By Emre Asikci
ANKARA (AA) - Twenty national teams have been confirmed to take part in the EURO 2020 tournament so far, with four more teams to join after playoff matches to be played in March.
The winners and runners up of each of the 10 groups secured an automatic spot for the EURO 2020 finals.
France and Turkey from Group H; England and the Czech Republic from Group A; Ukraine and Portugal from Group B; Germany and the Netherlands from Group C; Switzerland and Denmark from Group D; Croatia and Wales from Group E; Spain and Sweden from Group F; Poland and Austria from Group G; Belgium and Russia from Group I and Italy and Finland from J sealed automatic qualification to EURO 2020 by finishing in the first and second places in their qualification groups.
- Turkey to be in pot 3 at the finals draws
Turkey is the one team that did not concede a single goal in eight games and became the fifth team to record this performance in the home games in last two decades.
In addition, Turkey fielded the strongest defense in the matches, a with Belgium, having conceded only three goals in EURO 2020 qualifiers.
The EURO 2020 finals' pots were determined by the teams' achievements in the European qualifiers. They were based on the final positions, points and goal differences of the teams.
Pot 1: Belgium, Italy (hosts), England (hosts), Germany (hosts), Spain (hosts), Ukraine
Pot 2: France, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Netherlands (hosts), Russia (hosts)
Pot 3: Portugal, Turkey, Denmark (hosts), Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic
Pot 4: Wales, Finland and the Winners of Nations League
- 16 countries to combat ticket for EURO 2020
Some 16 nations will be divided in four groups of four teams.
The teams in a group will play in semifinal matches and the winner of each semifinal will contest to qualify for EURO 2020.
Path A: Iceland and three nations to be drawn
Path B: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland
Path C: Scotland, Norway, Serbia and one team to be drawn
Path D: Belarus, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Georgia
Meanwhile, one team will be added to group C and three more teams will be chosen by UEFA for Group A on Thursday.
The playoff games will be played on March 26-31, 2020.
The playoff draw will be held on Friday at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, and the EURO 2020 group stage draw will be in Bucharest on Nov. 30.
- Tournament to be held in 12 countries
For the first time, a EURO tournament will take place in 12 cities of 12 countries across Europe.
European football's top-tier international event, the EURO 2020 will kick off at Stadio Olimpico in Rome on June 12, and will close with the final in London's Wembley Stadium on July 12.
The other matches will be held in Azerbaijan, Germany, Italy, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland and England.