That’s it then, all 24 spots have been filled in the race to qualify for EURO 2016. Hungary, Republic Of Ireland, Sweden and Ukraine taking the final 4 berths after the lottery of the Play-Offs over the last few days.
Now that we know who will going to be France, UEFA have announced the seedings for the draw on December 12
England can be found in Pot 1, while the remaining home nations (sorry Scotland) and Republic Of Ireland will sit in Pot 4. This means that Roy Hodgson’s men have a 50/50 chance of getting a home nation or Ireland in their group.
A best case scenario for England would probably be: England, Ukraine, Hungary, Albania
A worst case scenario for England would no doubt be: England, Italy, Sweden, Wales
Will the 24 team tournament be better, obviously there will be more Football but personally I always felt 16 was the optimum number as it wasn’t too bloated that and the fact that 3rd place teams will get out of the group has a risk of devaluing tournament but I doubt I’ll be moaning come June when there’ll be an extra 19 games to watch.
I expect the female half of any relationship won’t be too pleased at that prospect though
Let’s hope England don’t get the dreaded “Group Of Death” like they did back in the 2014 World Cup, they like the other 23 sides will find out their destiny in 3 and half weeks time. I don’t know about you but I’m counting down the days already.