EURO 2028 qualifying draw

What this draw decides

The draw allocates the participating teams to twelve qualifying groups of four or five. Those groups define each team’s home-and-away opponents on the route to EURO 2028. It does not decide the six groups for the finals.

How the seeding is determined

The seeding uses the interim overall ranking from the 2026/27 Nations League. The exact pots must therefore come from the official EURO draw documentation. A FIFA ranking, a previous EURO draw or the Nations League’s own league-phase pots cannot be substituted.

Why some entries may be placeholders

The Nations League knockout programme affects scheduling. UEFA can handle a quarter-final pairing through conditional winner and loser entries so that teams are allocated to a group compatible with their later fixtures. A pairing is not a new national team, and its eventual winner must be resolved before the final opponent list is displayed.

Restrictions that affect the draw

England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are placed in different qualifying groups. Nations League quarter-final winners enter four-team groups. Any additional restrictions depend on the complete UEFA draw procedure; restrictions from a previous tournament do not automatically apply.

Reading the results on draw day

Once UEFA publishes the draw result, this page will show each team in its qualifying group and link to the official confirmation. Until then, any unresolved place remains a pairing rather than a predicted team.

After the draw

The group tables are collected on the qualifying overview. Match dates and venues are added when the official qualifying fixture list becomes available; a draw result on its own is not a complete match schedule.

Watching the draw

Viewing information is still to be announced. Check the broadcaster and the territory covered: a broadcast confirmed in one country does not establish worldwide availability.

What a pot can tell you

A seeding pot narrows the possible composition of a group, but it does not select opponents in advance. Draw restrictions and conditional entries can further limit which combinations are available. A country’s name appearing next to another in a pot should therefore be read as part of the seeding arrangement, not as a predicted group.

When the official pot document is published, check the country names and any winner or loser placeholders together. Those placeholders represent an unresolved Nations League pairing. They need to remain recognisable until the relevant result turns them into a named team.

What to check once the allocations are complete

Start with the group letter and its full membership. If an entry is conditional, follow the pairing that resolves it. Then move to the qualifying calendar: group membership alone supplies the opponents, while a fixture announcement supplies the order, dates and venues of those games.

The draw result remains useful after the ceremony. It explains the campaign’s group structure and gives supporters a reference when later schedules, tables and qualification scenarios begin to change.