Published 17:09 IST, November 18th 2019
EURO 2020: Cross-continent extravaganza shaping up; 17 qualifiers so far
The final round of the Euro 2020 qualifiers are taking place and a clear picture is emerging regarding the nations which will be participating next summer
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The final round of Euro 2020 qualifiers are taking place and a clear picture is emerging regarding the nations which will be participating in next summer's tournament. Seventeen nations have already qualified, with 24 nations competing in total. Euro 2020 will be played between June 12, 2020, and July 12, 2020.
Seventeen out of twenty-four qualified
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine have qualified for the tournament. For the first time ever, the tournament is going to be held across the European continent, across 12 cities. The top two finishers from each group will qualify automatically for the tournament in November 2019, with four nations qualifying via play-offs. There is no automatic qualification for the host countries.
In the latest round of qualifications, England and France won comfortably to secure qualification and also the top spot in their respective groups. The Netherlands qualified for its first major tournament since FIFA World Cup 2014. Defending champions Portugal also sealed qualification courtesy Cristiano Ronaldo's 99th international goal.
England defeated Kosovo 4-0 on Sunday and Harry Kane became the first English player to score in every goal in the qualifying campaign. After the match, Kane said, "It was a difficult game on a difficult pitch and obviously they were up for it. We got it right, we went 1-0 up and got through a few spells when they had a bit of pressure, but we soaked it up and towards the end of the game, when the spaces started opening up, we were clinical. As a striker, I want to be scoring goals and winning games. I love scoring so, as any striker does, so hopefully, I can keep that going until next summer.”
England manager Gareth Southgate said, "I think it was a tight game and good test for us really, on a difficult pitch, with lots of slipping and that meant a few passes went astray. But we needed a tighter game and it was the sort of challenge I was happy we got."
Updated 18:55 IST, November 18th 2019