How do competing teams qualify for EURO 2024?

The 2022/23 Nations League is coming to the boil, with next summer’s finals firmly on the horizon.

Competing sides will round off the group stages in the tournament competition before the 2022 World Cup kicks off in November, with the final four sides finishing off with the tournament in June 2023.

And while many must use the final group stage fixture as preparation for the World Cup in Qatar, the competition still means much more than just a warmup, with so much to play for regarding next summer’s Nations League finals and beyond.

Participating nations also have the chance to qualify for the European Championships via the Nations League. So, ahead of the EURO 2024 draw on 9 October, here’s what you need to know about the links between the competitions.

Seeding for the EURO 2024 qualifying groups will be based on performance in the Nations League.

This means that the overall rankings from this season’s Nations League will be used to divide the teams into seven pots. For England, this means they face being drawn in a more difficult group to qualify from, as their Nations League relegation was confirmed; they will thus be a lower seed team.

The four nations that make the finals of the Nations League in will be placed into qualifying groups of only five teams, to clear their schedules for the tournament in June 2023. Seven groups containing five teams are expected to be drawn, with the remaining three groups containing six sides.

53 teams will participate in the qualifying draw, with Russia not included and Germany automatically qualifying for the finals in 2024 as the host nation.

The teams that fail to qualify for EURO 2024 via the group stages will have a final chance to qualify through a play-off phase.

Leagues A, B and C in the Nations League will be allocated one of the three remaining spots for the finals of the tournament. Four teams from each league that haven’t already qualified for the Euros will compete in the play-offs of their league. If any of the group winners have already qualified for the Euros, the next best ranked team in that league gets the shot to qualify.