Euro 2020 draw LIVE: England, France, Germany & Spain discover qualification group opponents

That's it from Goal's live coverage of the Euro 2020 qualification draw. Thanks for joining us.

Stay tuned to Goal for all the reaction and latest news from the event here.

Until next time!

Here are the groups once again.

Group A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo
Group B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus
Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar
Group E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan
Group F: Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands, Malta
Group G: Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia
Group H: France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova, Andorra
Group I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, San Marino
Group J: Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez is staying level-headed about the opponents his team will play.

"I'm neither happy nor unhappy with the draw," he told UEFA.com. 

"Russia are a team with a lot of confidence capable of beating top nations. Scotland? They always give you a great game."

The groups are known, so when does it all kick off?

March 2019 is when everything gets started in earnest, with games taking place in June, September, October and November.

Matchday one is March 21-23. Mark your calendars!

World champions France have been drawn in Group H, with Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova and Andorra.

"Iceland, they're a solid team who are difficult to play, and then we have long trips to Albania and Turkey," Didier Deschamps told UEFA.com. 

"But any qualifying campaign will always be difficult."

Italy boss Roberto Mancini is happy with his side's group and is targeting a return of the glory days.

"Good draw," Mancini told Rai Sport. "The goal was to avoid Germany. But Bosnia is a great team.

"We have to improve and be finals contenders again."

Group J: Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein

There was a bit of confusion when the Republic of Ireland were drawn in Group C alongside Netherlands and Germany, but they couldn't be drawn in the same group as two other hosts. New Ireland boss Mick McCarthy looked relieved!

Gasps in Dublin as Ireland appear to be drawn into a group with Germany and Netherlands but they quickly turn to cheers as the two-hosts only rule means we move to Group D instead #Euro2020draw pic.twitter.com/Q6FVnKkHf1

— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 2, 2018

A "tough draw" is an understatement.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill says his team will have to "do as best [they] can" against the Netherlands and Germany in order to challenge for qualification.

Michael O’Neill gives his reaction from the draw hall. #GAWA pic.twitter.com/gJXZTv38SH

— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) December 2, 2018

Group F

Spain 🇪🇸
Sweden 🇸🇪
Norway 🇳🇴
Romania 🇷🇴
Faroe Islands 🇫🇴
Malta 🇲🇹

Scotland are already assured of a place in the play-offs and they'll be thankful of that fact after being drawn alongside Belgium and Russia.

Here's Group I:

Scotland have been drawn in Group I for @UEFAEURO 2020 qualification. What do you make of our group?#EURO2020 #NothingMattersMore pic.twitter.com/Wv3m2o3Vhd

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) December 2, 2018

The Boys in Green must be getting fed up with games against Denmark at this stage.

Here's Group D in full:

BREAKING: Here is who stands between us and a place at #EURO2020! Thoughts on the draw? #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/A6V2EP1Ztj

— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) December 2, 2018

Have Wales drawn the short straw? Here's who they are up against to reach Euro 2020.

Group E

Croatia 🇭🇷
Wales 🐉
Slovakia 🇸🇰
Hungary 🇭🇺
Azerbaijan 🇦🇿

Our #Euro2020 qualifiers will be played in March, September, October and November of next year.#threelions https://t.co/9UfbvTFRik

— England (@England) December 2, 2018

Here's how they are looking.

The draw is complete! Here are the Euro 2020 qualification groups:

Group A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo
Group B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus
Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar
Group E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan
Group F: Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands, Malta
Group G: Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia
Group H: France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova, Andorra
Group I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, San Marino
Group J: Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein

What do you think? Happy? Concerned?

Groups A to E are final.

Group A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo
Group B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus
Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar
Group E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan
Group F: Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands
Group G: Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia, Macedonia
Group H: France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova
Group I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan
Group J: Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland, Greece, Armenia

Group A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro
Group B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania
Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia
Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia
Group E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary,
Group F: Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania,
Group G: Poland, Austria, Israel, Slovenia
Group H: France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania
Group I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus
Group J: Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland, Greece

Group A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria
Group B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia
Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland
Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland
Group E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia
Group F: Spain, Sweden, Norway
Group G: Poland, Austria, Israel
Group H: France, Iceland, Turkey
Group I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland
Group J: Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Finland

The rivals have been drawn together once again. After the Nations League disaster, Jogi Low didn't look too pleased at that outcome!

And here is how we're looking so far:

Group A: England, Czech Republic
Group B: Portugal, Ukraine
Group C: Netherlands, Germany
Group D: Switzerland, Denmark
Group E: Croatia, Wales,
Group F: Spain, Sweden
Group G: Poland, Austria
Group H: France, Iceland
Group I: Belgium, Russia
Group J: Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina

A trip to Prague awaits Gareth Southgate's side.

Group A: England
Group B: Portugal
Group C: Netherlands
Group D: Switzerland
Group E: Croatia
Group F: Spain
Group G: Poland
Group H: France
Group I: Belgium
Group J: Italy

England are in Group A... a good omen perhaps?

Here we go!

Plenty of talent on the stage now.

The recently retired Robbie Keane, former Liverpool star Ronnie Whelan (who starred for Ireland at Euro '88), ex Portugal striker Nuno Gomes and iconic goalkeeper Vitor Baia are helping out with the draw.

The draw is still getting warmed up and the 12 host cities are being shown.

Here's a reminder of where Euro 2020 will be held.

Euro 2020 hosts

Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Baku (Azerbaijan)
Bucharest (Romania)
Budapest (Hungary)
Bilbao (Spain)
Copenhagen (Denmark)
Dublin (Ireland)
Glasgow (Scotland)
London (England)
Munich (Germany)
Rome (Italy)
Saint Petersburg (Russia)

The former Real Madrid and Chelsea defender says that his country's Euro 2016 success has ignited the belief that they can go on and win more trophies.

Ronaldo and Co. are in Pot 1, meaning they will be drawn in one of groups E to J.

We've been treated to a nice lively start to the draw proceedings with an impressive display of Irish dancing, which will have suitably set the pulses racing.

Now for a bout of nostalgia for Euro 2016. 💪

Things are under way in Dublin with an elaborate musical display welcoming the attendees.

Sit tight.

The Netherlands didn't qualify for Euro 2016 or the World Cup in 2018, but Ronald Koeman has lifted them out of the doldrums.

Their Nations League performance means they are top seeds for today's draw.

To the finals of the UEFA Nations League! 🇳🇱 #Team
-
Naar de finales van de UEFA Nations League! 🇳🇱 #OnsOranje pic.twitter.com/CKQBAqJqH7

— Ronald Koeman (@RonaldKoeman) November 19, 2018

Three-time winners Spain are fired up for the draw. They are in Pot 1.

Bueno, bueno, tenemos algo que contarte. Este domingo...
¡ESTRENAMOS HASHTAG!

El lema que nos acompañará en la fase de clasificación será #UnidosPorUnRETO pic.twitter.com/V6zk4cJ1a5

— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) December 2, 2018

We're nearly there, so here's a quick reminder of the seeding pots:

UEFA Nations League pot (4): Switzerland*, Portugal*, Netherlands*, England*
Pot 1 (6): Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland
Pot 2 (10): Germany, Iceland, Bosnia & Herzegovina*, Ukraine*, Denmark*, Sweden*, Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic
Pot 3 (10): Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland*, Norway*, Serbia*, Finland*, Bulgaria, Israel
Pot 4 (10): Hungary, Romania, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Georgia*
Pot 5 (10): Macedonia*, Kosovo*, Belarus*, Luxembourg, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Gibraltar, Faroe Islands
Pot 6 (5): Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino

*Already ensured at least a play-off place after winning UEFA Nations League group

Teams from the Nations League pot will be drawn into groups A to D.

Teams from Pot 1 will be drawn into groups E to J, while the teams from Pots 2, 3, 4 and 5 (each made up of 10 teams) will be drawn into the 10 qualifying groups.

The five teams in Pot 6 will be drawn into the six-team groups F to J

But *gasp* there's no waistcoat to be seen!

The boss has arrived in Dublin! 👋 pic.twitter.com/BhyABgu5Mx

— England (@England) December 2, 2018

The Belgian contingent have arrived in Dublin. Do they have what it takes to go all the way?

🇧🇪 We're in the house ! 😊

🤗 P. Bossaert | General Secretary
🤗 R. Martínez | Coach
🤗 G. Linard | President
🤗 P. Erauw | Team Manager

🔜 #EURO2020 draw #REDTOGETHER 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/t1Fbymdmex

— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) December 2, 2018

Germany have endured a spectacular fall from grace just four years on from being crowned world champions in Brazil.

Joachim Low's side are in Pot 2 for the Euro 2020 qualification draw after a disastrous Nations League campaign, which saw them relegated to League B.

Still, they are very much the team everyone wants to avoid in that pot.

England are riding the crest of a wave at the moment under the guidance of Gareth Southgate and his snappy waistcoat.

They reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia this summer and booked their place in the Nations League finals by besting Spain and Croatia.

Three Lions could well be right to believe that 'It's Coming Home', but who could they get in their group?

Well, here's one potential combination... 

England, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Macedonia

Today's draw isn't the only thing to get excited about, by the way.

In case you haven't been paying attention there is a veritable football feast in store across Europe.

Here's just some of the games on today.

11:30am: AC Milan vs Parma
12:00pm: Chelsea vs Fulham
2:05pm: Arsenal vs Tottenham
4:15pm: Liverpool vs Everton
5:30pm: Barcelona vs Villarreal
7:30pm: Roma vs Inter
8pm: Bordeaux vs PSG

You can follow all the action from those games live on Goal!

There's less than an hour to go before the draw ceremony gets started at the Convention Centre in Dublin.

That is, of course, if everything runs on time!

The top two teams in each of the 10 qualification groups automatically qualify for Euro 2020. The remaining four places are decided via play-offs.

The play-off section is different for Euro 2020, which is linked directly with the Nations League.

Each League from A to D has four play-off positions which will be given to the group winners as first priority. However if a group winner has already qualified its place in the play-off will go to the next best ranked team of the league and so on.

There will be four different play-off paths, meaning a total of 16 teams, and these will generally mirror the initial four leagues in terms of make-up. That means there will be opportunities for lower ranked teams to reach the European Championship finals.

You can read more about the Nations League and how it works by clicking here.

But before we get to Euro 2020, we have a qualification process to get through.

Once the draw is made today teams have roughly three months to prepare for their first games.

The qualifying cycle is scheduled to begin on March 21-23, 2019 and group games will be played in June, September, October and November.

In a drastic departure from tradition UEFA has decided to spread the responsibility of hosting the European Championship in 2020 across the continent.

The 2020 edition of the tournament is being heralded as a celebration of 60 years since the first edition and there will be 12 different host cities.

Euro 2020 hosts

Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Baku (Azerbaijan)
Bucharest (Romania)
Budapest (Hungary)
Bilbao (Spain)
Copenhagen (Denmark)
Dublin (Ireland)
Glasgow (Scotland)
London (England)
Munich (Germany)
Rome (Italy)
Saint Petersburg (Russia)

You can read more about Euro 2020 in our explainer article here.

Portugal are the current kings of Europe, having won Euro 2016 in France.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. beat the hosts France in the final to get their hands on the illustrious Henri Delaunay trophy.

Eder - remember him? - scored the winning goal in extra time to land his country's first ever major trophy.

A UEFA draw means that some of the biggest names in football are in Dublin today. If you're in town, keep your eyes peeled, you might bump into some stars!

In Dublin for the @euro2020 qualifying draw #uefa #euro2020 pic.twitter.com/7Q2j0nH4U3

— Luís Figo (@LuisFigo) December 1, 2018

To make matters more complicated there are some restrictions in place for the draw prohibiting certain teams from facing each other.

The UEFA Executive Committee has decreed that the following teams cannot face each other:

- Gibraltar and Spain
- Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo
- Kosovo and Serbia

If those pairings do occur then the team drawn is placed in the first available alphabetical group instead.

Winter venue restrictions are also in place for countries deemed to have a "high or medium risk" of severe weather conditions. In order to minimise the risk of games being adversely affected groups can only contain two of the following 10 teams:

- Belarus
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands*
- Finland*
- Iceland*
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Russia
- Ukraine

Three countries marked with an asterisk - Faroe Islands, Iceland and Finland - are deemed to be 'hard winter venues' and cannot host games in March or November. If a third team on the above list happens to be drawn into a group already containing two such teams, they will go into the next highest alphabetical group instead.

Furthermore, there are restrictions in place to avoid excessive travel, so only one pair of the following teams can populate a group:

From/to Kazakhstan (Astana)

- Andorra (Barcelona)
- England (London)
- France (Paris)
- Iceland (Reykjavik)
- Malta (Valletta)
- Northern Ireland (Belfast) 
- Portugal (Lisbon) 
- Republic of Ireland (Dublin) 
- Scotland (Edinburgh) 
- Spain (Madrid) 
- Wales (Cardiff)

From/to Azerbaijan (Baku)

- Iceland (Reykjavik)
- Portugal (Lisbon)

As you can see below, there are seven seeding pots for the draw, with the four Nations League finalists - Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands and England - populating one pot.

They will be drawn into groups A to D in order to ensure they have two dates available for contesting the Nations League finals in June 2019.

Teams from Pot 1 will be drawn into groups E to J, while the teams from Pots 2, 3, 4 and 5 (each made up of 10 teams) will be drawn into the 10 qualifying groups.

The five teams in Pot 6 will be drawn into the six-team groups F to J

Which teams are in which pot?

As with most tournament draws nowadays teams are put into seeding pots, based on their performances.

You can see the seeding pots below.

UEFA Nations League pot (4): Switzerland*, Portugal*, Netherlands*, England*
Pot 1 (6): Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland
Pot 2 (10): Germany, Iceland, Bosnia & Herzegovina*, Ukraine*, Denmark*, Sweden*, Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic
Pot 3 (10): Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland*, Norway*, Serbia*, Finland*, Bulgaria, Israel
Pot 4 (10): Hungary, Romania, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Georgia*
Pot 5 (10): Macedonia*, Kosovo*, Belarus*, Luxembourg, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Gibraltar, Faroe Islands
Pot 6 (5): Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, San Marino

*Already ensured at least a play-off place after winning UEFA Nations League group

The qualification groups for Euro 2020 will be confirmed today and Goal will bring you everything you need to know about the draw, as it happens.

Dublin, Ireland is the venue for the draw as UEFA's 55 member nations await their fate, with proceedings set to get under way at around 11am GMT (6am ET).

So, get comfortable and stick around for all the build-up to the ceremony, as well as crucial information about seeding, play-offs and more.