UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group D
Group D of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament is one of the nine groups to decide the football teams which qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016 finals tournament.[1] Group D consists of six teams: Germany, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Georgia, and Gibraltar,[2] where they play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format.[3]
Background
Because of an expansion in the European Championship finals format to 24 teams competing in the final, the top two qualifiers in the group will automatically qualify for UEFA Euro 2016. The third-placed team will either qualify directly if it is the highest-placed third-placed team amongst the qualifying groups, otherwise it will enter the playoffs for the remaining four spots.[4]
The German national football team will be looking to maintain its record of qualifying for every European Championship since 1972.[5][6] Scotland and the Republic of Ireland both proposed the expansion of the European Championship and it was considered "ironic" by the Republic of Ireland manager, Martin O'Neill, that the two were drawn in the same group.[6] The chairman of the Polish Football Association, Zbigniew Boniek, stated that he was happy with the draw.[7] Georgia national football team manager, Temur Ketsbaia, said that the new system would give Georgia the chance to qualify and said that Georgia would aim for third place in the group.[8]
The Gibraltar national football team will compete in European Championship qualifying for the first time after becoming members of UEFA in May 2013. Gibraltar play their home matches at Estádio Algarve in Faro, Algarve, Portugal, as their home ground, Victoria Stadium has an artificial pitch and does not meet UEFA international standards.[9] They were initially drawn in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group C, but with Spain—who claims the territory—already there, UEFA moved Gibraltar to Group D.[10]
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland |
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 | 11 | Advance to final tournament | — | 2–0 | 2–2 | 11 Oct | 13 Jun | 7 Sep | |
| 2 | Germany |
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 10 | 4 Sep | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 11 Oct | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Scotland |
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 10 | Final tournament or play-offs | 8 Oct | 7 Sep | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | |
| 4 | Republic of Ireland |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 8 | 1–1 | 8 Oct | 13 Jun | — | 7 Sep | 7–0 | ||
| 5 | Georgia |
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 4 Sep | 1–2 | — | 8 Oct | ||
| 6 | Gibraltar |
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 27 | −26 | 0 | 0–7 | 13 Jun | 11 Oct | 4 Sep | 0–3 | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Matches
The fixtures were released by UEFA the same day as the draw, which was held on 23 February 2014 in Nice.[11] Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).
| Republic of Ireland |
7–0 | Gibraltar |
|---|---|---|
Keane  6', 14', 18' (pen.)McClean 46', 53'J. Perez 52' (o.g.)Hoolahan 56' |
Report |
| Scotland |
6–1 | Gibraltar |
|---|---|---|
| Maloney 18' (pen.), 34' (pen.) S. Fletcher 29', 77', 90'Naismith 39' |
Report | L. Casciaro 19' |
Goalscorers
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
- Akaki Khubutia (playing against Scotland)
- Jordan Perez (playing against Republic of Ireland)
- Yogan Santos (playing against Germany)
Discipline
A player is automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[3]
- Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
- Receiving three yellow cards in three different matches, as well as after fifth and any subsequent yellow card (yellow card suspensions are carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were (or will be) served during the qualifying matches:
| Team | Player | Offence(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poland | Kamil Glik |  vs Gibraltar (7 September 2014) vs Germany (11 October 2014) vs Republic of Ireland (29 March 2015) | vs Georgia (13 June 2015) |
| Scotland | Charlie Mulgrew |  vs Germany (7 September 2014) | vs Georgia (11 October 2014) |
Notes
- ↑ CET (UTC+1) for matches on 14 November 2014, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Gibraltar play their home matches at Algarve Stadium in Portugal instead of their regular stadium, Victoria Stadium, in Gibraltar.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Scotland played their first two home matches at other stadiums (against Georgia at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, and against Republic of Ireland at Celtic Park, Glasgow) instead of their regular stadium, Hampden Park, Glasgow, as it was only reopened for football in "late 2014" after hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[12]
References
- ↑ "UEFA EURO 2016 Qualifying Draw Procedure" (PDF). UEFA. p. 1. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ↑ "Spain face Ukraine return in EURO 2016 qualifying". UEFA.com. 23 February 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2014-16" (PDF). UEFA.com.
- ↑ Press Association (23 February 2014). "Euro 2016 qualifying draw: England face Switzerland and Slovenia". Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ↑ "European Championship 1958-2008 All-Time Rankings". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Scotland begin Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in Germany". Evening Times. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ↑ "Polacy i ich rywale zadowoleni z losowania. Boniek: coś tu jest nie tak" (in Polish). Sport.tvn24.pl. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ↑ "ქეცბაია: "მესამე ადგილისთვის ბოლომდე ვიბრძოლებთ"" (in Georgian). Geosports.ge. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ↑ Rose, Gary. "Euro 2016 qualifying draw: Gibraltar ready to prove their worth". BBC. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ↑ Football (15 October 2013). "Gibraltar moves group in Euro 2016 qualifiers draw over political tensions". Telegraph. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ↑ "Qualifying fixtures" (PDF). UEFA.com.
- ↑ Hampden Park to close for one year for Glasgow 2014 preparations insidethegames.biz
External links
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