teams in each group will qualify automatically for Euro 2024, joining hosts Germany. That creates a safety net for the top nations, but could leave a very difficult automatic route for any other team from pots 3-6 drawn into a group with from two major nations.
The final three places will be decided via playoff routes, created via the best-ranked teams from the UEFA Nations League who haven’t qualified automatically. There will be one place each for League A, B and C.
