UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions to be held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 7 February 2010 in the Congress Hall of the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw, with matches set to take place between August 2010 and November 2011.^[1]

There are a total of nine groups. Six of these groups have six teams (one each from pots 1 to 6 below); the remaining three groups consist of five teams (one each from pots 1 to 5 below). At the conclusion of qualifying, the team at the top of each group will qualify automatically. The second-placed team with the most points from games versus the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams will qualify also. The remaining eight second-placed teams will contest two-legged playoffs for the right to join the final tournament.

Pre-seeding separations

Before the draw UEFA confirmed that, for political reasons, Armenia would not be drawn against Azerbaijan (due to the dispute concerning territory of Nagorno-Karabakh) and Georgia would not be drawn against Russia (due to the dispute regarding the territory of South Ossetia) in the qualifiers for Euro 2012.^[2] Armenia and Azerbaijan were drawn together in Group A, and UEFA were forced to move Armenia to Group B as a result, given that the two nations refused to play each other when drawn together during UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying.^[3] By contrast, UEFA did not decide to keep France and the Republic of Ireland separate in the draw following the Thierry Henry handball controversy, with UEFA President Michel Platini being of the opinion that such a draw would have been great.^[4][5]

Seeds

Seedings were based on the UEFA national team coefficient ranking.^[6][7]

Tiebreakers

As in Euro 2008 qualifying: If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.^[8]

1. Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question
2. Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question
3. Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question
4. Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question
5. 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
6. 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
7. Drawing of lots

Groups

The following 18 dates are reserved for group matches in qualifying:

• 3/4 and 7 September 2010
• 8/9 and 12 October 2010
• 25/26 and 29 March 2011
• 3/4 and 7 June 2011
• 2/3 and 6 September 2011
• 7/8 and 11 October 2011

For the first time, Tuesday evenings replace Wednesday evenings for midweek qualifying fixtures where two matchdays occur in the same week. This is in order to allow players an extra day to return to their clubs for domestic duty the following week. Consequently, teams are permitted to move the earlier weekend match forward to the Friday evening. Where matches are scheduled for a Friday evening, there remains a possibility that the fixture will actually be played on the Saturday.

Group A

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Germany 4 4 0 0 13 1 +12 12  Austria 3 2 1 0 9 4 +5 7  Turkey 4 2 0 2 6 6 0 6  Belgium 4 1 1 2 8 8 0 4  Azerbaijan 3 1 0 2 2 9 −7 3  Kazakhstan 4 0 0 4 0 10 −10 0

Austria  — 3–0 25 Mar '11 3 Jun '11 2–0 6 Sep '11 Azerbaijan  7 Oct '11 — 2 Sep '11 7 Jun '11 6 Sep '11 1–0 Belgium  4–4 29 Mar '11 — 0–1 7 Oct '11 3 Jun '11 Germany  2 Sep '11 6–1 11 Oct '11 — 25 Mar '11 3–0 Kazakhstan  11 Oct '11 3 Jun '11 0–2 0–3 — 0–3 Turkey  29 Mar '11 11 Oct '11 3–2 7 Oct '11 2 Sep '11 —

Group B

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Russia 4 3 0 1 6 3 +3 9  Republic of Ireland 4 2 1 1 7 5 +2 7  Armenia 4 2 1 1 9 4 +5 7  Slovakia 4 2 1 1 4 4 0 7  Macedonia 4 1 1 2 4 4 0 4  Andorra 4 0 0 4 1 11 −10 0

Andorra  — 2 Sep '11 0–2 7 Oct '11 0–2 26 Mar '11 Armenia  4–0 — 7 Oct '11 0–1 26 Mar '11 3–1 Macedonia  6 Sep '11 2–2 — 4 Jun '11 0–1 11 Oct '11 Republic of Ireland  3–1 11 Oct '11 26 Mar '11 — 2–3 2 Sep '11 Russia  11 Oct '11 4 Jun '11 2 Sep '11 6 Sep '11 — 0–1 Slovakia  4 Jun '11 6 Sep '11 1–0 1–1 7 Oct '11 —

Group C

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Italy 4 3 1 0 10 1 +9 10  Slovenia 4 2 1 1 7 3 +4 7  Estonia 4 2 0 2 6 5 +1 6  Northern Ireland 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1 5  Serbia 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4  Faroe Islands 5 0 1 4 3 16 −13 1

Estonia  — 2–1 1–2 6 Sep '11 29 Mar '11 0–1 Faroe Islands  7 Jun '11 — 2 Sep '11 1–1 0–3 3 Jun '11 Italy  3 Jun '11 5–0 — 11 Oct '11 3–0* 6 Sep '11 Northern Ireland  7 Oct '11 10 Aug '11 0–0 — 2 Sep '11 29 Mar '11 Serbia  1–3 6 Sep '11 7 Oct '11 25 Mar '11 — 1–1 Slovenia  2 Sep '11 5–1 25 Mar '11 0–1 11 Oct '11 —

Group D

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  France 4 3 0 1 6 1 +5 9  Belarus 4 2 2 0 3 0 +3 8  Albania 4 1 2 1 3 4 −1 5  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4  Romania 3 0 2 1 1 3 −2 2  Luxembourg 4 0 1 3 0 6 −6 1

Albania  — 26 Mar '11 1–1 2 Sep '11 1–0 11 Oct '11 Belarus  2–0 — 2 Sep '11 3 Jun '11 7 Jun '11 0–0 Bosnia and Herzegovina  7 Jun '11 6 Sep '11 — 0–2 7 Oct '11 26 Mar '11 France  7 Oct '11 0–1 11 Oct '11 — 2–0 2–0 Luxembourg  6 Sep '11 0–0 0–3 25 Mar '11 — 2 Sep '11 Romania  1–1 7 Oct' 11 3 Jun '11 6 Sep '11 29 Mar '11 —

Group E

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Netherlands 4 4 0 0 12 2 +10 12  Hungary 4 3 0 1 12 4 +8 9  Sweden 3 2 0 1 9 4 +5 6  Moldova 4 2 0 2 5 3 +2 6  Finland 4 1 0 3 10 6 +4 3  San Marino 5 0 0 5 0 29 −29 0

Finland  — 1–2 2 Sep '11 6 Sep '11 8–0 7 Oct '11 Hungary  11 Oct '11 — 2–1 25 Mar '11 8–0 2 Sep '11 Moldova  2–0 6 Sep '11 — 0–1 11 Oct '11 3 Jun '11 Netherlands  2–1 29 Mar '11 7 Oct '11 — 2 Sep '11 4–1 San Marino  3 Jun '11 7 Jun '11 0–2 0–5 — 6 Sep '11 Sweden  7 Jun '11 2–0 29 Mar '11 11 Oct '11 6–0 —

Group F

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Croatia 4 3 1 0 8 1 +7 10  Greece 4 2 2 0 4 2 +2 8  Georgia 4 1 3 0 3 2 +1 6  Israel 4 1 1 2 5 5 0 4  Latvia 4 1 1 2 3 5 −2 4  Malta 4 0 0 4 1 9 −8 0

Croatia  — 4 Jun '11 0–0 6 Sep '11 11 Oct '11 3–0 Georgia  26 Mar '11 — 11 Oct '11 0–0 2 Sep '11 1–0 Greece  7 Oct '11 1–1 — 2–1 1–0 4 Jun '11 Israel  1–2 29 Mar '11 2 Sep '11 — 26 Mar '11 3–1 Latvia  0–3 1–1 6 Sep '11 4 Jun '11 — 7 Oct '11 Malta  2 Sep '11 6 Sep '11 26 Mar '11 11 Oct '11 0–2 —

Group G

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Montenegro 4 3 1 0 3 0 +3 10  England 3 2 1 0 7 1 +6 7  Switzerland 3 1 0 2 5 5 0 3  Bulgaria 3 1 0 2 1 5 −4 3  Wales 3 0 0 3 1 6 −5 0

Bulgaria  — 2 Sep '11 0–1 26 Mar '11 11 Oct '11 England  4–0 — 0–0 4 Jun '11 6 Sep '11 Montenegro  4 Jun '11 7 Oct '11 — 1–0 1–0 Switzerland  6 Sep '11 1–3 11 Oct '11 — 4–1 Wales  0–1 26 Mar '11 2 Sep '11 7 Oct '11 —

Group H

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Norway 3 3 0 0 5 2 +3 9  Portugal 4 2 1 1 10 7 +3 7  Denmark 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6  Cyprus 3 0 1 2 5 8 −3 1  Iceland 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0

Cyprus  — 7 Oct '11 26 Mar '11 1–2 2 Sep '11 Denmark  2–0 — 1–0 6 Sep '11 11 Oct '11 Iceland  6 Sep '11 4 Jun '11 — 1–2 1–3 Norway  11 Oct '11 26 Mar '11 2 Sep '11 — 1–0 Portugal  4–4 3–1 7 Oct '11 4 Jun '11 —

Group I

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Spain 3 3 0 0 10 3 +7 9  Czech Republic 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 6  Scotland 4 1 1 2 4 5 −1 4  Lithuania 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 4  Liechtenstein 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0

Czech Republic  — 29 Mar '11 0–1 1–0 7 Oct '11 Liechtenstein  0–2 — 4 Jun '11 8 Oct '11 0–4 Lithuania  11 Oct '11 2 Sep '11 — 0–0 29 Mar '11 Scotland  3 Sep '11 2–1 6 Sep '11 — 2–3 Spain  25 Mar '11 6 Sep '11 3–1 11 Oct '11 —

Ranking of second-placed teams

Because some groups contain six teams and some five, matches against the sixth-placed team in each group are not included in this ranking. As a result, eight matches played by each team will count for the purposes of the second-placed table.

Grp		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	AG	Pts	Notes	Current sixth-placed team	Rating
F	Greece	4	2	2	0	4	2	+2	0	8	1,3,6	Malta	7
G	England	3	2	1	0	7	1	+6	3	7	1,3	—	4
H	Portugal	4	2	1	1	10	7	+3	3	7	1,3	—	5
D	Belarus	3	2	1	0	3	0	+3	1	7	1,3,6	Luxembourg	23
I	Czech Republic	3	2	0	1	3	1	+2	2	6	1,3	—	19
E	Hungary	3	2	0	1	4	4	0	2	6	1,3,6	San Marino	25
A	Austria	2	1	1	0	7	4	+3	4	4	1,3,6	Kazakhstan	28
B	Republic of Ireland	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	2	4	1,3,6	Andorra	20
C	Slovenia	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	2	4	1,3,6	Faroe Islands	11

Key to notes

• 1 - Team may potentially finish first in its group
• 3 - Team may potentially finish third or worse in its group
• 6 - Sixth-placed team in group may change (so ranking of second-placed team may improve or worsen even if it does not play)

Play-offs

The play-off matches will be played on 11/12 and 15 November 2011. The four winners will qualify for the finals.

After confusion caused by the UEFA play-offs for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying - which was originally to be an unseeded draw, but was seeded by FIFA in September 2009 - UEFA have announced that the draw will be seeded. The four runners-up with the best position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system will be seeded, and will play the second leg at home.^[9]

Qualified nations

Goalscorers

There have been 117 goals scored in 47 games by 96 different players.

5 goals