View source for UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox international football competition
| tourney_name   = UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
| dates          = {{nowrap|16 August 2006 – 24 November 2007}}
| num_teams      = 50
| matches        = 306
| goals          = 839
| goals_footnote = {{refn|group=note|name=tally}}
| attendance     =
| top_scorer     = {{fbicon|NIR}} [[David Healy (footballer)|David Healy]] {{nowrap|(13 goals)}}
| prevseason     = [[UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying|2004]]
| nextseason     = [[UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying|2012]]
}}
{{Qualification for championships (UEFA)|expanded=Euro}}
Qualifying for the [[UEFA Euro 2008]] finals tournament took place between August 2006 and November 2007. Fifty teams were divided into seven groups. In a [[Round-robin tournament|double round-robin]] system, each team played against each of the others in their group on a home-and-away basis. The winner and runner-up of each group qualified automatically for the final tournament. This was the first Euro qualification since expansion to have no playoff.

[[Austria national football team|Austria]] and [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]] qualified automatically as co-hosts of the event.

==Qualified teams==
[[File:UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifiers Map.png|thumb|{{Legend|#0000FF|Qualified}} {{Legend|#ffcc00|Did not qualify}} {{Legend|#000000|Did not enter}} {{Legend|#c3c3c3|Not a UEFA member}}]]

<onlyinclude>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Team
! Qualified as
! Qualified on
! data-sort-type="number"|Previous appearances in tournament{{efn-ua|'''Bold''' indicates champion for that year. ''Italic'' indicates host for that year.}}
|-
| {{fb|AUT}} || rowspan="2" | {{sort|*1|Co-host}} || rowspan="2" | {{dts|12 December 2002}} || 0 (debut)
|-
| {{fb|SUI}} || 2 ([[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|GER}}{{efn-ua|From 1972 to 1988, [[Germany national football team|Germany]] competed as [[West Germany national football team|West Germany]].}} || {{sort|D2|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group D|Group D]] runner-up}} || {{dts|13 October 2007}} || 9 ('''[[UEFA Euro 1972|1972]]''', [[UEFA Euro 1976|1976]], '''[[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]]''', [[UEFA Euro 1984|1984]], ''[[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]]'', [[UEFA Euro 1992|1992]], '''[[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]]''', [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|GRE}} || {{sort|C1|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C|Group C]] winner}} || {{dts|17 October 2007}} || 2 ([[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]], '''[[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]]''')
|-
| {{fb|CZE}}{{efn-ua|From 1960 to 1980, the [[Czech Republic national football team|Czech Republic]] competed as [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]].}} || {{sort|D1|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group D|Group D]] winner}} || {{dts|17 October 2007}} || 6 ([[1960 European Nations' Cup|1960]], '''[[UEFA Euro 1976|1976]]''', [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|ROU}} || {{sort|G1|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G|Group G]] winner}} || {{dts|17 October 2007}} || 3 ([[UEFA Euro 1984|1984]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]])
|-
| {{fb|POL}} || {{sort|A1|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group A|Group A]] winner}} || {{dts|17 November 2007}} || 0 (debut)
|-
| {{fb|ITA}} || {{sort|B1|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B|Group B]] winner}} || {{dts|17 November 2007}} || 6 ('''''[[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]]''''', ''[[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]]'', [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|FRA|1974}} || {{sort|B2|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B|Group B]] runner-up}} || {{dts|17 November 2007}} || 6 (''[[1960 European Nations' Cup|1960]]'', '''''[[UEFA Euro 1984|1984]]''''', [[UEFA Euro 1992|1992]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], '''[[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]]''', [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|CRO}} || {{sort|E1|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group E|Group E]] winner}} || {{dts|17 November 2007}} || 2 ([[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|ESP}} || {{sort|F1|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group F|Group F]] winner}} || {{dts|17 November 2007}} || 7 ('''''[[1964 European Nations' Cup|1964]]''''', [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]], [[UEFA Euro 1984|1984]], [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|NED}} || {{sort|G2|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G|Group G]] runner-up}} || {{dts|17 November 2007}} || 7 ([[UEFA Euro 1976|1976]], [[UEFA Euro 1980|1980]], '''[[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]]''', [[UEFA Euro 1992|1992]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], ''[[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]]'', [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|POR}} || {{sort|A2|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group A|Group A]] runner-up}} || {{dts|21 November 2007}} || 4 ([[UEFA Euro 1984|1984]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], ''[[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]]'')
|-
| {{fb|TUR}} || {{sort|C2|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C|Group C]] runner-up}} || {{dts|21 November 2007}} || 2 ([[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]])
|-
| {{fb|RUS}}{{efn-ua|From 1960 to 1988, [[Russia national football team|Russia]] competed as the [[Soviet Union national football team|Soviet Union]], and in 1992 as [[CIS national football team|CIS]].}} || {{sort|E2|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group E|Group E]] runner-up}} || {{dts|21 November 2007}} || 8 ('''[[1960 European Nations' Cup|1960]]''', [[1964 European Nations' Cup|1964]], [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968]], [[UEFA Euro 1972|1972]], [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]], [[UEFA Euro 1992|1992]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|-
| {{fb|SWE}} || {{sort|F2|[[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group F|Group F]] runner-up}} || {{dts|21 November 2007}} || 3 (''[[UEFA Euro 1992|1992]]'', [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]], [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]])
|}
{{notelist-ua}}</onlyinclude>

==Seedings==
UEFA used the 2005 [[UEFA coefficient#Men's national team coefficient|UEFA national team coefficient]] to rank the teams according to their results in both [[UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying|UEFA Euro 2004]] and [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2006 FIFA World Cup qualification]]. Only the group matches counted towards the coefficients. As defending champions, [[Greece national football team|Greece]] were automatically seeded in the top pool.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Greece are top seeds for Euro 2008 - Oct 14, 2005 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2005/SPORT/football/10/14/euro2008.greece/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=www.cnn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-10-15 |title=Greece top seeds for Euro draw |url=https://timesofmalta.com/article/greece-top-seeds-for-euro-draw.75216 |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Times of Malta |language=en-gb}}</ref> Since [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] automatically qualified for [[UEFA Euro 2004]] as hosts, the coefficient factored in only their [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2006 FIFA World Cup qualification]] record. Similarly, [[Germany national football team|Germany's]] coefficient factored only their [[UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying]] record, since they automatically qualified for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] as hosts. Meanwhile, [[Kazakhstan national football team|Kazakhstan]] never competed in the European Championships previously, so the coefficient used only their World Cup record.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |date=2006-01-27 |title=EURO 2008™ draw procedure {{!}} UEFA EURO |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0254-0d7b9c7cb580-99ef5ec8c5de-1000--euro-2008tm-draw-procedure/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=[[UEFA]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |date=2006-01-14 |title=EURO 2008™ draw fast approaching {{!}} UEFA EURO |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0254-0d7b947d2cba-5981c6c2351a-1000--euro-2008tm-draw-fast-approaching/ |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=[[UEFA]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Montenegro national football team|Montenegro]] had not been admitted to [[UEFA]]/[[FIFA]] at the time the qualifying competition had started, and thus were ineligible.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5009872.stm|title=Serbia to take spot in Euro 2008|access-date=11 April 2007|publisher=BBC Sport|date=23 May 2006|archive-date=2 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902134247/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5009872.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |date=2007-01-26 |title=Montenegro named UEFA member {{!}} Inside UEFA |url=https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0254-0d7b9f45b2f2-79fafee3ff14-1000--montenegro-named-uefa-member/ |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=[[UEFA]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Frylan |first=Kevin |date=August 9, 2007 |title=UEFA admits Montenegro |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-uefa-members/uefa-admits-montenegro-idUKL2679416020070126/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

The draw took place on 27 January 2006 in [[Montreux]], Switzerland.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130205065209/http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=363474.html Qualifying draw] (UEFA).</ref> 

Austria (1,333) and Switzerland (1,833) were already assured of places at Euro 2008 as host nations.

{|
|- valign=top
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pot 1
|-
! width=180| Team !! {{Tooltip|Coeff|Points per game attained during qualification for the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup}} !! {{Tooltip|Rank|Position in the coefficient}}
|-
| ''' {{fb|GRE}} (title holders)'''  || align=center| 1,950 || align=center| 13
|-
| ''' {{fb|NED}}'''  || align=center| 2,550 || align=center| 1
|-
| ''' {{fb|POR}}'''  || align=center| 2,500 || align=center| 2
|-
| {{fb|ENG}} || align=center| 2,500 || align=center| 3
|-
| ''' {{fb|CZE}}'''  || align=center| 2,450 || align=center| 4
|-
| ''' {{fb|FRA|1974}}'''  || align=center| 2,444 || align=center| 5
|-
| ''' {{fb|SWE}}'''  || align=center| 2,278 || align=center| 6
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pot 2
|-
! width=180| Team !! {{Tooltip|Coeff|Points per game attained during qualification for the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup}} !! {{Tooltip|Rank|Position in the coefficient}}
|-
| ''' {{fb|GER}}'''  || align=center| 2,250 || align=center| 7
|-
| ''' {{fb|CRO}}'''  || align=center| 2,222 || align=center| 8
|-
| ''' {{fb|ITA}}'''  || align=center| 2,222 || align=center| 9
|-
| ''' {{fb|TUR}}'''  || align=center| 2,100 || align=center| 10
|-
| ''' {{fb|POL}}'''  || align=center| 2,056 || align=center| 11
|-
| ''' {{fb|ESP}}'''  || align=center| 2,056 || align=center| 12
|-
| ''' {{fb|ROU}}'''  || align=center| 1,950 || align=center| 14
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pot 3
|-
! width=180| Team !! {{Tooltip|Coeff|Points per game attained during qualification for the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup}} !! {{Tooltip|Rank|Position in the coefficient}}
|-
| {{fb|SCG}} || align=center| 1,889 || align=center| 15
|-
| ''' {{fb|RUS}}'''  || align=center| 1,850 || align=center| 16
|-
| {{fb|DEN}} || align=center| 1,850 || align=center| 17
|-
| {{fb|NOR}} || align=center| 1,778 || align=center| 18
|-
| {{fb|BUL}} || align=center| 1,778 || align=center| 19
|-
| {{fb|UKR}} || align=center| 1,750 || align=center|20
|-
| {{fb|SVK}} || align=center| 1,650 || align=center| 21
|}
|-valign=top
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pot 4
|-
! width=180| Team !! {{Tooltip|Coeff|Points per game attained during qualification for the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup}} !! {{Tooltip|Rank|Position in the coefficient}}
|-
| {{fb|BIH}} || align=center| 1,611 || align=center| 22
|-
| {{fb|IRL}} || align=center| 1,556 || align=center| 23
|-
| {{fb|BEL}} || align=center| 1,556 || align=center| 24
|-
| {{fb|LVA}} || align=center| 1,550 || align=center| 25
|-
| {{fb|ISR}} || align=center| 1,500 || align=center| 26
|-
| {{fb|SCO}} || align=center| 1,500 || align=center| 27
|-
| {{fb|SVN}} || align=center| 1,444 || align=center| 28
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pot 5
|-
! width=180| Team !! {{Tooltip|Coeff|Points per game attained during qualification for the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup}} !! {{Tooltip|Rank|Position in the coefficient}}
|-
| {{fb|HUN}} || align=center| 1,389 || align=center| 29
|-
| {{fb|FIN}} || align=center| 1,300 || align=center| 30
|-
| {{fb|EST}} || align=center| 1,250 || align=center| 31
|-
| {{fb|WAL}} || align=center| 1,167 || align=center| 32
|-
| {{fb|LTU}} || align=center| 1,111 || align=center| 33
|-
| {{fb|ALB}} || align=center| 0,944 || align=center| 34
|-
| {{fb|ISL}} || align=center| 0,850 || align=center| 35
|}
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pot 6
|-
! width=180| Team !! {{Tooltip|Coeff|Points per game attained during qualification for the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup}} !! {{Tooltip|Rank|Position in the coefficient}}
|-
| {{fb|GEO}} || align=center| 0,850 || align=center| 36
|-
| {{fb|MKD|name=Macedonia}} || align=center| 0,750 || align=center| 37
|-
| {{fb|BLR|1995}} || align=center| 0,722 || align=center| 38
|-
| {{fb|ARM}} || align=center| 0,700 || align=center| 39
|-
| {{fb|NIR}} || align=center| 0,667 || align=center| 40
|-
| {{fb|CYP|1960}} || align=center| 0,667 || align=center| 41
|-
| {{fb|MLD|1990}} || align=center| 0,611 || align=center| 42
|}
|-valign=top
|
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pot 7
|-
! width=180| Team !! {{Tooltip|Coeff|Points per game attained during qualification for the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup}} !! {{Tooltip|Rank|Position in the coefficient}}
|-
| {{fb|LIE}} || align=center| 0,450 || align=center| 43
|-
| {{fb|AZE}} || align=center| 0,389 || align=center| 44
|-
| {{fb|AND}} || align=center| 0,250 || align=center| 45
|-
| {{fb|MLT}} || align=center| 0,222 || align=center| 46
|-
| {{fb|FRO}} || align=center| 0,111 || align=center| 47
|-
| {{fb|KAZ}} || align=center| 0,083 || align=center| 48
|-
| {{fb|LUX}} || align=center| 0,000 || align=center| 49
|-
| {{fb|SMR|1862}} || align=center| 0,000 || align=center| 50
|}
|}

==Tiebreakers==
If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied to determine the rankings:<ref name="regulations">{{cite web |title=Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2006/08 |url=https://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/19079.pdf|website=[[UEFA]] |publisher=Union of European Football Associations |access-date=29 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050826052426/http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/19079.pdf |archive-date=26 August 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref>
# Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question
# Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question
# Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question
# Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question
# If, after applying criteria 1) to 4) to several teams, two or more teams still had an equal ranking, the criteria 1) to 4) was reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams. If this procedure did not lead to a decision, criteria 6) and 7) applied;
# Results of all group matches: 1. Superior goal difference 2. Higher number of goals scored 3. Higher number of goals scored away from home 4. Fair play conduct
# Drawing of lots

==Summary==
{{legend|#BBF3BB|Group winners and runners-up qualified directly for [[UEFA Euro 2008]]}}
{{legend||Other teams were eliminated}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:99.96%; font-size:90%;"
|-
! style="width:14.28%" | [[#Group A|Group A]]
! style="width:14.28%" | [[#Group B|Group B]]
! style="width:14.28%" | [[#Group C|Group C]]
! style="width:14.28%" | [[#Group D|Group D]]
! style="width:14.28%" | [[#Group E|Group E]]
! style="width:14.28%" | [[#Group F|Group F]]
! style="width:14.28%" | [[#Group G|Group G]]
|- style="background:#BBF3BB"
| {{fb-big|POL}}<br />{{fb-big|POR}}
| {{fb-big|ITA}}<br />{{fb-big|FRA|1974}}
| {{fb-big|GRE}}<br />{{fb-big|TUR}}
| {{fb-big|CZE}}<br />{{fb-big|GER}}
| {{fb-big|CRO}}<br />{{fb-big|RUS}}
| {{fb-big|ESP}}<br />{{fb-big|SWE}}
| {{fb-big|ROU}}<br />{{fb-big|NED}}
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| {{fb-big|SRB|2004}}<br />{{fb-big|FIN}}<br />{{fb-big|BEL}}<br />{{fb-big|KAZ}}<br />{{fb-big|ARM}}<br />{{fb-big|AZE}}
| {{fb-big|SCO}}<br />{{fb-big|UKR}}<br />{{fb-big|LTU}}<br />{{fb-big|GEO}}<br />{{fb-big|FRO}}
| {{fb-big|NOR}}<br />{{fb-big|BIH}}<br />{{fb-big|MDA|1990}}<br />{{fb-big|HUN}}<br />{{fb-big|MLT}}
| {{fb-big|IRL}}<br />{{fb-big|SVK}}<br />{{fb-big|WAL}}<br />{{fb-big|CYP}}<br />{{fb-big|SMR|1862}}
| {{fb-big|ENG}}<br />{{fb-big|ISR}}<br />{{fb-big|MKD|name=Macedonia}}<br />{{fb-big|EST}}<br />{{fb-big|AND}}
| {{fb-big|NIR}}<br />{{fb-big|DEN}}<br />{{fb-big|LVA}}<br />{{fb-big|ISL}}<br />{{fb-big|LIE}}
| {{fb-big|BUL}}<br />{{fb-big|BLR|1995}}<br />{{fb-big|ALB}}<br />{{fb-big|SVN}}<br />{{fb-big|LUX}}
|}

==Groups==
The qualifying process started in August 2006. [[Austria national football team|Austria]] and [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]] were automatically granted places in the tournament finals as the host nations.

The qualifying format had been changed from the previous tournament: the respective winners and runners-up from seven groups would automatically qualify for the finals, alongside the host nations. Therefore, there were no play-offs between the runners-up of the groups. Group A contained eight teams, while the other six groups each contained seven.

As the official successor of the previous football association, [[Serbia national football team|Serbia]] inherited the position originally allotted to [[Serbia and Montenegro]] in Group A prior to the dissolution of the state union. [[Montenegro national football team|Montenegro]] were granted UEFA membership after qualifying had started and thus were not able to participate in this European Championship.

===Group A===
{{Main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group A}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group tables|Group A|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

===Group B===
{{Main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group B}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group tables|Group B|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

===Group C===
{{Main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group tables|Group C|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

===Group D===
{{Main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group D}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group tables|Group D|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

===Group E===
{{Main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group E}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group tables|Group E|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

===Group F===
{{Main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group F}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group tables|Group F|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

===Group G===
{{Main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying group tables|Group G|show_matches=yes|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

==Goalscorers==
{{#invoke:Goalscorers|main|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying|inlineref={{refn|group=note|name=tally}}}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Qualification for the 2008 UEFA European Championship}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111116162621/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2008/index.html UEFA Euro 2008] at UEFA.com

{{UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying}}
{{UEFA Euro 2008}}
{{UEFA European Football Championship}}

[[Category:UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying| ]]
[[Category:2006–07 in European football|Qualifying]]

[[Category:UEFA European Championship qualifying|2008]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 2008]]
[[Category:2007–08 in European football]]