The Euro 2020 qualifying action all begins on the next international break in mid-March. The qualification process for the tournament lasts a year with things being tied up in a nice bundle in March 2020. It is a shorter time period of qualifying because it would normally have started back towards the end of 2018.

But things have been shaken up a little bit because now the qualification for the European Championships is tied into the UEFA Nations League. The UEFA Nations League, which was played last year (and still has the finals of it to come), will give countries a backdoor chance at reaching the 2020 European Championships.

55 teams in total start the European Championship 2020 qualifiers and for the first time ever Kosovo will be taking part.

Qualification Set Up

It is still a straightforward qualification process in the actual Euro 2020 qualifiers. There are ten groups of either five or six teams taking part. From that, the top two of each of the round-robin groups will actually take one of the twenty-four spots at the European Championships 2020.

That leaves four spots up for grabs. They will be filled from one of the nations from each of the four leagues in the UEFA Nations League. Each league will have its own mini-playoff tournament involving the highest ranked teams who have not already qualified automatically for Euro 2020.

Group A
England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo

England, who are in the finals of the UEFA Nations League will be kicking off their qualification at home on March 22nd, when they face up to the Czech Republic. The Three Lions have been a firm old hand at getting through qualification campaigns to reach major tournaments. They are 1/8 odds-on favourite with top bookies to win this group. It’s easy to see why. The real race is going to be behind them for the second spot. It could be a really interesting battle between the Czech Republic and Montenegro, both of whom finished third in their respective World Cup 2018 qualifying groups.

Group B
Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg

This is one of the more challenging groups for sure in terms of the top two spots. There should be a serious three-way tussle between reigning European champions Portugal, Ukraine and Serbia. Yes, even though Portugal are the reigning champions, there is no automatic spot at next summer’s tournament for them. They have to earn their spot. Portugal played the UEFA Nations League without Cristiano Ronaldo. How much will he be involved in this? Ukraine look a sizeable dark horse at 10/3 to get the group win. Serbia, who won their World Cup 2018 qualifying group are not going to be a pushover either. Definitely, a group to watch.

Group C
Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus

With the Netherlands clearly on the rise after their performances at the UEFA Nations League, that has made this group all the more interesting. The Dutch are 6/4 second-favourites to top this qualification group. Germany are favourites. The other factor in this group is just how Germans are going to shape up. They had a horror-show of a World Cup 2018 and finished bottom (going winless in four) in their UEFA Nations League group which contained France and yes, the Netherlands. Northern Ireland had a very poor Nations League, not earning a single point and could have a big struggle to muscle their way into the top two here.

Group D
Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar

Switzerland were excellent through their World Cup 2018 qualification campaign and they didn’t do so badly in the Nations League actually. The Swiss topped their Nations League group ahead of Belgium. So they are the clear front runners here in Group D with leading bookmakers putting them at 10/11 favourites. Denmark broke Irish hearts in their World Cup 2018 qualification play-off tie. They were also paired up in last year’s Nations League with the Danes winning the group, but the Irish took back to back 0-0 draws against them.

Group E
Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan

Croatia will be the clear front runners to win the group here. It will be fascinating to see if they can build on that success or if they were punching so far above their weight at Russia 2018 that their heightened expectations are going to be difficult for them to meet. Croatia finished bottom behind England and Spain in their Nations League group. But they should be comfortable in this group, with Wales the most likely of the other challengers to get through alongside them.

Group F
Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Malta, Faroe Islands

The Spaniards are the red-hot favourites at 2/7 odds-on to win Group F in Euro 2020 qualifiers. They are looking for better after a disappointing 2018 World Cup and after missing out on the Nations League finals. There could be a really good duel between Norway and Sweden to join them in landing an automatic qualification spot at Euro 2020.

Group G
Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia

What we have going on here is likely to be a routine qualification process secured by Poland and Austria. They are both decent teams when it comes to qualification for major tournaments, or at least have been recently. There does not immediately appear to be enough in the challenges behind them to stop them both getting through.

Group H
France, Turkey, Iceland, Albania, Moldova, Andorra

World Champions France are the ones to catch here and it’s highly debatable as to whether or not anyone in this qualification group is going to be able to do so. Iceland seem to have slid backwards from their huge success on the Euro 2016 scene. Turkey fell a little bit flat in their World Cup 2018 qualification campaign and at the Nations League. It could be an exciting chase behind France.

Group I
Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, San Marino

After such stunning form over the last couple of years, there’s no surprise that Belgium are the favourites to win Group I of Euro 2020 qualification. They are at odds-on to do so. Scotland are going to be involved in a big challenge in this one to fight their way to a top-two spot. Russia, who have had a good twelve months or so, are the ones who are the shortest-priced to land the other qualification spot.

Group J
Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Final, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein

The Italians are going through something of a rebuild after their huge failure to reach the last World Cup. That devastated the nation. The Azzurri are odds-on favourites to end up in the top spot at the end of the Group J campaign. They have landed themselves in a very favourable group here at least, from which they should book qualification. The question here is going to be whether or not the likes of Finland or Greece are going to be able to do enough to challenge Bosnia for that second qualification place in Group J.