What Is the Format of the Euro 2020?

The 60th anniversary edition of the UEFA European Championship is fast approaching. In fact, it’s only a mere matter of months before it takes place! However, due to the fact that this time round the competition is celebrating its 60th anniversary, the Euro 2020 format has been changed.

Thus, if you’re going to be placing bets on the Euro, it’ll serve you well to know the format of the competition. At Betiton™, we highly value each and every one of our players, which is why we’ll be explaining the format of the Euro for your benefit.

How Did the Qualification for the Euro Work?

First of all, there are no automatic qualifiers in this edition due to the extraordinary number of host countries. In fact, there are 12 host countries in this edition of the Euro. This means that even host countries have had to secure their berths through playing qualifiers.

To enter the Euro, all of the 55 UEFA-member nations had to play in the European Qualifiers. There, they were divided into 10 groups of either 5 or 6 teams each. The top 2 teams of each group then moved on to the 20 teams that secured their place in the tournament.

The final 4 places were then contested through the European Qualifiers Play-Offs. 16 teams that didn’t earn their place in the Euro contested these spots. These 16 teams were chosen according to their place in the UEFA Nations League.

The Format of the European Qualifiers Play-Offs

The 16 teams were split into 4 groups of 4 teams. However, rather than the usual format where all teams in a group play against one another, the European Qualifiers Play-Offs proceeded in a straight knockout competition through 4 play-off paths.

Each path had 2 semi-finals and a final. The 4 teams that emerged victorious from these play-offs then moved on to the final 4 spots of the football Euro. To find out who these 24 teams are, check out our other Euro posts.

What Is the Euro 2020 Format?

The 24 teams that made their way in the competition will be distributed into 6 groups of 4 teams. In each group, the teams will play one another. After the teams play against one another, the top 16 teams will move to the next stage of the tournament.

This is where the competition then shifts to an elimination competition, which will see losers knocked out from the tournament. The competition will then proceed from a group of 16 round, to quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then the final on the 11th of July.