When and where was the EURO 2024 play-off draw?
The UEFA EURO 2024 play-off draw took place from midday CET on Thursday 23 November. It was held at The House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
What are the confirmed play-off paths?
Semi-finals – Path C: Georgia (1) vs Luxembourg (4), Greece (2) vs Kazakhstan (3)
Semi-finals – Path B: Israel (1) vs Iceland (4), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2) vs Ukraine (3)
Semi-finals – Path A: Poland (1) vs Estonia (4), Wales (2) vs Finland (3)
Final Path C: Georgia / Luxembourg vs Greece / Kazakhstan
Final Path B: Bosnia and Herzegovina / Ukraine vs Israel / Iceland
Final Path A: Wales / Finland vs Poland / Estonia
When are the play-off fixtures?
There will be six semi-finals on 21 March 2024 and three finals on 26 March 2024, with the three winning teams in those games completing the 24-team EURO finals line-up
How did the play-off draw work?
Path C
No draw, allocation confirmed.
The League C path is formed of three League C group winners, Georgia, Greece and Kazakhstan, as well as the League C group runner-up, Luxembourg. No draw was required.
Path B
Draw between the three League B runners-up Finland, Ukraine and Iceland.
The League B path is formed by two League B group winners, Israel and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as two out of the three League B group runners-up entering the draw: Finland, Ukraine and Iceland.
Israel, as the best-ranked group winners, are the home team in semi-final 1, and Bosnia and Herzegovina host semi-final 2. To decide which two teams joined the League B group winners in path B, a draw was conducted from a single pot, containing three balls representing Finland, Ukraine and Iceland.
• The first ball drawn was Iceland, who were allocated to Semi-final 1.
• The second ball drawn was Ukraine, who were allocated to Semi-final 2.
The semi-finals of path B were therefore determined on the draw outcome as:
a. Semi-final 1: Israel vs Iceland
b. Semi-final 2: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Ukraine
Path A
Remaining League B team to complete the path.
The third and last ball drawn was Finland, who were allocated to path A to fill the last open spot.
The League A path is therefore formed of the two League A teams entering the draw, Poland and Wales, the League B runner-up drawn in third position (Finland), and Estonia from League D. The semi-finals of path A were therefore determined as:
a. Semi-final 1: Poland v Estonia
b. Semi-final 2: Wales v Finland
How were the play-off finals allocated?
Three draws were held to determine which semi-final pair within each play-off path is given the right to host the play-off final.
Once the semi-final in question has been played, the winner of this match is certain to be at home against the winner of the other semi-final.
For each path, two balls were prepared representing each semi-final pair: Semi-final 1 and Semi-final 2.
How were the play-offs formed?
Twelve teams are involved based on their performance in the 2022/23 Nations League – nominally the group winners of Leagues A, B and C, but where they have already qualified they were replaced by the next best-ranked team in their league. The four play-off slots are allocated to each league from League C to League A in reverse alphabetical order.
If fewer than four teams from one league enter the play-offs, the first available slot is allocated to the best-ranked group winner of League D, Estonia.
Remaining slots were allocated on the basis of the overall 2022/23 Nations League rankings, to the best-ranked teams that had not already qualified, subject to the restriction that group winners of Leagues A, B and C could not be in a play-off path with teams from a higher league.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
