Euro 2020 will run from June 12th to July 12th. The draw for the finals takes place this Saturday in Bucharest, from 18 hours. And it's one of the most complex in the history of the draws.

MANUAL

We warn you right away, it's not easy to understand, or even explain. The draw for the final round of Euro 2020 football taking place this Saturday in Bucharest (at 18 hours) is one of the most complex in the history of the draws. Blame it on a European Championship without a real host country. The fault also geopolitics, which prevents some countries from confronting each other. But also to these new dams, which will be contested after the draw and which could redistribute the cards in the spring. We explain all the subtleties.

A draw not final

Things are complicated before it even started. And there are (at least) four reasons for this:

  • UEFA, on the idea of ​​Michel Platini, has decided to celebrate the sixty years of the Euro by organizing the 2020 edition in twelve cities in twelve different countries.
  • UEFA assured the qualified nations represented by a host city that they would play in the group of that city. Thus, if Scotland manages to qualify via the play-offs, it will automatically be transferred to Group D, with all matches in this pool being played in London and Glasgow. It is the same for Romania, which in case of qualification, would automatically be in Group C, which will be welcomed by Bucharest.
  • Twenty teams are already qualified. The last four qualified countries will only be known after spring dams
  • The bad relations between Russia, Ukraine and Kosovo make it impossible to confront Russia with the other two countries.

    • The distribution has already begun

    Let's go back to something simple to better start in the complex later. Already qualified teams are poured into four hats to form the groups.

    • Hat 1 : Belgium, Italy, England, Germany, Spain, Ukraine.
    • Hat 2: France, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Netherlands, Russia.
    • Hat 3: Portugal, Turkey, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic.
    • Hat 4: Wales, Finland, the four jumpers.

    Until then, it's clear. In a normal draw, we would take a team from each hat to form the six groups of four teams. But, in addition to the rule of the country-who-plays-at-home, we must add the principle of the country-which-can-absolutely-not-face-another for geopolitical reasons. UEFA has banned Russia from facing Ukraine and Kosovo.

    As a result of all these rules set out above, here are the possible groups (in bold, countries assured to be placed here):

    • Group A (Rome and Baku)

    Italy
    France / Poland / Switzerland / Croatia
    Portugal / Turkey / Austria / Sweden / Czech Republic
    Finland / Wales

    • Group B (St. Petersburg and Copenhagen)

    Belgium
    Russia
    Denmark
    Finland / Wales

    • Group C (Amsterdam and Bucharest)

    Ukraine
    Netherlands
    Portugal / Turkey / Austria / Sweden / Czech Republic
    Winner of the dams, Track A (only if Romania) or D (Georgia / North Macedonia / Kosovo / Belarus)
    If Romania wins Path A, it will go into Group C; the winner of Track D will join Group F. If Iceland, Bulgaria or Hungary win Track A, they will play in Group F; the winner of Track D will complete Group C.

    • Group D (London and Glasgow)

    England
    France / Poland / Switzerland / Croatia
    Portugal / Turkey / Austria / Sweden / Czech Republic
    Winner of the Dams, Road C (Scotland / Norway / Serbia / Israel)

    • Group E (Bilbao and Dublin)

    Spain
    France / Poland / Switzerland / Croatia
    Portugal / Turkey / Austria / Sweden / Czech Republic
    Winner of the Dams, Track B (Bosnia and Herzegovina / Slovakia / Republic of Ireland / Northern Ireland)

    • Group F (Munich and Budapest)

    Germany
    France / Poland / Switzerland / Croatia
    Portugal / Turkey / Austria / Sweden / Czech Republic
    Winner of the Dams, Track A (Iceland / Bulgaria / Hungary) or D (Georgia / North Macedonia / Kosovo / Belarus)

    The Way of the Hat 4 team will be determined as follows: If Iceland, Bulgaria or Hungary win Track A, they will go to Group F; the winner of Track D going to Group C. If Romania wins Track A, she will go to Group C; the winner of Track D will go to Group F.

    And France in all this?

    The French team is placed in hat 2, paying his two missteps against Turkey (2-0 defeat in Turkey and 1-1 draw at the Stade de France). Two disappointing performances put her in seventh place in the standings of the teams that finished first in their group during the qualifying phase. Removing the two games against the last of the pool (two wins against Moldova), the Blues are left with 19 points behind Belgium and Italy (24 points), England, Germany (21 points ) and Spain and Ukraine (20 points). These are the six teams that will compose hat 1.

    As some teams in hat 2 have already been placed in groups, we know who France will not face: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Ukraine and the Netherlands.

    He only has four big pieces of hat 1: Italy, England, Spain and Germany.

    The best draw for France: Italy, Czech Republic, the winner of the dam of the D track (Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo or Byelorussia)

    The worst: England or Germany, Portugal, Wales