UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 qualifying

UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 qualifying

Tournament details
Dates	24 January – 27 September 2017
Teams	47 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	78
Goals scored	456 (5.85 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Halim Selmanaj (9 goals)

The UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 qualifying competition is a men's futsal competition that will determine the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Slovenia in the UEFA Futsal Euro 2018 final tournament.^[1]

A total of 47 UEFA member national teams entered the qualifying competition (including Germany and Kosovo who entered for the first time).^[2]

Format

The qualifying competition consists of three rounds:^[3]

• Preliminary round: The 26 lowest-ranked teams will be drawn into five groups of four teams and two groups of three teams. Each group will play in a single round-robin format at one of the teams which were pre-selected as hosts. The seven group winners will advance to the main round.
• Main round: The 28 teams (21 highest-ranked teams and seven preliminary round qualifiers) will be drawn into seven groups of four teams. Each group will play in a single round-robin format at one of the teams which were pre-selected as hosts. The seven group winners will qualify for the final tournament, while the seven runners-up and the best third-placed team advanced to the play-offs.
• Play-offs: The eight teams will be drawn into four ties to play home-and-away two-legged matches to determine the last four qualified teams.

Tiebreakers

In the preliminary round and main round, teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 14.01 and 14.02):^[3]

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. penalty shoot-out if only two teams have the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and are tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams have the same number of points, or if their rankings are not relevant for qualification for the next stage);
8. Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
9. UEFA coefficient;
10. Drawing of lots.

To determine the best third-placed team from the main round, the following criteria are applied (Regulations Article 15.01):^[3]

1. Points;
2. Goal difference;
3. Goals scored;
4. Disciplinary points;
5. UEFA coefficient;
6. Drawing of lots.

In the play-offs, the team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs qualifies for the final tournament. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e., the team that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, extra time is played. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e., if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article 20.01).^[3]

Schedule

The qualifying matches are played on the following dates.^[2]

Stage	Dates
Preliminary round	24 January – 2 February 2017
Main round	3–12 April 2017
Play-offs	10–13 & 24–27 September 2017

Entrants

The teams were ranked according to their coefficient ranking, calculated based on the following:^[3][4]

• UEFA Futsal Euro 2014 final tournament and qualifying competition
• UEFA Futsal Euro 2016 final tournament and qualifying competition
• 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup final tournament and qualifying competition

The 21 highest-ranked teams entered the main round, while the 26 lowest-ranked teams entered the preliminary round. The coefficient ranking was also used for seeding in the preliminary round and main round draws, where each team was assigned a seeding position according to their ranking for the respective draw, with seven teams each pre-selected as hosts for the preliminary round and the main round (marked by (H) below).^[2]

Final tournament hosts

Team	Coeff	Rank[4]
Slovenia	6,389	7

Teams entering main round

Seeding position 1 Team Coeff Rank[4]  Russia 10,605 1  Spain 10,017 2  Portugal 9,250 3  Italy 8,889 4  Ukraine (H) 7,944 5  Azerbaijan (H) 7,544 6  Kazakhstan (H) 6,333 8	Seeding position 2 Team Coeff Rank[4]  Serbia 5,556 9  Croatia 5,556 10  Czech Republic 4,667 11  Romania (H) 4,278 12  Hungary 4,222 13  Slovakia 3,389 14  Netherlands 3,333 15	Seeding position 3 Team Coeff Rank[4]  Belgium 3,278 16  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,000 17  Belarus (H) 2,667 18  Poland (H) 2,056 19  Macedonia 2,000 20  Finland 1,583 21  Turkey (H) 1,444 22

Teams entering preliminary round

Seeding position 1 Team Coeff Rank[4]  France 1,278 23  Latvia (H) 1,222 24  Georgia (H) 1,028 25  Norway 1,000 26  Sweden 0,944 27  England 0,944 28  Greece 0,889 29	Seeding position 2 Team Coeff Rank[4]  Moldova 0,750 30  Denmark 0,722 31  Montenegro 0,667 32  Bulgaria (H) 0,611 33   Switzerland 0,472 34  Armenia 0,444 35  Andorra 0,389 36	Seeding position 3 Team Coeff Rank[4]  Lithuania (H) 0,389 37  Albania 0,333 38  Israel 0,333 39  Cyprus (H) 0,222 40  Wales (H) 0,222 41  Estonia 0,111 42  Gibraltar (H) 0,111 43	Seeding position 4 Team Coeff Rank[4]  Malta 0,000 44  San Marino 0,000 45  Scotland 0,000 46  Germany — —  Kosovo — —

Did not enter

Team	Coeff	Rank[4]
Austria	—	—
Faroe Islands	—	—
Iceland	—	—
Liechtenstein	—	—
Luxembourg	—	—
Northern Ireland	—	—
Ireland	—	—

The draws for the preliminary round and main round were held on 21 October 2016, 14:30 CEST (UTC+2), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^[5][6] The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:

• In the preliminary round, the 26 teams were drawn into seven groups: five groups of four containing one team from each of the seeding positions 1–4, and two groups of three containing one team from each of the seeding positions 1–3. First, the seven teams which were pre-selected as hosts were drawn from their own designated pot and allocated to their respective group as per their seeding positions. Next, the remaining 19 teams were drawn from their respective pot which were allocated according to their seeding positions.
• In the main round, the 28 teams were drawn into seven groups of four, containing one team from each of the seeding positions 1–3 and one group winner from the preliminary round. First, the seven teams which were pre-selected as hosts were drawn from their own designated pot and allocated to their respective group as per their seeding positions. Next, the remaining 21 teams (including the seven preliminary round winners, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw) were drawn from their respective pot which were allocated according to their seeding positions.

Based on the decisions taken by the UEFA Emergency Panel, Azerbaijan/Armenia, Spain/Gibraltar, Kosovo/Serbia, and Kosovo/Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be drawn into the same group. Should any of the above teams win their preliminary round group and qualify for a main round group with a team they cannot play against, they would be swapped with the next available team in their seeding position following the alphabetical order of the groups.

Preliminary round

All times are CET (UTC+1).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Georgia (H)	3	3	0	0	20	3	+17	9	Main round
2	Switzerland	3	2	0	1	12	8	+4	6
3	Israel	3	1	0	2	6	8	−2	3
4	Scotland	3	0	0	3	4	23	−19	0

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Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Moldova	3	3	0	0	16	1	+15	9	Main round
2	Wales (H)	3	1	1	1	11	9	+2	4
3	Greece	3	1	1	1	5	8	−3	4
4	San Marino	3	0	0	3	3	17	−14	0

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Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Latvia (H)	3	2	1	0	11	6	+5	7	Main round
2	Armenia	3	2	0	1	11	8	+3	6
3	Germany	3	1	1	1	11	12	−1	4
4	Estonia	3	0	0	3	7	14	−7	0

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Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Albania	3	3	0	0	15	4	+11	9	Main round
2	England	3	2	0	1	11	7	+4	6
3	Bulgaria (H)	3	1	0	2	8	12	−4	3
4	Malta	3	0	0	3	4	15	−11	0

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Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	6	Main round
2	Kosovo	3	2	0	1	9	4	+5	6
3	Cyprus (H)	3	1	1	1	8	9	−1	4
4	Norway	3	0	1	2	6	11	−5	1

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Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	2	2	0	0	8	1	+7	6	Main round
2	Lithuania (H)	2	1	0	1	6	4	+2	3
3	Andorra	2	0	0	2	1	10	−9	0

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Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Montenegro	2	2	0	0	19	5	+14	6	Main round
2	Sweden	2	1	0	1	9	12	−3	3
3	Gibraltar (H)	2	0	0	2	2	13	−11	0

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Main round

All times are CEST (UTC+2).

Group 1

Note: Belarus were originally to host.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	3	2	1	0	8	5	+3	7	Final tournament
2	Georgia (H)	3	0	3	0	4	4	0	3	Play-offs
3	Belarus	3	0	2	1	5	6	−1	2
4	Netherlands	3	0	2	1	6	8	−2	2

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Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Azerbaijan (H)	3	3	0	0	16	5	+11	9	Final tournament
2	Hungary	3	1	1	1	7	11	−4	4	Play-offs
3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	0	2	1	12	13	−1	2
4	Albania	3	0	1	2	9	15	−6	1

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Group 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ukraine (H)	3	3	0	0	7	3	+4	9	Final tournament
2	Croatia	3	2	0	1	11	3	+8	6	Play-offs
3	Belgium	3	1	0	2	3	8	−5	3
4	Montenegro	3	0	0	3	3	10	−7	0

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Group 4

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	3	3	0	0	11	2	+9	9	Final tournament
2	Romania (H)	3	1	1	1	8	10	−2	4	Play-offs
3	Finland	3	1	1	1	10	13	−3	4
4	Latvia	3	0	0	3	5	9	−4	0

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Group 5

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	3	2	1	0	14	1	+13	7	Final tournament
2	Serbia	3	2	0	1	11	9	+2	6	Play-offs
3	Poland (H)	3	1	1	1	5	7	−2	4
4	Moldova	3	0	0	3	5	18	−13	0

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Group 6

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kazakhstan (H)	3	3	0	0	11	0	+11	9	Final tournament
2	Czech Republic	3	2	0	1	12	10	+2	6	Play-offs
3	Macedonia	3	1	0	2	7	13	−6	3
4	Denmark	3	0	0	3	7	14	−7	0

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Group 7

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Russia	3	3	0	0	10	0	+10	9	Final tournament
2	France	3	2	0	1	9	7	+2	6	Play-offs
3	Slovakia	3	1	0	2	9	6	+3	3
4	Turkey (H)	3	0	0	3	2	17	−15	0

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Ranking of third-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	5	Poland	3	1	1	1	5	7	−2	4	Play-offs
2	4	Finland	3	1	1	1	10	13	−3	4
3	7	Slovakia	3	1	0	2	9	6	+3	3
4	3	Belgium	3	1	0	2	3	8	−5	3
5	6	Macedonia	3	1	0	2	7	13	−6	3
6	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	0	2	1	12	13	−1	2
7	1	Belarus	3	0	2	1	5	6	−1	2

Play-offs

The draw for the play-offs was held on 6 July 2017, 13:30 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^[7][8] There were no seedings, with the only restriction that the best third-placed team (Poland) could not be drawn against the runner-up from the same main round group (Serbia).^[9]

All times are CEST (UTC+2).

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Czech Republic	–	Serbia	–	–
France	–	Croatia	–	–
Romania	–	Georgia	–	–
Hungary	–	Poland	–	–

Winner qualifies for the final tournament.

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Winner qualifies for the final tournament.

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Winner qualifies for the final tournament.

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Winner qualifies for the final tournament.

Qualified teams

The following 12 teams qualify for the final tournament.

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in tournament1
Slovenia	* !Hosts	01 !26 January 2015[1]	05 !5 (2003, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Italy	1 !Main round Group 1 winners	03 !9 April 2017	10 !10 (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Azerbaijan	2 !Main round Group 2 winners	07 !11 April 2017	04 !4 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Ukraine	3 !Main round Group 3 winners	06 !11 April 2017	09 !9 (1996, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Portugal	4 !Main round Group 4 winners	05 !11 April 2017	08 !8 (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Spain	5 !Main round Group 5 winners	08 !11 April 2017	10 !10 (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Kazakhstan	6 !Main round Group 6 winners	04 !11 April 2017	01 !1 (2016)
Russia	7 !Main round Group 7 winners	02 !9 April 2017	10 !10 (1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
TBD	PO1 !Play-off winners
TBD	PO2 !Play-off winners
TBD	PO3 !Play-off winners
TBD	PO4 !Play-off winners

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

References

External links

• Official website