How the Euro 2028 Qualifying Draw Works
The pots come straight from the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League. Once its league phase ends in November 2026, UEFA publishes an interim overall ranking that simply stacks the four leagues: the sixteen League A teams are ranked 1st to 16th, League B 17th to 32nd, League C 33rd to 48th and League D 49th to 54th, each league ordered by group position, then points, goal difference, goals scored, away goals and wins. Cut that list into blocks of twelve and you have the pots — 1st to 12th in Pot 1, 13th to 24th in Pot 2, and so on, with the six League D teams forming a Pot 5 that only feeds the five-team groups. That's why every team's pot is already narrowed to two options before a ball is kicked: League A sides land in Pot 1 or 2, League B in Pot 2 or 3, League C in Pot 3 or 4.
The eight League A teams that reach the Nations League quarter-finals — the top two of each group — are drawn into the four-team groups, because those quarter-finals are played on the same dates as the five-team groups' opening two matchdays. On top of that, UEFA applies its usual draw restrictions: the four hosts go into separate groups, certain pairings are kept apart for political or security reasons, and limits apply to teams with winter-venue restrictions or excessive travel distances.
All 54 UEFA member associations (Russia remains suspended) go into the draw, split into twelve groups: six groups of four teams (A–F) and six groups of five (G–L). The split isn't arbitrary — several associations are also competing in the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League knockout rounds that autumn, and those quarter-finals clash with the opening two matchdays that only the five-team groups play. Placing every team still alive in the Nations League into a four-team group keeps its qualifying schedule clear of that clash. The four co-hosts — England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales — are guaranteed separate groups regardless of seeding.
Twenty of the 24 finals spots are decided by the group stage itself: the twelve group winners qualify directly, along with the eight best-ranked runners-up. If either of the two best-ranked hosts among the four still hasn't qualified that way, it gets one of two reserved host spots instead of playing on. Whatever is left — between two and four places — is filled by play-offs in March 2028, drawing on the remaining qualifying-group runners-up plus the best-placed group winners from the 2026–27 Nations League who haven't already qualified.