Qualifying groups for Euro 2016

Click here for the full calendar of the qualifying fixtures.

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Qualifying round: September 2014 to October 2015.

Playoff round if needed: November 2015.

Final tournament: June-July 2016, in France.

Winners and runners-up of each group advance to the final tournament, plus the four best third-place teams. There's no group of death, which is sensible at this stage. However, some groups are clearly more affordable or competitive than others. Group-by-group breakdown follows.

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Group A. Would have been tough two decades ago. Now it's a walk in the park for the Oranje. Turkey should get second.

Group B. Despite Bosnia being the top seed, it's Belgium who have the upper hand. No hope for the rest.

Group C. Perhaps the better balanced group, with Ukraine and Slovakia who will battle it out. Other than that, clear Spanish domination.

Group D. Same as group A, but as it stands it's an easy German domination. Scotland-Ireland rivalry games!

Group E. Also a fairly well-balanced group behind England. Slovenia and Switzerland have a genuine shot.

Group F. No clear favorite, and whoever wins is likely to be mediocre in the tournament anyway.

Group G. This could surprise. Bold prediction: Montenegro will win this group.

Group H. Italy and Croatia have all but secured the top two spots.

Group I. Tight little group with three serious contenders (Por-Den-Ser). This might be fun to watch.

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Given that we could have had Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro in the same group, it's cool that we didn't. Can you imagine the mess, again?
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