The qualifying round is made up of nine groups of five or six teams, who contest home and away fixtures. The section winners and runners-up with the best record against the top five in their group progress automatically. The remaining eight second-placed sides contest two-legged play-offs, with the victors joining the hosts to complete the lineup for the final tournament.
UEFA EURO 2012 will be the last 16-team finals before the tournament expands to 24 teams in 2016. The qualifiers are drawn into four groups, with the top two advancing to the quarter-finals when it becomes a knockout competition, with extra time and penalty shoot-outs used to decide the winner if necessary