UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

This page describes the qualifying procedure for the UEFA Euro 2008.

1 Seedings
2 Tiebreakers
3 Summary
4 Groups
5 Top goalscorers
6 Qualified nations
7 Trivia
8 References
9 External links

Seedings

Qualification coefficients were used to rank the teams according to their results in both UEFA Euro 2004 and FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifying stages. Only the group matches, and not any additional playoffs, counted towards the coefficients, also determining which pot a national team was put in. Some points to note:

Greece are European champions, thus were automatically seeded in the top pool.
Portugal did not have to qualify for UEFA Euro 2004 as hosts. Only their record in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying was used.
Germany did not have to qualify for the World Cup 2006 as hosts. Only their record in UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying was used.
Kazakhstan had never competed in the European Championships, so only their World Cup record was used. The team's last continental qualifying was for the 2000 Asian Cup. Their record in that competition (P4, Pts6) is not used.
After the independence from Serbia for Montenegro, Serbia took up the old Serbia & Montenegro's fixtures. Montenegro had not been admitted to UEFA/FIFA at the time the qualifying competition had started, and therefore will not compete until the qualifying for the next World Cup.

The draw took place on 27 January, 2006 in Montreux, Switzerland.^[1]

Pot	Team	Coefficient rating	Pot	Team	Coefficient rating
1	Greece¹	1.950	5	Hungary	1.389
	Netherlands	2.550		Finland	1.300
	Portugal	2.500		Estonia	1.250
	England	2.500		Wales	1.167
	Czech Republic	2.450		Lithuania	1.111
	France	2.444		Albania	1.050
	Sweden	2.278		Iceland	0.944
2	Germany	2.250	6	Georgia	0.850
	Croatia	2.222		FYR Macedonia	0.750
	Italy	2.222		Belarus	0.722
	Turkey	2.100		Armenia	0.700
	Poland	2.056		Northern Ireland	0.667
	Spain	2.056		Cyprus	0.667
	Romania	1.950		Moldova	0.611
3	Serbia	1.889	7	Liechtenstein	0.450
	Russia	1.850		Azerbaijan	0.389
	Denmark	1.850		Andorra	0.250
	Norway	1.778		Malta	0.222
	Bulgaria	1.778		Faroe Islands	0.111
	Ukraine	1.750		Kazakhstan	0.083
	Slovakia	1.650		Luxembourg	0.000
4	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1.611		San Marino	0.000
	Republic of Ireland	1.556
	Belgium	1.556
	Latvia	1.550
	Israel	1.500
	Scotland	1.500
	Slovenia	1.444

¹ Greece were first seeded, as European champions

Austria (1.333) and Switzerland (1.833) are already assured of places at Euro 2008 as host nations.

Tiebreakers

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.

Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question.
Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question.
Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question.
Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question.
If, after applying criteria 1) to 4) to several teams, two or more teams still have an equal ranking, the criteria 1) to 4) will be reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6) and 7) will apply.
Results of all group matches: 1. Superior goal difference 2. Higher number of goals scored 3. Higher number of goals scored away from home 4. Fair play conduct.
Drawing of lots.

Summary

Below is a table containing all seven qualifying groups. Teams that have secured a place in the final tournament are highlighted in green. The order of teams is by final group position.

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D	Group E	Group F	Group G
Poland Portugal	Italy France	Greece Turkey	Czech Republic Germany	Croatia Russia	Spain Sweden	Romania Netherlands
Serbia Finland Belgium Kazakhstan Armenia Azerbaijan	Scotland Ukraine Lithuania Georgia Faroe Islands	Norway Bosnia and Herzegovina Moldova Hungary Malta	Republic of Ireland Slovakia Wales Cyprus San Marino	England Israel FYR Macedonia Estonia Andorra	Northern Ireland Denmark Latvia Iceland Liechtenstein	Bulgaria Belarus Albania Slovenia Luxembourg

Groups

The qualifying process started in August 2006. Austria and Switzerland were granted places in the tournament finals as host nations.

The qualifying format has been changed compared to the previous tournament. The winners and runners-up from seven groups will automatically qualify for the Championship, with the hosts filling the other two slots in the 16-team tournament. The move means there will no longer be play-offs between teams finishing in second place in the groups. Six of the qualifying groups contain seven teams, and the other eight.

As the official successor of the previous football association, Serbia inherited the position originally allotted to Serbia and Montenegro in Group A prior to the dissolution of the state union. Montenegro were granted UEFA membership after qualifying had started and thus were not able to participate in this European Championship.

Key:

Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.

Group A

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Poland	14	8	4	2	24	12	+12	28
Portugal	14	7	6	1	24	10	+14	27
Serbia	14	6	6	2	22	11	+11	24
Finland	14	6	6	2	13	7	+6	24
Belgium	14	5	3	6	14	16	−2	18
Kazakhstan	14	2	4	8	11	21	−10	10
Armenia	12*	2	3	7	4	13	−9	9
Azerbaijan	12*	1	2	9	6	28	−22	5

	ARM	AZE	BEL	FIN	KAZ	POL	POR	SER
Armenia	—	Canc.*	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–0
Azerbaijan	Canc.*	—	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–6
Belgium	3–0	3–0	—	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–2	3–2
Finland	1–0	2–1	2–0	—	2–1	0–0	1–1	0–2
Kazakhstan	1–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	—	0–1	1–2	2–1
Poland	1–0	5–0	2–0	1–3	3–1	—	2–1	1–1
Portugal	1–0	3–0	4–0	0–0	3–0	2–2	—	1–1
Serbia	3–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–0	2–2	1–1	—

(*) Armenia and Azerbaijan played only 12 matches due to UEFA's decision to cancel the two fixtures between these countries, with no points awarded to either team for the cancelled matches.[1]

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

Serbia and Finland are ranked by their head-to-head records:
- Serbia – 4 pts (0–0 H vs Finland, 2–0 A vs Finland)
- Finland – 1 pt (0–2 H vs Serbia, 0–0 A vs Serbia)

Group B

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Italy	12	9	2	1	22	9	+13	29
France	12	8	2	2	25	5	+20	26
Scotland	12	8	0	4	21	12	+9	24
Ukraine	12	5	2	5	18	16	+2	17
Lithuania	12	5	1	6	11	13	−2	16
Georgia	12	3	1	8	16	19	−3	10
Faroe Islands	12	0	0	12	4	43	−39	0

	FRO	FRA	GEO	ITA	LTU	SCO	UKR
Faroe Islands	—	0–6	0–6	1–2	0–1	0–2	0–2
France	5–0	—	1–0	3–1	2–0	0–1	2–0
Georgia	3–1	0–3	—	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–1
Italy	3–1	0–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–0
Lithuania	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–2	—	1–2	2–0
Scotland	6–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	3–1	—	3–1
Ukraine	5–0	2–2	3–2	1–2	1–0	2–0	—

Group C

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Greece	12	10	1	1	25	10	+15	31
Turkey	12	7	3	2	25	11	+14	24
Norway	12	7	2	3	27	11	+16	23
Bosnia and Herzegovina	12	4	1	7	16	22	−6	13
Moldova	12	3	3	6	12	19	−7	12
Hungary	12	4	0	8	11	22	−11	12
Malta	12	1	2	9	10	31	−21	5

	BIH	GRE	HUN	MLT	MDA	NOR	TUR
Bosnia and Herzegovina	—	0–4	1–3	1–0	0–1	0–2	3–2
Greece	3–2	—	2–0	5–0	2–1	1–0	1–4
Hungary	1–0	1–2	—	2–0	2–0	1–4	0–1
Malta	2–5	0–1	2–1	—	2–3	1–4	2–2
Moldova	2–2	0–1	3–0	1–1	—	0–1	1–1
Norway	1–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	2–0	—	1–2
Turkey	1–0	0–1	3–0	2–0	5–0	2–2	—

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

Moldova and Hungary are ranked by their head-to-head records:
- Moldova – 3 pts, +1 GD (3–0 H vs Hungary, 0–2 A vs Hungary)
- Hungary – 3 pts, −1 GD (2–0 H vs Moldova, 0–3 A vs Moldova)

Group D

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Czech Republic	12	9	2	1	27	5	+22	29
Germany	12	8	3	1	35	7	+28	27
Republic of Ireland	12	4	5	3	17	14	+3	17
Slovakia	12	5	1	6	33	23	+10	16
Wales	12	4	3	5	18	19	−1	15
Cyprus	12	4	2	6	17	24	−7	14
San Marino	12	0	0	12	2	57	−55	0

	CYP	CZE	GER	IRL	SMR	SVK	WAL
Cyprus	—	0–2	1–1	5–2	3–0	1–3	3–1
Czech Republic	1–0	—	1–2	1–0	7–0	3–1	2–1
Germany	4–0	0–3	—	1–0	6–0	2–1	0–0
Republic of Ireland	1–1	1–1	0–0	—	5–0	1–0	1–0
San Marino	0–1	0–3	0–13	1–2	—	0–5	1–2
Slovakia	6–1	0–3	1–4	2–2	7–0	—	2–5
Wales	3–1	0–0	0–2	2–2	3–0	1–5	—

Group E

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group E

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Croatia	12	9	2	1	28	8	+20	29
Russia	12	7	3	2	18	7	+11	24
England	12	7	2	3	24	7	+17	23
Israel	12	7	2	3	20	12	+8	23
FYR Macedonia	12	4	2	6	12	12	0	14
Estonia	12	2	1	9	5	21	−16	7
Andorra	12	0	0	12	2	42	−40	0

	AND	CRO	ENG	EST	MKD	ISR	RUS
Andorra	—	0–6	0–3	0–2	0–3	0–2	0–1
Croatia	7–0	—	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–0	0–0
England	5–0	2–3	—	3–0	0–0	3–0	3–0
Estonia	2–1	0–1	0–3	—	0–1	0–1	0–2
FYR Macedonia	3–0	2–0	0–1	1–1	—	1–2	0–2
Israel	4–1	3–4	0–0	4–0	1–0	—	2–1
Russia	4–0	0–0	2–1	2–0	3–0	1–1	—

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

England and Israel are ranked by their head-to-head records:
- England – 4 pts (3–0 H vs Israel, 0–0 A vs Israel)
- Israel – 1 pt (0–0 H vs England, 0–3 A vs England)

Group F

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group F

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Spain	12	9	1	2	23	8	+15	28
Sweden	12	8	2	2	23	9	+14	26
Northern Ireland	12	6	2	4	17	14	+3	20
Denmark	12	6	2	4	21	11	+10	20
Latvia	12	4	0	8	15	17	−2	12
Iceland	12	2	2	8	10	27	−17	8
Liechtenstein	12	2	1	9	9	32	−23	7

	DEN	ISL	LVA	LIE	NIR	ESP	SWE
Denmark	—	3–0	3–1	4–0	0–0	1–3	0–3*
Iceland	0–2	—	2–4	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–2
Latvia	0–2	4–0	—	4–1	1–0	0–2	0–1
Liechtenstein	0–4	3–0	1–0	—	1–4	0–2	0–3
Northern Ireland	2–1	0–3	1–0	3–1	—	3–2	2–1
Spain	2–1	1–0	2–0	4–0	1–0	—	3–0
Sweden	0–0	5–0	2–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	—

(*) The abandoned match between Denmark and Sweden was a 3–0 win awarded to Sweden, after a UEFA hearing on 8 June 2007. [2] [3]

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

Northern Ireland and Denmark are ranked by their head-to-head records:
- Northern Ireland – 4 pts (2–1 H vs Denmark, 0–0 A vs Denmark)
- Denmark – 1 pt (0–0 H vs Northern Ireland, 1–2 A vs Northern Ireland)

Group G

Main article: UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Romania	12	9	2	1	26	7	+19	29
Netherlands	12	8	2	2	15	5	+10	26
Bulgaria	12	7	4	1	18	7	+11	25
Belarus	12	4	1	7	17	23	−6	13
Albania	12	2	5	5	12	18	−6	11
Slovenia	12	3	2	7	9	16	−7	11
Luxembourg	12	1	0	11	2	23	−21	3

	ALB	BLR	BUL	LUX	NED	ROU	SVN
Albania	—	2–4	1–1	2–0	0–1	0–2	0–0
Belarus	2–2	—	0–2	0–1	2–1	1–3	4–2
Bulgaria	0–0	2–1	—	3–0	1–1	1–0	3–0
Luxembourg	0–3	1–2	0–1	—	0–1	0–2	0–3
Netherlands	2–1	3–0	2–0	1–0	—	0–0	2–0
Romania	6–1	3–1	2–2	3–0	1–0	—	2–0
Slovenia	0–0	1–0	0–2	2–0	0–1	1–2	—

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

Albania and Slovenia are tied on their head-to-head records, and are thus ranked by their overall goal difference in the group:
- Albania – 2 pts, 0GD, 0GF, 0 away goals (0–0 H vs Slovenia, 0–0 A vs Slovenia) – Overall GD = −6
- Slovenia – 2 pts, 0GD, 0GF, 0 away goals (0–0 H vs Albania, 0–0 A vs Albania) – Overall GD = −7

Top goalscorers

Scorer	Goals	Mins played	Nation	Club
David Healy	13	1075'	Northern Ireland	Leeds United/Fulham
Eduardo da Silva	10	1061'	Croatia	Arsenal
Euzebiusz Smolarek	9	824'	Poland	Racing Santander
Lukas Podolski	8	660'	Germany	Bayern Munich
Jon Dahl Tomasson	8	989'	Denmark	Villarreal
Cristiano Ronaldo	8	1153'	Portugal	Manchester United
Steffen Iversen	7	669'	Norway	Rosenborg
Mladen Petrić	7	677'	Croatia	Borussia Dortmund
Nikola Žigić	7	867'	Serbia	Valencia
David Villa	7	896'	Spain	Valencia

Source: UEFA

Qualified nations

Host nations	Qualifiers
Austria Switzerland	Germany Greece Czech Republic Romania Italy	France Croatia Poland Netherlands Spain	Sweden Turkey Portugal Russia

Trivia

Germany's 13-0 away victory against San Marino became the biggest win in UEFA European Championship qualifying history, beating the previous record of Spain's 12-1 win against Malta in 1983.^[2]
Gary Caldwell scored the winner, as Scotland inflicted a first defeat upon France in competitive qualifiers, with a 1-0 win against Les Bleus being the first team to do so since Russia won 3-2 in Paris in the Euro 2000 qualifiers.^[3]
Luxembourg ended their 12 year wait for a victory, with a 1-0 victory in Belarus, Fons Leweck scoring in the 5th minute of injury time.^[4]
Poland got through the qualifying round for the first time in its history.^[5]
David Healy became the record goalscorer in a single UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign when he scored his 13th goal for Northern Ireland (in 11 games) against Denmark on 17th November 2007, overtaking the previous best of 12 goals in 10 games by Croatia's Davor Šuker. Despite this feat, which saw his countrymen defeat three teams ranked in the World's top ten at the time, Spain, Denmark and Sweden, Northern Ireland crucially lost both fixtures against an Iceland side who failed to win any of their other twelve fixtures in the group and missed out on qualification in third place.^[6]
England was the only seeded team not to qualify, whereas Russia was the only unseeded one to qualify.
In the match between England and Croatia at Wembley, Tony Henry made a comical error whilst singing the national anthem of Croatia. He meant to sing "Mila kuda si planina" which roughly tanslates into English as "You know my dear how we love your mountains." He incorrectly sang "Mila kura si planina" which can be interpreted as "My dear, my penis is a mountain."^[7]
Germany were the qualifiers' biggest goalscorers with 35 goals. Slovakia finished 2nd with 33, despite missing out on qualification.
The team with the highest FIFA ranking^[8] to fail to qualify was England, ranked #9. The lowest ranked team (other than the hosts) which did qualify for the tournament was Sweden, ranked #30.