Euro 2016 Qualifying: Group Tables and Format Info Ahead of Latest Fixtures
The second round of qualifying matches for Euro 2016 is set to begin, with tough fixtures for World Cup holders Germany and Euro 2012 tournament winners Spain.
Here's the list of fixtures, per UEFA.com:
| October 9 | C | Belarus | Ukraine |
| October 9 | C | FYROM | Luxembourg |
| October 9 | C | Slovakia | Spain |
| October 9 | E | England | San Marino |
| October 9 | E | Lithuania | Estonia |
| October 9 | E | Slovenia | Switzerland |
| October 9 | G | Lichtenstein | Montenegro |
| October 9 | G | Moldova | Austria |
| October 9 | G | Sweden | Russia |
| October 10 | A | Latvia | Iceland |
| October 10 | A | Netherlands | Kazakhstan |
| October 10 | A | Turkey | Czech Republic |
| October 10 | B | Belgium | Andorra |
| October 10 | B | Cyprus | Israel |
| October 10 | B | Wales | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| October 10 | H | Bulgaria | Croatia |
| October 10 | H | Italy | Azerbaijan |
| October 10 | H | Malta | Norway |
| October 11 | D | Republic of Ireland | Gibraltar |
| October 11 | D | Scotland | Georgia |
| October 11 | I | Armenia | Serbia |
| October 11 | F | Romania | Hungary |
| October 11 | F | Finland | Greece |
| October 11 | F | Northern Ireland | Faroe Islands |
| October 11 | I | Albania | Denmark |
| October 11 | D | Poland | Germany |
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Germany's trip to Poland could well prove to be a tricky one. The winners of the 2014 FIFA World Cup could be missing attacking midfielder Julian Draxler, who is laid low with a cold, per Vavel.com reporter Ben Johnson.
One player more likely to be out is Arsenal schemer Mesut Ozil. He is trying to cure a possible knee injury, per ESPN FC:
As for Poland, star striker Robert Lewandowski will surely pose problems for several of his Bayern Munich team-mates.
Elsewhere, the Netherlands will be hoping to rebound from the 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic that began their qualifying campaign. New manager Guus Hiddink needs to build some momentum in a potentially tough group.
Hiddink will rely on a change of formation to spark a revival in form, according to The Guardian: “I had a discussion with the important players and we’ve decided to go back to 4-3-3. There was no surprise about it."
Speaking of the groups, here's how each one looks ahead of these matches:
| Group | Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
| A | 1 | Czech Republic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| A | 2 | Iceland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| A | 3 | Kazakhstan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| A | 4 | Latvia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| A | 5 | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| A | 6 | Turkey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| B | 1 | Cyprus | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| B | 2 | Wales | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| B | 3 | Andorra | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| B | 4 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| B | 5 | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| B | 6 | Israel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 1 | Slovakia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| C | 2 | Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| C | 3 | Belarus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 4 | Leuxembourg | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 5 | FYR Macedonia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 6 | Ukraine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 1 | Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| D | 2 | Poland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| D | 3 | Republic of Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| D | 4 | Georgia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 5 | Gibraltar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D | 6 | Scotland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| E | 1 | England | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| E | 2 | Estonia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| E | 3 | Lithuania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| E | 4 | San Marino | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| E | 5 | Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| E | 6 | Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 1 | Finland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| F | 2 | Northern Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| F | 3 | Romania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| F | 4 | Faroe Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 5 | Greece | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| F | 6 | Hungary | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| G | 1 | Montenegro | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| G | 2 | Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| G | 3 | Austria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| G | 4 | Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| G | 5 | Lichtenstein | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| G | 6 | Moldova | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| H | 1 | Bulgaria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| H | 2 | Croatia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| H | 3 | Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| H | 4 | Azerbaijan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| H | 5 | Malta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| H | 6 | Norway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| I | 1 | Albania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| I | 2 | Denmark | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| I | 3 | Armenia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| I | 4 | Portugal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| I | 5 | Serbia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
To help understand the qualification process, here's some relevant format information.
Format Information
The route to qualification has been broadened, to put it mildly, by UEFA. Now, it's not only first and second who automatically earn a trip to the tournament proper.
Those teams are set to be joined by the best third-placed team. That's best in terms of points. This doesn't mean a third-placed team from each group.
It simply means that the best performing third-placed nation during the group stage will automatically qualify for Euro 2016. This will obviously make the scrap for third very entertaining in a number of groups.
One to keep an eye on is definitely Group B. A suddenly promising Wales team, boasting Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale and Arsenal midfield ace Aaron Ramsey, faces tough competition from both Belgium and a mercurial Bosnia and Herzegovina squad.
It's not easy picking the order of first, second and third among this trio. But under these rules, none of these quality-laden nations need miss out.
Once the best third-placed team joins the table-toppers and runners-up, 23 nations will qualify automatically.
After those places have been set, the play-offs will begin. The play-off matches will follow a new schedule next year, per UEFA.com:
"The eight remaining third-placed teams will contest play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers. For the first time, qualifying takes place under the 'Week of Football' concept, with games played from Thursday to Tuesday.
"
The process of aligning those fixtures will be based on UEFA's coefficient ranking:
"The four sides with the best UEFA national team coefficient ranking will be seeded with a draw determining the pairing and order of home and away ties. The first legs will be played on 12, 13 and 14 November 2015 and the returns on 15, 16 and 17 November. The teams which score the greater aggregate of goals in each tie qualify for the finals, with away goals and then penalties used to determine the winner in the event of a draw.
"
So it's actually quite likely that a team that fared better in the groups will be at a disadvantage against a nation rated higher on the European Football governing body's grading system.
However, in the sudden-death environment of a play-off, the perceived advantage afforded by this format will be marginal at best.
At the moment, though, Matchday 2's fixtures will afford nations like Spain and the Netherlands a chance to flex their muscles and exert authority in their respective groups.
