UEFA Euro 2016

15th edition of the association football championship From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organised by UEFA. It was held in France from 10 June to 10 July 2016.[4][5] Spain were the two-time defending champions, having won the 2008 and 2012 tournaments, but were eliminated in the round of 16 by Italy. Portugal won the tournament for the first time, following a 1–0 victory after extra time over the host team, France, in the final played at the Stade de France.

Host countryFrance
Dates10 June – 10 July
Teams24
Venue10 (in 9 host cities)
Quick facts Championnat d'Europe de football 2016 (in French), Tournament details ...
UEFA Euro 2016
Championnat d'Europe de football 2016
(in French)
Le Rendez-Vous
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
Dates10 June – 10 July
Teams24
Venue10 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Portugal (1st title)
Runners-up France
Tournament statistics
Matches played51
Goals scored108 (2.12 per match)
Attendance2,427,303 (47,594 per match)
Top scorerFrance Antoine Griezmann (6 goals)[1]
Best playerFrance Antoine Griezmann[2]
Best young playerPortugal Renato Sanches[3]
← 2012
2020 →
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For the first time, the European Championship final tournament was contested by 24 teams, having been expanded from the 16-team format used since 1996.[6] Under the new format, the finalists contested a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage including three rounds and the final. Nineteen teams – the top two from each of the nine qualifying groups and the best third-placed team – joined France in the final tournament, who qualified automatically as host; a series of two-legged play-off ties between the remaining third-placed teams in November 2015 decided the last four finalist spots.

France was chosen as the host nation on 28 May 2010, after a bidding process in which they beat Italy and Turkey for the right to host the 2016 finals.[7][8] The matches were played in ten stadiums in ten cities: Bordeaux, Lens, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Décines-Charpieu, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Étienne, and Toulouse. It was the third time that France hosted the finals, after the inaugural tournament in 1960 and the 1984 finals.

As the winners, Portugal earned the right to compete at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.[9]

Bid process

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 bids

Four bids came before the deadline on 9 March 2009. France, Italy and Turkey put in single bids while Norway and Sweden put in a joint bid.[10] Norway and Sweden eventually withdrew their bid in December 2009.[11]

The host was selected on 28 May 2010.[12]

More information Country, Round ...
Voting results[citation needed]
Country Round
1st (points) 2nd (votes)
 France 43 7
 Turkey 38 6
 Italy 23 –
Total 104 13
Close
  • Round 1: Each of the thirteen members of the UEFA Executive Committee ranked the 3 bids first, second, and third. First place ranking received 5 points, second place 2 points, and third place 1 point. Executive members from the countries bidding were not allowed to vote.
  • Round 2: The same thirteen-member committee voted for either of the two finalists.

Qualification

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
  Team qualified for UEFA Euro 2016
  Team failed to qualify

The qualifying draw took place at the Palais des Congrès Acropolis in Nice, on 23 February 2014,[5] with the first matches being played in September 2014.[4]

53 teams competed for 23 places in the final tournament to join France, who automatically qualified as hosts. Gibraltar competed in a European Championship qualifying for the first time since their affiliation to UEFA in 2013. The seeding pots were formed on the basis of the UEFA national team coefficients, with the Euro 2012 champions Spain and hosts France automatically top seeded.

The 53 national sides were drawn into eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams. The group winners, runners-up, and the best third-placed team (with the results against the sixth-placed team discarded) qualify directly for the final tournament. The remaining eight third-placed teams contested two-legged play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers.[13][14][15]

In March 2012, Gianni Infantino, the UEFA general secretary at the time, stated that UEFA would review the qualification competition to ensure that it was not "boring".[16] In September 2011, during UEFA's first full strategy meeting, Michel Platini proposed a qualification format involving two group stages, but the member associations did not accept the proposal.[17] In May 2013, Platini confirmed a similar qualifying format would be again discussed during the September 2013 UEFA executive committee meeting in Dubrovnik.[18]

Qualified teams

Thirteen of the sixteen teams (including hosts France) that qualified for Euro 2012 qualified again for the 2016 final tournament. Among them were England, who became only the sixth team to record a flawless qualifying campaign (10 wins in 10 matches),[19] defending European champions Spain, and world champions Germany, who qualified for their 12th straight European Championship finals.[20]

Romania, Turkey, Austria, and Switzerland all returned after missing out in 2012, with the Austrians qualifying for just their second final Euro tournament, after having co-hosted Euro 2008 and first time through qualifying.[21] Returning to the final tournament after long absences were Belgium for the first time since co-hosting Euro 2000, and Hungary for the first time in 44 years, having last appeared at Euro 1972, and 30 years since appearing in a major tournament, their previous one being the 1986 FIFA World Cup.[22]

Four teams secured their first qualification to a UEFA European Championship final tournament: Albania, Iceland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.[21] Northern Ireland and Wales had each previously competed in the FIFA World Cup, while Albania and Iceland had never participated in a major tournament. Slovakia meanwhile are making the first tournament as an independent nation, having qualified for three Euro tournaments and eight World Cups under Czechoslovakia.[21][23][24] Similarly, both Austria and Ukraine completed successful qualification campaigns for the first time, having only previously qualified as hosts (of 2008 and 2012 respectively).[25][26]

Scotland were the only team from the British Isles not to qualify for the finals,[27] and it also marked the first time that both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland qualified for the same major tournament finals.[28] Greece, champions in 2004, finished bottom in their group and failed to qualify for the first time since 2000. Two other previous champions, the Netherlands (1988) and Denmark (1992), missed out on the finals. The Dutch team failed to qualify for the first time since Euro 1984 (also held in France), missing out on their first major tournament since the 2002 FIFA World Cup and only 16 months after having finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[29] Denmark did not appear at the Euro finals for the first time since 2008, after losing in the play-off round against Sweden.

As of 2024, this was the last time that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland qualified for either the World Cup or European Championship finals, the only time that Iceland qualified, as well as the last time that Denmark, the Netherlands and Scotland failed to qualify.

Quick facts Tournament details, Dates ...
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
Tournament details
Dates7 September 2014 – 17 November 2015
Teams53
Tournament statistics
Matches played268
Goals scored694 (2.59 per match)[note 1]
Attendance5,735,330 (21,400 per match)
Top scorerPoland Robert Lewandowski (13 goals)
← 2012
2020 →
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The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2016 final tournament.[30][31]

A total of 53 national teams participated in this qualifying process, with Gibraltar taking part for the first time. The draw took place at the Palais des Congrès Acropolis, Nice, on 23 February 2014.[32][33]

Qualified teams

  Team qualified for UEFA Euro 2016
  Team failed to qualify
More information Team, Qualified as ...
Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in tournament[A]
 FranceHost28 May 20108 (1960, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 EnglandGroup E winner5 September 20158 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012)
 Czech Republic[B]Group A winner6 September 20158 (1960, 1976, 1980, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 IcelandGroup A runner-up6 September 20150 (debut)
 AustriaGroup G winner8 September 20151 (2008)
 Northern IrelandGroup F winner8 October 20150 (debut)
 PortugalGroup I winner8 October 20156 (1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 SpainGroup C winner9 October 20159 (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
  SwitzerlandGroup E runner-up9 October 20153 (1996, 2004, 2008)
 ItalyGroup H winner10 October 20158 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 BelgiumGroup B winner10 October 20154 (1972, 1980, 1984, 2000)
 WalesGroup B runner-up10 October 20150 (debut)
 RomaniaGroup F runner-up11 October 20154 (1984, 1996, 2000, 2008)
 AlbaniaGroup I runner-up11 October 20150 (debut)
 Germany[C]Group D winner11 October 201511 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 PolandGroup D runner-up11 October 20152 (2008, 2012)
 Russia[D]Group G runner-up12 October 201510 (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 Slovakia[B]Group C runner-up12 October 20153 (1960, 1976, 1980)
 CroatiaGroup H runner-up13 October 20154 (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 TurkeyBest third-placed team13 October 20153 (1996, 2000, 2008)
 HungaryPlay-off winner15 November 20152 (1964, 1972)
 Republic of IrelandPlay-off winner16 November 20152 (1988, 2012)
 SwedenPlay-off winner17 November 20155 (1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
 UkrainePlay-off winner17 November 20151 (2012)
Close
  1. [A]
    Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.
  2. [B]
    From 1960 to 1980, both the Czech Republic and Slovakia competed as Czechoslovakia.[34]
  3. [C]
    From 1972 to 1988, Germany competed as West Germany.
  4. [D]
    From 1960 to 1988, Russia competed as the Soviet Union, and in 1992 as CIS.

</onlyinclude>

Format

All UEFA member associations were eligible to compete in the qualifying competition, with the host team France qualifying directly to the finals tournament.[30] The other 53 teams were drawn into eight groups of six teams (Groups A–H) and one group of five teams (Group I). The group winners, runners-up, and the best third-placed team (with the results against the sixth-placed team discarded) directly qualified to the finals. The eight remaining third-placed teams contested two-legged play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers for the finals.[14][35][15]

Seeding system

Sides were seeded according to the UEFA national team coefficient rankings, which were announced along with the draw procedure and final tournament match schedule after the 23–24 January Executive Committee meeting in Nyon.[14] For the qualifying group stage, the teams were seeded into six pots (Pots 1–5 with 9 teams and Pot 6 with 8 teams) for the qualifying group stage draw according to the UEFA national team coefficient rankings, with the title holders (Spain) automatically seeded into Pot 1. Each nation's coefficient was generated by calculating:

UEFA stated that nations with the largest markets in terms of contribution to the European Qualifiers revenue would be drawn into one of the groups containing six teams, including England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.[15][36] UEFA also stated in their regulations that "the teams drawn into the group of five teams will have France added to their group for the purpose of playing centralized friendlies".[15][37][38][39] However, these friendlies did not count in the qualifying group standings.[40][41]

For the play-offs the four ties were determined by draw, including the order of the two legs of each tie. The teams were seeded for the play-off draw according to the UEFA national team coefficient rankings updated after the completion of the group stage. Each nation's coefficient was generated by calculating:

Tiebreakers

If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:[15]

  1. Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
  2. Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
  3. Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
  4. Higher number of goals scored away from home in the matches played among the teams in question;
  5. If, after having applied criteria 1 to 4, teams still had an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 were reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings.[a] If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 applied;
  6. Superior goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Fair play conduct in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
  10. Position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system;

To determine the best third-placed team, the results against the teams in sixth place were discarded. The following criteria were applied:

  1. Higher number of points obtained;
  2. Superior goal difference;
  3. Higher number of goals scored;
  4. Higher number of away goals scored;
  5. Fair play conduct in all group matches;
  6. Position in the UEFA national team coefficient ranking system;

For each play-off tie, the team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs qualified for the final tournament. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time was played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.

Notes
  1. [a]
    When there were two or more teams tied in points, criteria 1 to 4 were applied. After these criteria were applied, they could define the position of some of the teams involved, but not all of them. For example, if there was a three-way tie on points, the application of the first four criteria could only break the tie for one of the teams, leaving the other two teams still tied. In this case, the tiebreaking procedure was resumed, from the beginning, for those teams that were still tied.

Schedule

Official match ball of the UEFA Euro qualifiers

This was the first qualifying tournament after UEFA announced centralized rights deals for both UEFA Euro and FIFA World Cup qualifying. UEFA had proposed the "Week of Football" concept for the scheduling of qualifying matches as follows:[42][43][44]

  • Matches took place from Thursday to Tuesday.
  • Kick-off times were largely set at 18:00 and 20:45 CET on Saturdays and Sundays, and 20:45 CET on Thursdays, Fridays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.
  • On double-header match weeks, teams played on Thursday and Sunday, or Friday and Monday, or Saturday and Tuesday.
  • Matches in the same group were played on the same day.[15]

There were ten matchdays for the qualifying group stage, and two matchdays for the play-offs:[14]

More information Stage, Matchday ...
Stage Matchday Dates
Qualifying group stage Matchday 1 7–9 September 2014
Matchday 2 9–11 October 2014
Matchday 3 12–14 October 2014
Matchday 4 14–16 November 2014
Matchday 5 27–29 March 2015
Matchday 6 12–14 June 2015
Matchday 7 3–5 September 2015
Matchday 8 6–8 September 2015
Matchday 9 8–10 October 2015
Matchday 10 11–13 October 2015
Play-offs 1st leg 12–14 November 2015
2nd leg 15–17 November 2015
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Unlike previous qualifying campaigns where group fixtures were determined by negotiation between the national federations, UEFA themselves decided each group's fixture list, released the same day as the draw.[15]

Draw

The draw took place at the Palais des Congrès Acropolis, Nice, on 23 February 2014, 12:00 CET. Groups A–H each contain one team from each of Pots 1–6, while Group I contains one team from each of Pots 1–5. For television rights reasons, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands were drawn into groups of six teams. Before the draw UEFA confirmed that, for political reasons, Armenia would not be drawn against Azerbaijan (due to the dispute concerning territory of Nagorno-Karabakh) and Gibraltar would not be drawn against Spain (due to the disputed status of Gibraltar). France (Coeff: 30,992; Rank: 11), the 2016 tournament hosts, were partnered with the five-team Group I, allowing them to play friendlies against these countries on their 'spare' dates that did not count in the qualifying group standings.[45]

Seeding

The seeding pots were announced on 24 January 2014. The teams in bold qualified to the final tournament.[46][47]

More information Team, Coeff ...
Pot 1
TeamCoeffRank
 Spain42,1581
 Germany41,3662
 Netherlands38,5413
 Italy35,3434
 England34,8855
 Portugal34,3146
 Greece33,5407
 Russia32,9468
 Bosnia and Herzegovina31,4169
Pot 2
TeamCoeffRank
 Ukraine31,15610
 Croatia30,65212
 Sweden30,11113
 Denmark29,66014
  Switzerland29,57215
 Belgium28,73216
 Czech Republic28,23417
 Hungary27,80218
 Republic of Ireland26,73319
Pot 3
TeamCoeffRank
 Serbia25,98520
 Turkey25,95521
 Slovenia25,83422
 Israel25,44223
 Norway25,34124
 Slovakia25,33325
 Romania25,03826
 Austria24,57227
 Poland23,09528
Pot 4
TeamCoeffRank
 Montenegro22,99129
 Armenia22,86130
 Scotland22,23431
 Finland22,00132
 Latvia20,77133
 Wales20,55134
 Bulgaria20,39135
 Estonia19,98836
 Belarus19,64637
Pot 5
TeamCoeffRank
 Iceland19,24338
 Northern Ireland19,20139
 Albania19,15140
 Lithuania19,02641
 Moldova18,30142
 Macedonia17,37643
 Azerbaijan16,90144
 Georgia16,76645
 Cyprus14,23546
Pot 6
TeamCoeffRank
 Luxembourg14,05047
 Kazakhstan13,96148
 Liechtenstein12,22049
 Faroe Islands11,75150
 Malta10,74051
 Andorra8,56052
 San Marino7,42053
 Gibraltar054
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Summary

  Group winners, runners-up and the best ranked third-placed team qualified directly for UEFA Euro 2016
  The remaining third-placed teams advanced to the play-offs
  Other teams were eliminated after the qualifying group stage
More information Group A, Group B ...
Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I

Czech Republic

Iceland
Belgium

Wales
Spain

Slovakia
Germany

Poland
England

Switzerland
Northern Ireland

Romania
Austria

Russia
Italy

Croatia
Portugal

Albania

Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ukraine
Republic of Ireland
Slovenia
Hungary
Sweden
Norway
Denmark

Netherlands

Kazakhstan

Latvia
Israel

Cyprus

Andorra
Belarus

Luxembourg

Macedonia
Scotland

Georgia

Gibraltar
Estonia

Lithuania

San Marino
Finland

Faroe Islands

Greece
Montenegro

Liechtenstein

Moldova
Bulgaria

Azerbaijan

Malta
Serbia

Armenia
Close

Groups

Group A

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group A
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Czech Republic Iceland Turkey Netherlands Kazakhstan Latvia
1  Czech Republic 10 7 1 2 19 14 +5 22 Qualify for final tournament — 2–1 0–2 2–1 2–1 1–1
2  Iceland 10 6 2 2 17 6 +11 20 2–1 — 3–0 2–0 0–0 2–2
3  Turkey 10 5 3 2 14 9 +5 18 1–2 1–0 — 3–0 3–1 1–1
4  Netherlands 10 4 1 5 17 14 +3 13 2–3 0–1 1–1 — 3–1 6–0
5  Kazakhstan 10 1 2 7 7 18 −11 5[a] 2–4 0–3 0–1 1–2 — 0–0
6  Latvia 10 0 5 5 6 19 −13 5[a] 1–2 0–3 1–1 0–2 0–1 —
Close
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Head-to-head points: Kazakhstan 4, Latvia 1.

Group B

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group B
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Belgium Wales Bosnia and Herzegovina Israel Cyprus Andorra
1  Belgium 10 7 2 1 24 5 +19 23 Qualify for final tournament — 0–0 3–1 3–1 5–0 6–0
2  Wales 10 6 3 1 11 4 +7 21 1–0 — 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–0
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 5 2 3 17 12 +5 17 Advance to play-offs 1–1 2–0 — 3–1 1–2 3–0
4  Israel 10 4 1 5 16 14 +2 13 0–1 0–3 3–0 — 1–2 4–0
5  Cyprus 10 4 0 6 16 17 −1 12 0–1 0–1 2–3 1–2 — 5–0
6  Andorra 10 0 0 10 4 36 −32 0 1–4 1–2 0–3 1–4 1–3 —
Close
Source: UEFA

Group C

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group C
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Spain Slovakia Ukraine Belarus Luxembourg North Macedonia
1  Spain 10 9 0 1 23 3 +20 27 Qualify for final tournament — 2–0 1–0 3–0 4–0 5–1
2  Slovakia 10 7 1 2 17 8 +9 22 2–1 — 0–0 0–1 3–0 2–1
3  Ukraine 10 6 1 3 14 4 +10 19 Advance to play-offs 0–1 0–1 — 3–1 3–0 1–0
4  Belarus 10 3 2 5 8 14 −6 11 0–1 1–3 0–2 — 2–0 0–0
5  Luxembourg 10 1 1 8 6 27 −21 4[a] 0–4 2–4 0–3 1–1 — 1–0
6  Macedonia 10 1 1 8 6 18 −12 4[a] 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–2 3–2 —
Close
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Tied on head-to-head points (3) and head-to-head goal difference (0). Head-to-head away goals: Luxembourg 2, Macedonia 0.

Group D

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group D
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Germany Poland Republic of Ireland Scotland Georgia (country) Gibraltar
1  Germany 10 7 1 2 24 9 +15 22 Qualify for final tournament — 3–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 4–0
2  Poland 10 6 3 1 33 10 +23 21 2–0 — 2–1 2–2 4–0 8–1
3  Republic of Ireland 10 5 3 2 19 7 +12 18 Advance to play-offs 1–0 1–1 — 1–1 1–0 7–0
4  Scotland 10 4 3 3 22 12 +10 15 2–3 2–2 1–0 — 1–0 6–1
5  Georgia 10 3 0 7 10 16 −6 9 0–2 0–4 1–2 1–0 — 4–0
6  Gibraltar 10 0 0 10 2 56 −54 0 0–7 0–7 0–4 0–6 0–3 —
Close
Source: UEFA

Group E

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group E
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification England Switzerland Slovenia Estonia Lithuania San Marino
1  England 10 10 0 0 31 3 +28 30 Qualify for final tournament — 2–0 3–1 2–0 4–0 5–0
2   Switzerland 10 7 0 3 24 8 +16 21 0–2 — 3–2 3–0 4–0 7–0
3  Slovenia 10 5 1 4 18 11 +7 16 Advance to play-offs 2–3 1–0 — 1–0 1–1 6–0
4  Estonia 10 3 1 6 4 9 −5 10[a] 0–1 0–1 1–0 — 1–0 2–0
5  Lithuania 10 3 1 6 7 18 −11 10[a] 0–3 1–2 0–2 1–0 — 2–1
6  San Marino 10 0 1 9 1 36 −35 1 0–6 0–4 0–2 0–0 0–2 —
Close
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.

Group F

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group F
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Northern Ireland Romania Hungary Finland Faroe Islands Greece
1  Northern Ireland 10 6 3 1 16 8 +8 21 Qualify for final tournament — 0–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 3–1
2  Romania 10 5 5 0 11 2 +9 20 2–0 — 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0
3  Hungary 10 4 4 2 11 9 +2 16 Advance to play-offs 1–2 0–0 — 1–0 2–1 0–0
4  Finland 10 3 3 4 9 10 −1 12 1–1 0–2 0–1 — 1–0 1–1
5  Faroe Islands 10 2 0 8 6 17 −11 6[a] 1–3 0–3 0–1 1–3 — 2–1
6  Greece 10 1 3 6 7 14 −7 6[a] 0–2 0–1 4–3 0–1 0–1 —
Close
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Head-to-head points: Faroe Islands 6, Greece 0.

Group G

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group G
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Austria Russia Sweden Montenegro Liechtenstein Moldova
1  Austria 10 9 1 0 22 5 +17 28 Qualify for final tournament — 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–0
2  Russia 10 6 2 2 21 5 +16 20 0–1 — 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–1
3  Sweden 10 5 3 2 15 9 +6 18 Advance to play-offs 1–4 1–1 — 3–1 2–0 2–0
4  Montenegro 10 3 2 5 10 13 −3 11 2–3 0–3[a] 1–1 — 2–0 2–0
5  Liechtenstein 10 1 2 7 2 26 −24 5 0–5 0–7 0–2 0–0 — 1–1
6  Moldova 10 0 2 8 4 16 −12 2 1–2 1–2 0–2 0–2 0–1 —
Close
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. [a]
    The Montenegro v Russia match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Russia after being abandoned at 0–0 due to crowd violence and a scuffle between players.

Group H

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group H
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Italy Croatia Norway Bulgaria Azerbaijan Malta
1  Italy 10 7 3 0 16 7 +9 24 Qualify for final tournament — 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0
2  Croatia[a] 10 6 3 1 20 5 +15 20 1–1 — 5–1 3–0 6–0 2–0
3  Norway 10 6 1 3 13 10 +3 19 Advance to play-offs 0–2 2–0 — 2–1 0–0 2–0
4  Bulgaria 10 3 2 5 9 12 −3 11 2–2 0–1 0–1 — 2–0 1–1
5  Azerbaijan 10 1 3 6 7 18 −11 6 1–3 0–0 0–1 1–2 — 2–0
6  Malta 10 0 2 8 3 16 −13 2 0–1 0–1 0–3 0–1 2–2 —
Close
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Croatia were deducted one point after charges for racist behaviour in the home match against Italy.

Group I

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group I
More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Portugal Albania Denmark Serbia Armenia
1  Portugal 8 7 0 1 11 5 +6 21 Qualify for final tournament — 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–0
2  Albania 8 4 2 2 10 5 +5 14 0–1 — 1–1 0–2 2–1
3  Denmark 8 3 3 2 8 5 +3 12 Advance to play-offs 0–1 0–0 — 2–0 2–1
4  Serbia[a] 8 2 1 5 8 13 −5 4 1–2 0–3[a] 1–3 — 2–0
5  Armenia 8 0 2 6 5 14 −9 2 2–3 0–3 0–0 1–1 —
Close
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. [a]
    The Serbia v Albania match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Albania, and Serbia were also deducted three points, after the match was abandoned at 0–0 because home fans invaded the pitch and attacked Albania players when a drone carried a pro-Albanian flag over the stadium.

Ranking of third-placed teams

The highest ranked third-placed team from the groups directly qualified for the tournament, while the remainder entered the play-offs. As Group I contained five teams and the rest contained six, matches against any sixth-placed team in each group were not included in this ranking. As a result, a total of eight matches played by each team count toward the purpose of the third-placed ranking table.

Turkey became the best third-placed team, after winning against Iceland in its last match, while at the same time Kazakhstan beat Latvia to finish fifth in Group A.[48]

More information Pos, Grp ...
Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A  Turkey 8 5 1 2 12 7 +5 16 Qualify for final tournament
2 F  Hungary 8 4 3 1 8 5 +3 15 Advance to play-offs
3 C  Ukraine 8 4 1 3 11 4 +7 13
4 H  Norway 8 4 1 3 8 10 −2 13
5 I  Denmark 8 3 3 2 8 5 +3 12
6 G  Sweden 8 3 3 2 11 9 +2 12
7 D  Republic of Ireland 8 3 3 2 8 7 +1 12
8 B  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 3 2 3 11 12 −1 11
9 E  Slovenia 8 3 1 4 10 11 −1 10
Close
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Counting only matches against teams ranked first to fifth in the group, 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Lower disciplinary points total; 6) UEFA national team coefficient ranking; 7) Drawing of lots.

Play-offs

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs

The eight remaining third-placed teams contested two-legged play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers for the finals. The teams were seeded for the play-off draw according to the UEFA national team coefficient rankings updated after the completion of the qualifying group stage. The draw for the play-offs was held on 18 October 2015, 11:20 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon.[49][50]

Seedings

The seedings were as follows:[51][52]

More information Team, Coeff ...
Pot 1 (seeded)
TeamCoeffRank
 Bosnia and Herzegovina30,36713
 Ukraine30,31314
 Sweden29,02816
 Hungary27,14220
Pot 2 (unseeded)
TeamCoeffRank
 Denmark27,14021
 Republic of Ireland26,90223
 Norway26,43925
 Slovenia25,44126
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Matches

The first legs were played on 12–14 November, and the second legs were played on 15–17 November 2015. The four play-off winners (Ukraine, Sweden, Republic of Ireland and Hungary) qualified for the final tournament.

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Ukraine  3–1  Slovenia 2–0 1–1
Sweden  4–3  Denmark 2–1 2–2
Bosnia and Herzegovina  1–3  Republic of Ireland 1–1 0–2
Norway  1–3  Hungary 0–1 1–2
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Goalscorers

Poland's Robert Lewandowski scored 13 goals in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying round, equalling David Healy's record in 2008 for most goals in a qualifying campaign.[53]

There were 694 goals scored in 268 matches, for an average of 2.59 goals per match.[note 1]

13 goals

11 goals

9 goals

8 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

2 own goals

Branding

UEFA unveiled the branding for the qualifiers on 15 April 2013. It shows a national jersey inside a heart, and represents Europe, honour and ambition. The same branding was also used for the European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.[54]

Notes

  1. [1]
    The goal tally takes into account the original result of fixtures that were subsequently forfeited, not the awarded scoreline.

References

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    "UEFA EURO 2016: key dates and milestones". UEFA. 1 February 2013.
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    "UEFA EURO 2016 steering group meets in Paris". UEFA. 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012.
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    Chaplin, Mark (12 December 2008). "2016 bidding process given green light". Nyon: UEFA. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
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    "France beat Turkey and Italy to stage Euro 2016". BBC Sport. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
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    FIFA.com. "FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 – Teams – FIFA". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
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    "Regeringen säger nej till EM 2016-ansökan". Swedish Football Association (in Swedish). 9 December 2009. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
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    "France chosen to host Euro 2016". UEFA. 28 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
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    "UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying format". UEFA. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020.
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    "UEFA EURO 2016 regulations published". UEFA. 18 December 2013.
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    "EURO 2016 qualifying: Platini's plan". Football-Rankings.info. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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    "EURO 2016: UEFA looking to change qualifying format". Football-Rankings.info. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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    McNulty, Phil (12 October 2015). "Lithuania 0–3 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
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    "Hungary earn Euro 2016 spot by beating Norway to end finals drought". The Guardian. 15 November 2015. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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    "Russia, Slovakia qualify for 2016 European Championship". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
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    Rouse, Daniel (12 October 2015). "Tight win sends Slovakia to Euro 2016; Ukraine faces play-off after loss to Spain". theScore.com. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
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    Fisher, Ben (14 June 2016). "Marcel Koller brings Austria in from the cold and ready for Euro 2016". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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    "Ukraine through to Euro 2016 as Slovenia manage only a draw". The Guardian. Press Association. 17 November 2015. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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    Eccleshare, Charlie (12 October 2015). "Euro 2016: How will England, Wales, Northern Ireland and possibly Republic of Ireland fare in France?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
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    FIFA.com (17 March 2016). "O'Neills relishing landmark EURO challenge". FIFA. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
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    "Netherlands 2–3 Czech Republic". BBC Sport. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
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    "UEFA European Football Championship Final Tournament 2016: Tournament Requirements" (PDF). UEFA. June 2009. p. 3, sec. 3; p. 6, sec. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
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    "France beat Turkey and Italy to stage Euro 2016". British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
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    "Qualifying draw". UEFA. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
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    "Nice to get the ball rolling for EURO 2016". UEFA. 13 December 2013.
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    "UEFA EURO 2016: How all the teams qualified". UEFA. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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    "UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying format". UEFA. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020.
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    "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship: 2014-16" (PDF).
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    "Centralised friendlies" (PDF). UEFA.
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    "UEFA sets fixture list of Euro 2016 host France". FOX Sports. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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    UEFA.com (18 December 2013). "UEFA EURO 2016 regulations published | UEFA EURO". UEFA. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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    "European Championship hosts France to take part in qualification stages". The Guardian. Press Association. 23 January 2014. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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    "Euro 2016: Hosts France to feature in qualifying". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
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    Collett, Mike (9 October 2014). "Infantino defends 'Week of Football' and Euro 2016 format". Reuters. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
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    McPherson, Ian (8 November 2013). "Uefa sells handful of European qualifiers". SportsPro. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
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    UEFA.com (23 February 2014). "'New era in national team football' beckons | UEFA EURO". UEFA. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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    "UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying draw procedure" (PDF). UEFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2014.
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    "Pots announced for EURO qualifying draw". UEFA. 24 January 2014.
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    "National Team Coefficients Overview" (PDF). UEFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
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    "Croatia, Turkey qualify: how the groups ended". UEFA. 13 October 2015.
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    "Play-off draw". UEFA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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    "Sweden v Denmark highlight of play-off draw". UEFA. 18 October 2015.
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    "European qualifiers branding launched". UEFA. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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Final draw

The draw for the finals took place at the Palais des Congrès de la Porte Maillot in Paris on 12 December 2015, 18:00 CET.[1][2][3][4] The 24 qualified teams were drawn into six groups of four teams, with the hosts France being automatically placed in position A1. The remaining teams were seeded into four pots of five (Pot 1) or six teams (Pots 2, 3, and 4). As the title holders, Spain were seeded in Pot 1, while the other 22 teams were seeded according to the UEFA national team coefficients updated after the completion of the qualifying group stage (excluding the play-offs), which were released by UEFA on 14 October 2015.[5][6][7][8]

More information Team, Coeff ...
Pot 1[a]
TeamCoeffRank[8]
 Spain (holders)[b]37,9622
 Germany40,2361
 England35,9633
 Portugal35,1384
 Belgium34,4425
Pot 2
TeamCoeffRank[8]
 Italy34,3456
 Russia31,3459
  Switzerland31,25410
 Austria30,93211
 Croatia30,64212
 Ukraine30,31314
Pot 3
TeamCoeffRank[8]
 Czech Republic29,40315
 Sweden29,02816
 Poland28,30617
 Romania28,03818
 Slovakia27,17119
 Hungary27,14220
Pot 4
TeamCoeffRank[8]
 Turkey27,03322
 Republic of Ireland26,90223
 Iceland25,38827
 Wales24,53128
 Albania23,21631
 Northern Ireland22,96133
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  Automatically selected as a top-seeded team into pot 1, irrespective of their ranking position.
  1. [a]
    Hosts France (coefficient 33,599; rank 8th) belonged to Pot 1 irrespective of their ranking position. Ahead of the draw, they were removed as drawing options from Pot 1, and instead automatically assigned to Group position A1.
  2. [b]
    Defending champions Spain (coefficient 37,962; rank 2nd) were automatically assigned to Pot 1, and could be drawn into either Group position B1, C1, D1, E1 or F1.

Teams were drawn consecutively into Group A to F. First, the Pot 1 teams were assigned to the first positions of their groups, while next the positions of all other teams were drawn separately from Pot 4 to 2 (for the purposes of determining the match schedules in each group).

The draw resulted in the following groups:

More information Team ...
Group A
Team
 France
 Romania
 Albania
  Switzerland
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More information Team ...
Group B
Team
 England
 Russia
 Wales
 Slovakia
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More information Team ...
Group C
Team
 Germany
 Ukraine
 Poland
 Northern Ireland
Close
More information Team ...
Group D
Team
 Spain
 Czech Republic
 Turkey
 Croatia
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More information Team ...
Group E
Team
 Belgium
 Italy
 Republic of Ireland
 Sweden
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More information Team ...
Group F
Team
 Portugal
 Iceland
 Austria
 Hungary
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Venues

Finals format

Squads

Match officials

Opening ceremony

Group stage

Knockout stage

Statistics

Issues

Marketing

Broadcasting

References

External links

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