Euro 2016 Draw: Date, Time, Seeds, Pots, Teams, Live Stream Info and Preview
The bolstered 24-team lineup for the 2016 European Championships has helped rejuvenate a previously maligned qualification process, and now supporters from across the continent will be itching for the group-stage draw ahead of next summer’s showpiece in France.
Spain are the team who will be defending their crown at the tournament, seeking to secure an unprecedented third triumph in succession. Hosts France and world champions Germany are the best placed teams to push La Roja close in pursuit of glory, with the likes of England, Belgium and Portugal also fancied to go close.
This competition is one which has a propensity for springing surprises, though, no more so than Greece’s famous win back in 2004. So as the the draw is made, there’ll be hope among all 24 competing nations of potentially going all the way to the final.
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Here are the key details you need ahead of the draw and an explanation of the altered format with the addition of eight new spots.
| France (Hosts) | Italy | Czech Republic | Turkey |
| Spain | Russia | Sweden | Republic of Ireland |
| Germany | Switzerland | Poland | Iceland |
| England | Austria | Romania | Wales |
| Portugal | Croatia | Slovakia | Albania |
| Belgium | Ukraine | Hungary | Northern Ireland |
Date: Saturday, December, 12
Time: 6:30 p.m. (CET), 5:30 p.m. (GMT), 12:30 p.m. (ET)
Live Stream: UEFA website
Draw Details
As the hosts, France have been assigned the top spot in Group A, meaning they’ll be playing the opening match of the tournament at the Stade de France on June 10, 2016.
That’ll be the first of 36 group matches, as the 24 teams will be split into six groups. The pools will consist of one team from each of the four pots, which are determined by UEFA coefficients. So, the likes of Spain and Germany will be in Pot 1, containing the highest-ranked teams, while Northern Ireland and Wales will be in Pot 4, containing the lowest.
As Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror noted, although this format is aimed at providing balanced group stages, there is the potential for some extremely difficult pools:
Encouragingly for the teams involved, just as was the case in qualification, the increased numbers mean it is easier to make it into the next stage.
As is customary for the European Championships, the top two sides in each group will progress into the knockout stages. But this year, the four third-placed teams with the best points return will also be given a chance to continue their pursuit of overall glory, in what’ll be a knockout bracket consisting of 16 teams.
It means only eight nations will be eliminated from the tournament at the earliest opportunity, potentially paving the way for more attacking football in what can occasionally be cautious matches.
After their win at the 2014 World Cup, Germany are one of the top seeds for the tournament. Manager Joachim Low has had to oversee a transitional phase since they achieved success in Brazil, but this team still has remarkable quality within their ranks, depth in every position on the field and the mentality of champions.
Spain also have that crucial trait, having won the Euros on the previous two occasions. Like Germany, a lot of their longstanding figures retired from the international game after the World Cup and after their disastrous showing in the Brazil tournament, La Roja will be desperate to make amends. As one of the top seeds, they have the quality to do so.
Hosts France are many people’s favourites for glory this summer, though. Home advantage will count for a lot, but manager Didier Deschamps has a remarkable pool of talent to choose from, including stars such as Karim Benzema, Hugo Lloris and Laurent Koscielny, as well as some of the brightest young players in the world in Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane and Kingsley Coman.
Draw details per Dan Ripley of the MailOnline.
