Eliminating heats of the championship of Europe of football 2008

The matches will begin as of the August 16th 2006, to finish the November 21st 2007. The 50 teams belonging to UEFA take part in the eliminating heats for the Euro 2008; the Swiss and the Austria being automatically qualified like Co-organizing for the final stage. The teams are divided into 7 groups of has to G. the two best teams of each group at the conclusion of the hen matches will join Switzerland and Austria for the Euro 2008 which will be held of the 7 with the June 29th 2008.

The Greece, champion of Europe in title, is not automatically qualified for the final stage and will have to pass by the eliminating heats.

Pots for the drawing lot of the groups

The 52 members federations of the UEFA contribute all in the championship, including two national teams of the organizing countries, qualified office. The 50 other federations are then distributed according to the order of classification at the time of preceding international competitions of the UEFA and the FIFA: world cup FIFA 2006 and the preceding edition of the Euro 2004.

The total of the points gained at the time of the qualifications of these two competitions is divided by the number of disputed meetings. This quotient makes it possible to determine the classification of the federations (however, the coefficient of a federation which had been qualified directly for one of the final stages of these competitions is calculated only starting from the results obtained by this one at the time of its most recent turn of qualification, without taking account of the results of the final stages in which only a minority of team could take part). If two federations or more obtain the same coefficient, they are decided between according to the following criteria, in the order: the coefficient of the matches disputed at the time of the most recent turn of qualification, the difference in goals, the average of marked goals, the average of goals marked outside, a drawing lot.

This classification makes it possible to distribute the 50 federations in 7 pots. The drawing lot for the Euro determines the composition of the eliminatory groups (has with G) by drawing a team from each pot. Thus, the 7 heads of series (others that organizing federations) do not meet at the time of the eliminatory qualifications. Each group contains 7 teams, except the group has which receives the last team remaining in the last pot. This format of distribution of the groups supports the heads of series because each group contains two heads of series, and first is separated from the third by at least 7 teams less better classified in the classification of the UEFA. But it makes it possible to arouse the interest of the competition in final stage, where in theory the best teams find themselves, which have great chances to qualify themselves.

Composition of the groups

Details

The distribution of the groups is presented in the order of the pots of the drawing lot, each group being drawn completion except the group has which receives the last team of the last pot. See below for the detail of the results of the eliminatory groups. The first two teams introduced in each group appear in the 14 heads of series.

Each team introduced by the federations of each group meet then in phase of qualification in a match outward journey and a return match in the two years which follow the world cup. Of these meetings, they are classified and only the first two teams can qualify themselves for the Euro 2008. The others are eliminated and do not take part in the final stage.

Group has

See also: Groupe has eliminating heats of the championship of Europe of football 2008

qualified Teams: Poland and Portugal.
eliminated Teams: Finland, Serbia, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Arménie and Azerbaïdjan.

Group B

qualified Teams: Italy and France.
eliminated Teams: Scotland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia and Faroe Islands.

Group C

qualified Teams: Greece and Turkey.
eliminated Teams: Norway, Bosnia-Herzégovine, Moldavie, Hungary and Malta.

Group D

qualified Teams: the Czech Republic and Germany.
eliminated Teams: Eire, Slovakia, Wales, Cyprus and San Marino.

Group E

qualified Teams: Croatia and Russia.
eliminated Teams: England, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorre.

It is the only group where one of the heads of series was not qualified, Russia taking the place of England.

Group F

qualified Teams: L `Spain and Sweden.
eliminated Teams: Northern Ireland, Denmark, Latvia, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Group G

qualified Teams: Romania and Netherlands.
eliminated Teams: Bulgaria, Bielorussia, Albania, Slovenia and Luxembourg.

See too

Strikers of the eliminating heats of the championship of Europe of football 2008

Sources

Official site of the UEFA, section Euro
Official site of the UEFA, Calendar
Spreadsheet for Championship of Europe 2008

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