We are 2 years away from the 2016 UEFA European Championship which will be staged in Michel Platini’s country, France. It’s time for the continent’s 53 other footballing nations to know which teams they will affront in the qualifying campaign.
For the first time in the history of the tournament, there will be a total of 24 participants instead of the traditional 16-team format used since 1996. This means that only 30 teams will suffer the fate of missing out on Euro 2016 while 23 others will win tickets to France. T
he UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying draw on February 23 will produce eight groups of six teams (from Group A to Group H) and a last section (Group I) of five teams—in total, nine groups.
The nine group winners and runners-up will directly qualify into the finals along with the best third-placed team among all 53 contenders, making it 19 teams grabbing automatic qualification. The last four spots at stake will be decided through play-off ties between the remaining eight third-placed teams.
The top seeds ahead of the draw are:
Spain; Germany; Netherlands; Italy; England; Portugal; Greece; Russia; Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Where to watch the draw – live stream, start time, TV channels, live updates
In Canada at 6:00 ET:
| Canada | Israeli Network, Sportsnet World |
In France at 12:00 CET:
| France | Israeli Network, Eurosport France |
Internationally in live streaming online:
| International | UEFA, Eurosport International |
In UK at 11:00 GMT:
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports News |
In USA at 6:00 ET:
| United States | Fox Soccer Plus, Watch ESPN, Israeli Network, ESPN3 |
In Africa:
For live updates of the draw, follow LiveSoccerTV on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Our compilation of worldwide live listings is available on the UEFA EURO 2016 page.
Euro 2016 qualifying draw - TV rights, pots and notices
UEFA stated the following on its official website:
“For television rights reasons, England, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands must be in six-team sections. The eight sides in Pot 6 will then be drawn for Groups A–H, with Pots 5 to 2 being drawn next in reverse numerical order.
“For political reasons Azerbaijan cannot meet Armenia, and Spain cannot play Gibraltar.”
See below for a view of the six pots ahead of the draw. What will be your favourite team's ideal draw?
