Article 16 Path formation – play-offs - EURO

Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship

Content Type
Competition Regulations
Category
National teams
Subject
EURO
Edition
2022-24
Language
English
Enforcement Date
1 June 2022
16.01

Twelve teams enter the play-offs, which are played in three separate paths of four teams each, to determine the remaining three teams that qualify for the final tournament.

16.02

To determine the 12 teams that enter the play-offs, the following principles apply in the order given:

  1. Four play-off slots are allocated to each league from UEFA Nations League C to UEFA Nations League A, i.e. in reverse alphabetical order.

  2. The UEFA Nations League group winners enter the play-offs unless they have qualified for the final tournament directly from the qualifying group stage.

  3. If a UEFA Nations League group winner of Leagues A, B and C has qualified directly for the final tournament, the next best-ranked team in the relevant league ranking which has not directly qualified will enter the play-offs (see Regulations of the UEFA Nations League).

  4. 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 in the overall 2022/23 UEFA Nations League rankings (see Regulations of the UEFA Nations League), unless it has already qualified for the final tournament. The remaining slots are then allocated to the best-ranked of the teams that have not already qualified for the final tournament on the basis of the overall 2022/23 UEFA Nations League rankings, subject to the restriction that group winners of Leagues A, B and C cannot be in a play-off path with higher-ranked teams.

16.03

The UEFA administration conducts a draw to allocate teams to the different play-off paths, starting with UEFA Nations League C, subject to the following conditions:

  1. If four or more teams from a league enter the play-offs, a path of four teams from the league in question must be formed.

  2. A group winner cannot form a path with a team from a higher-ranked league in the overall 2022/23 UEFA Nations League rankings.

  3. Additional conditions including seeding principles may be applied, subject to approval by the UEFA Executive Committee.