Euro 2024 Qualifying: Estonia Bizarrely Makes It Through Despite Not Winning a Single Game

• Estonia made it through to the Playoff round of Euro 2024 despite not winning a single game
• They will join 11 other teams who will battle it out for the three remaining spots in Germany
• Sports Brief explains how the UEFA Nations League affects the Euro qualification for Estonia

The final round of matches to qualify for Euro 2024 were completed on November 21, with 20 teams confirming their places alongside hosts Germany ahead of next year's bonanza.

Usual heavy hitters like France, Portugal, and England made it through comfortably, while the defending champions, Italy had to wait until the final match day to seal their place.

Three teams can still seal their place at the quadrennial tournament through the playoff route. The main talking point is how Estonia will have a chance to make it to Germany despite not winning a single game in qualification.

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Thomas Häberli's side lost seven times and drew once in Group F, with Belgium and Austria the automatic qualifiers. They finished last with the team in second-last position, Azerbaijan having six more points than them.

How come a team that finished last and conceded 22 times over eight games has another shot at qualification? Sports Brief delves into the situation and provides an analysis of the whole Euro playoffs format.

Nations League relation to Euro Championships

Estonia's performances at the UEFA Nations League has given her another shot at redemption. Ranked number 118 by FIFA, they topped their UNL group ahead of San Marino and Malta.

According to UEFA's rules, the last three teams will be picked from a pool of 12 teams depending on their performances in the UEFA Nations League in the preceding season, which in this case is the 2022/2023 season.

How are the 12 teams picked? From League C to League A, all group winners in the UNL are given a free pass. If the group winner has already qualified automatically, then the next best team that has not yet qualified is given the pass to the playoff format.

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Afterwards, suppose fewer than four teams from a given league have failed to qualify. In that case, the remaining slot is given to the best-ranked team in League D. Czech Republic's win over Moldova saw them secure direct qualification and thus, their chance in the UNL system had to go to the next best team, which was Estonia.

How the qualification paths work

The 12 teams will be drawn into three paths of four teams each, where they will begin in the semi-final stage, where the winner takes it all. The best-ranked team will host the single semi-final leg in March next year, with the finals following a few days later.

The 12 teams are: Wales, Ukraine, Georgia, Greece, Poland, Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Israel, Luxembourg, Iceland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Most goals in Euro qualifiers

Sports Brief recently reported on the players with the most goals in a Euro qualifying campaign.

Romelo Lukaku scored 14 goals in Belgium's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign to set a new record.

He broke the records held by Poland's Robert Lewandowski and Northern Ireland's David Healy.