The draw for the Euro 2024 qualifying has been released although confusion already surrounds the tournament with Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland being told to disregard the initial fixtures list.
The draw was initially made in Frankfurt on Sunday 9 October 2022 with the matches to be played between March and November next year ahead of the tournament in 2024 which will also take place in Germany.
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England have been handed one of the tougher qualification groups after being pulled out into Group C along with North Macedonia, Malta, Ukraine and Italy who famously beat the Lions in the 2020 final at Wembley on penalties. Gareth Southgate’s side also failed to score against their Euro rivals in a recent Nation League match-up, ultimately losing at San Siro.
Scotland received a mixed bag in their qualifying group as it was revealed Premier League superstar Erling Haaland would be making the trip to Hampden Park with Norway. Joining them in Group A will also be Spain, Georgia and Cyprus to which the Tartan Army’s manager Steve Clarke said: “It’s going to be competitive. There are five good teams, and hopefully we can be the best. To continue that improvement we need to qualify for Euro 2024: that’s the aim.”
Amidst all the ensuing confusion, here is all that has been revealed about Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland’s Euros 2024 drama...
What’s been said about Euros 2024 fixtures list?
UEFA sent a statement to the governing bodies of the three nations - Scotland, Wales and Republic of Ireland - detailing there was a problem with the calendar they had released only a few hours before.
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The statement, which was published on The Twitter accounts of the Football Associations of all three nations said: “We regret to inform you that we have noticed an issue with the calendar and we ask you to DISREGARD the fixture list that was sent out.
“A new version will be issued as soon as possible. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.”
Shortly after this was published, the Welsh FA chief executive Noel Mooeny attempted to reassure fans by posting: “Don’t worry - we’ll ensure our fixtures will be fine” however the post was deleted soon after.
In response to UEFA’s statement, Scotland’s official Twitter account wrote: “Following the above communication we have received from UEFA we are awaiting clarification as to how this affects our fixtures.
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“We will update when UEFA provide us with more information.”
What are the Euro 2024 qualifying groups?
- Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus
- Group B: Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar
- Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta
- Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia
- Group E: Poland, Czech Republic, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova
- Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia
- Group G: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino
- Group I: Switzerland Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra
- Group J: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein
The four Nations League finalists - Croatia, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain - have gone into the groups of six in Euros qualifying. The top two teams in each of the 10 groups qualify directly for Euro 2024 while Germany automatically qualify as hosts.
The remaining three teams will come via the Nations League play-offs.
The group stages start on 23 March 2023 and will end on 21 November 2023.