UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
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.[1][2]
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7 September 2014 – 17 November 2015 | 
| Teams | 53 | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 268 | 
| Goals scored | 694 (2.59 per match)[note 1] | 
| Attendance | 5,735,330 (21,400 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) | |
| UEFA European Qualifiers | 
|---|
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.[3][4]
Qualified teams
    

| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[upper-alpha 1] | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | 28 May 2010 | 8 (1960, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Group E winner | 5 September 2015 | 8 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012) | |
| Group A winner | 6 September 2015 | 8 (1960, 1976, 1980, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Group A runner-up | 6 September 2015 | 0 (debut) | |
| Group G winner | 8 September 2015 | 1 (2008) | |
| Group F winner | 8 October 2015 | 0 (debut) | |
| Group I winner | 8 October 2015 | 6 (1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Group C winner | 9 October 2015 | 9 (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Group E runner-up | 9 October 2015 | 3 (1996, 2004, 2008) | |
| Group H winner | 10 October 2015 | 8 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Group B winner | 10 October 2015 | 4 (1972, 1980, 1984, 2000) | |
| Group B runner-up | 10 October 2015 | 0 (debut) | |
| Group F runner-up | 11 October 2015 | 4 (1984, 1996, 2000, 2008) | |
| Group I runner-up | 11 October 2015 | 0 (debut) | |
| Group D winner | 11 October 2015 | 11 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Group D runner-up | 11 October 2015 | 2 (2008, 2012) | |
| Group G runner-up | 12 October 2015 | 10 (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Group C runner-up | 12 October 2015 | 0 (debut) | |
| Group H runner-up | 13 October 2015 | 4 (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Best third-placed team | 13 October 2015 | 3 (1996, 2000, 2008) | |
| Play-off winner | 15 November 2015 | 2 (1964, 1972) | |
| Play-off winner | 16 November 2015 | 2 (1988, 2012) | |
| Play-off winner | 17 November 2015 | 5 (1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) | |
| Play-off winner | 17 November 2015 | 1 (2012) | 
- Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.
 - From 1960 to 1980, the Czech Republic competed as Czechoslovakia.
 - From 1972 to 1988, Germany competed as West Germany.
 - From 1960 to 1988, Russia competed as the Soviet Union, and in 1992 as CIS.
 
Format
    
All UEFA member associations were eligible to compete in the qualifying competition, with the host team France qualifying directly to the finals tournament.[1] The other 53 teams were drawn into eight groups of six teams (Groups A–H) and one group of five teams (Group I).[5] 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.[6][7][8]
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.[6] 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:
- 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying stage.
 - 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying stage and final tournament.
 - 20% of the average ranking points per game earned in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying stage and final tournament.
 
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.[8] They included England, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.[5] 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 centralised friendlies".[8]
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:
- 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying group stage.
 - 40% of the average ranking points per game earned in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying stage and final tournament.
 - 20% of the average ranking points per game earned in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying stage and final tournament.
 
Tiebreakers
    
If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:[8]
- Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
 - Superior goal difference in matches played among the teams in question;
 - Higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
 - Higher number of goals scored away from home in the matches played among the teams in question;
 - 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.[lower-alpha 1] If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 applied;
 - Superior goal difference in all group matches;
 - Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
 - Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
 - 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);
 - 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:
- Higher number of points obtained;
 - Superior goal difference;
 - Higher number of goals scored;
 - Higher number of away goals scored;
 - Fair play conduct in all group matches;
 - 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
 
- 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
    
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This was the first qualifying tournament after UEFA announced centralised 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:[9]
- 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 matchweeks, 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.[8]
 
There were ten matchdays for the qualifying group stage, and two matchdays for the play-offs:[6]
| 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 | 
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.[5][8]
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) were partnered with the five-team Group I, which enabled the 2016 tournament hosts to play friendlies against these countries on their 'spare' dates. These friendlies did not count in the qualifying group standings.[10]
Seeding
    
The seeding pots were announced on 24 January 2014.[11][12]
Teams in bold eventually qualified for the final tournament, teams in bold italic qualified for the final tournament through the play-offs, and teams in italic participated in the play-offs but did not qualify for the final tournament.
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Summary
    
Groups
    
    Group A
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 22 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 20 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 18 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |||
| 4 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 14 | +3 | 13 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 6–0 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 2–4 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 19 | −13 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 
Notes:
- Head-to-head points: Kazakhstan 4, Latvia 1.
 
Group B
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 5 | +19 | 23 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 6–0 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 21 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 17 | Advance to play-offs | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 13 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | — | 1–2 | 4–0 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 12 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | — | 5–0 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 36 | −32 | 0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 1–3 | — | 
Group C
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 3 | +20 | 27 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 22 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 19 | Advance to play-offs | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 14 | −6 | 11 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 27 | −21 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0–4 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | — | 
Notes:
- 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
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 9 | +15 | 22 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 10 | +23 | 21 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 8–1 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 7 | +12 | 18 | Advance to play-offs | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 12 | +10 | 15 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 6–1 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 16 | −6 | 9 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 56 | −54 | 0 | 0–7 | 0–7 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 0–3 | — | 
Group E
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 | +28 | 30 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 8 | +16 | 21 | 0–2 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 7–0 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 16 | Advance to play-offs | 2–3 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 6–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 10[lower-alpha 1] | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 10[lower-alpha 1] | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 36 | −35 | 1 | 0–6 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 
Notes:
- Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
 
Group F
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 21 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 20 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 16 | Advance to play-offs | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 12 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 6[lower-alpha 1] | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | 2–1 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 6[lower-alpha 1] | 0–2 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 
Notes:
- Head-to-head points: Faroe Islands 6, Greece 0.
 
Group G
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 5 | +17 | 28 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 5 | +16 | 20 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 18 | Advance to play-offs | 1–4 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 11 | 2–3 | 0–3[lower-alpha 1] | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 26 | −24 | 5 | 0–5 | 0–7 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 
Notes:
- 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
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 24 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 5 | +15 | 20 | 1–1 | — | 5–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 2–0 | |||
| 3 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 10 | +3 | 19 | Advance to play-offs | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 11 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | |||
| 5 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 6 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | |||
| 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 
Notes:
- Croatia were deducted one point after charges for racist behaviour in the home match against Italy.
 
Group I
    
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 21 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 14 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | |||
| 3 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 12 | Advance to play-offs | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 4 | 1–2 | 0–3[lower-alpha 1] | 1–3 | — | 2–0 | |||
| 5 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 2 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 
Notes:
- 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.[13]
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 16 | Qualify for final tournament | |
| 2 | F | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 15 | Advance to play-offs | |
| 3 | C | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 13 | ||
| 4 | H | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 13 | ||
| 5 | I | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 12 | ||
| 6 | G | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 12 | ||
| 7 | D | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 12 | ||
| 8 | B | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 11 | ||
| 9 | E | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 10 | 
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
    
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.[14][15]
Seedings
    
The seedings were as follows:[16][17]
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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.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine  | 
3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Sweden  | 
4–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina  | 
1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | |
| Norway  | 
1–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 
Goalscorers
    

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
 Ildefons Lima
 Marko Arnautović
 Martin Harnik
 Dimitrij Nazarov
 Dries Mertens
 Demetris Christofi
 Georgios Efrem
 Harry Kane
 Theo Walcott
 Joel Pohjanpalo
 Tornike Okriashvili
 Mario Götze
 Max Kruse
 André Schürrle
 Kolbeinn Sigþórsson
 Tomer Hemed
 Graziano Pellè
 Yuriy Logvinenko
 Valērijs Šabala
 Robin van Persie
 Gareth McAuley
 Alexander Tettey
 Shane Long
 Aleksandr Kokorin
 Steven Naismith
 Zoran Tošić
 Adam Nemec
 Boštjan Cesar
 David Silva
 Erkan Zengin
 Josip Drmić
 Haris Seferović
 Selçuk İnan
 Artem Kravets
2 goals
 Zlatko Junuzović
 Rubin Okotie
 Rahid Amirguliyev
 Stanislaw Drahun
 Mikhail Gordeichuk
 Timofei Kalachev
 Sergei Kornilenko
 Radja Nainggolan
 Milan Đurić
 Vedad Ibišević
 Haris Medunjanin
 Edin Višća
 Iliyan Mitsanski
 Ivelin Popov
 Marcelo Brozović
 Andrej Kramarić
 Luka Modrić
 Pavel Kadeřábek
 Václav Pilař
 Milan Škoda
 Nicklas Bendtner
 Yussuf Poulsen
 Ross Barkley
 Raheem Sterling
 Jack Wilshere
 Sergei Zenjov
 Jóan Símun Edmundsson
 Riku Riski
 Jaba Kankava
 Valeri Qazaishvili
 Mate Vatsadze
 İlkay Gündoğan
 Dániel Böde
 Krisztián Németh
 Tamás Priskin
 Birkir Bjarnason
 Aron Gunnarsson
 Tal Ben Haim II
 Nir Bitton
 Eran Zahavi
 Antonio Candreva
 Giorgio Chiellini
 Éder
 Islambek Kuat
 Fedor Černych
 Arvydas Novikovas
 Lars Krogh Gerson
 Aleksandar Trajkovski
 Fatos Bećiraj
 Stevan Jovetić
 Mirko Vučinić
 Arjen Robben
 Georginio Wijnaldum
 Steven Davis
 Joshua King
 Grzegorz Krychowiak
 Sebastian Mila
 João Moutinho
 James McClean
 Aiden McGeady
 Constantin Budescu
 Paul Papp
 Bogdan Stancu
 Adem Ljajić
 Juraj Kucka
 Róbert Mak
 Nejc Pečnik
 Sergio Busquets
 Santi Cazorla
 Pedro
 Marcus Berg
 Fabian Schär
 Arda Turan
 Yevhen Konoplyanka
 Yevhen Seleznyov
 Serhiy Sydorchuk
 Aaron Ramsey
1 goal
 Bekim Balaj
 Berat Djimsiti
 Shkëlzen Gashi
 Ermir Lenjani
 Mërgim Mavraj
 Armando Sadiku
 Robert Arzumanyan
 Henrikh Mkhitaryan
 Hrayr Mkoyan
 Marcos Pizzelli
 Marcel Sabitzer
 Javid Huseynov
 Michy Batshuayi
 Christian Benteke
 Nacer Chadli
 Laurent Depoitre
 Divock Origi
 Ermin Bičakčić
 Senad Lulić
 Mihail Aleksandrov
 Nikolay Bodurov
 Andrey Galabinov
 Ventsislav Hristov
 Dimitar Rangelov
 Nikola Kalinić
 Mario Mandžukić
 Ivica Olić
 Danijel Pranjić
 Ivan Rakitić
 Gordon Schildenfeld
 Constantinos Charalambidis
 Jason Demetriou
 Dossa Júnior
 Vincent Laban
 Constantinos Makrides
 Giorgos Merkis
 Vladimír Darida
 Ladislav Krejčí
 David Lafata
 David Limberský
 Tomáš Necid
 Tomáš Sivok
 Josef Šural
 Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
 Nicolai Jørgensen
 Thomas Kahlenberg
 Simon Kjær
 Jakob Poulsen
 Jannik Vestergaard
 Lasse Vibe
 Phil Jagielka
 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
 Andros Townsend
 Ats Purje
 Konstantin Vassiljev
 Hallur Hansson
 Christian Holst
 Róaldur Jakobsen
 Brandur Olsen
 Paulus Arajuuri
 Roman Eremenko
 Jarkko Hurme
 Berat Sadik
 Nikoloz Gelashvili
 Karim Bellarabi
 Toni Kroos
 Marco Reus
 Lee Casciaro
 Jake Gosling
 Christos Aravidis
 Nikos Karelis
 Panagiotis Kone
 Kostas Mitroglou
 Sokratis Papastathopoulos
 Kostas Stafylidis
 Panagiotis Tachtsidis
 Balázs Dzsudzsák
 Zoltán Gera
 Richárd Guzmics
 László Kleinheisler
 Gergő Lovrencsics
 Zoltán Stieber
 Ádám Szalai
 Jón Daði Böðvarsson
 Rúrik Gíslason
 Eiður Guðjohnsen
 Ragnar Sigurðsson
 Moanes Dabour
 Gil Vermouth
 Leonardo Bonucci
 Matteo Darmian
 Daniele De Rossi
 Stephan El Shaarawy
 Alessandro Florenzi
 Simone Zaza
 Rinat Abdulin
 Samat Smakov
 Aleksandrs Cauņa
 Aleksejs Višņakovs
 Artūrs Zjuzins
 Franz Burgmeier
 Sandro Wieser
 Deivydas Matulevičius
 Saulius Mikoliūnas
 Lukas Spalvis
 Stefano Bensi
 Mario Mutsch
 Sébastien Thill
 David Turpel
 Besart Abdurahimi
 Arijan Ademi
 Agim Ibraimi
 Adis Jahović
 Alfred Effiong
 Clayton Failla
 Michael Mifsud
 Gheorghe Boghiu
 Eugeniu Cebotaru
 Alexandru Dedov
 Alexandru Epureanu
 Dejan Damjanović
 Stefan Savić
 Žarko Tomašević
 Ibrahim Afellay
 Jeffrey Bruma
 Stefan de Vrij
 Luciano Narsingh
 Wesley Sneijder
 Craig Cathcart
 Josh Magennis
 Niall McGinn
 Jamie Ward
 Jo Inge Berget
 Mats Møller Dæhli
 Tarik Elyounoussi
 Vegard Forren
 Markus Henriksen
 Håvard Nielsen
 Håvard Nordtveit
 Alexander Søderlund
 Jakub Błaszczykowski
 Kamil Glik
 Bartosz Kapustka
 Krzysztof Mączyński
 Sławomir Peszko
 Łukasz Szukała
 Ricardo Carvalho
 Fábio Coentrão
 Nani
 Miguel Veloso
 Robbie Brady
 Cyrus Christie
 Wes Hoolahan
 John O'Shea
 Ovidiu Hoban
 Claudiu Keșerü
 Ciprian Marica
 Alexandru Maxim
 Raul Rusescu
 Alan Dzagoev
 Sergei Ignashevich
 Dmitri Kombarov
 Oleg Kuzmin
 Fyodor Smolov
 Matteo Vitaioli
 Ikechi Anya
 Chris Martin
 James McArthur
 Matt Ritchie
 Aleksandar Kolarov
 Nemanja Matić
 Peter Pekarík
 Kornel Saláta
 Stanislav Šesták
 Miroslav Stoch
 Vladimír Weiss
 Robert Berić
 Valter Birsa
 Branko Ilić
 Josip Iličić
 Kevin Kampl
 Dejan Lazarević
 Andraž Struna
 Jordi Alba
 Juan Bernat
 Diego Costa
 Andrés Iniesta
 Isco
 Mario Gaspar
 Álvaro Morata
 Sergio Ramos
 Jimmy Durmaz
 Emil Forsberg
 Ola Toivonen
 Eren Derdiyok
 Johan Djourou
 Blerim Džemaili
 Breel Embolo
 Gökhan Inler
 Pajtim Kasami
 Michael Lang
 Admir Mehmedi
 Valentin Stocker
 Granit Xhaka
 Serdar Aziz
 Umut Bulut
 Hakan Çalhanoğlu
 Bilal Kısa
 Oğuzhan Özyakup
 Denys Harmash
 David Cotterill
 Hal Robson-Kanu
1 own goal
 Mërgim Mavraj (against Armenia)
 Levon Hayrapetyan (against Serbia)
 Kamo Hovhannisyan (against Albania)
 Rashad Sadygov (against Croatia)
 Alyaksandr Martynovich (against Ukraine)
 Nikolay Bodurov (against Croatia)
 Yordan Minev (against Italy)
 Vedran Ćorluka (against Norway)
 Dossa Júnior (against Andorra)
 Jordan Henderson (against Slovenia)
 Ragnar Klavan (against Switzerland)
 Akaki Khubutia (against Scotland)
 Mats Hummels (against Scotland)
 Jordan Perez (against Republic of Ireland)
 Yogan Santos (against Germany)
 Jón Daði Böðvarsson (against Czech Republic)
 Giorgio Chiellini (against Azerbaijan)
 Martin Büchel (against Russia)
 Franz Burgmeier (against Russia)
 Tome Pachovski (against Spain)
 Petru Racu (against Montenegro)
 Robin van Persie (against Czech Republic)
 Markus Henriksen (against Hungary)
 John O'Shea (against Scotland)
 Cristian Brolli (against England)
 Alessandro Della Valle (against England)
2 own goals
 Giedrius Arlauskis (against England & Switzerland)
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.[19]
Broadcasting
    
    
Notes
    
- The goal tally takes into account the original result of fixtures that were subsequently forfeited, not the awarded scoreline.
 
References
    
- "UEFA European Football Championship Final Tournament 2016: Tournament Requirements" (PDF). UEFA. June 2009. p. 3, sec. 3; p. 6, sec. 1. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
 - "France beat Turkey and Italy to stage Euro 2016". British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
 - "Qualifying draw". UEFA.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
 - "Nice to get the ball rolling for EURO 2016". UEFA.com. 13 December 2013.
 - "European Championship – France 2016". Romanian Football Association. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013.
 - "UEFA EURO 2016 regulations published". UEFA.com. 18 December 2013.
 - "UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying format". UEFA.com.
 - "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2014–16" (PDF). UEFA.com.
 - "UEFA announces deals for European qualifiers". UEFA.org. 10 April 2013.
 - "UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying draw procedure" (PDF). UEFA.com.
 - "Pots announced for EURO qualifying draw". UEFA.com. 24 January 2014.
 - "National Team Coefficients Overview" (PDF). UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
 - "Croatia, Turkey qualify: how the groups ended". UEFA.com. 13 October 2015.
 - "Play-off draw". UEFA.com. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
 - "Sweden v Denmark highlight of play-off draw". UEFA.com. 18 October 2015.
 - "EURO 2016 play-off draw seedings confirmed". UEFA. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
 - "UEFA − National Team Coefficients Overview − Matches considered up to 14/10/2015" (PDF). UEFA.com.
 - "Lewandowski equals Healy's scoring record". UEFA.com. 11 October 2015.
 - "European qualifiers branding launched". UEFA. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
 
External links
    
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qualification for the 2016 UEFA European Championship. | 
- UEFA Euro 2016 at UEFA.com
 
