Qualifying for UEFA Euro 1996 took place throughout 1994 and 1995. Forty-seven teams were divided into eight groups, with each team playing the others in their group both home and away. The winners of each group and the six best runners-up qualified automatically, while the two worst runners-up were involved in a play-off at a neutral venue. England qualified automatically as hosts of the event.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 April 1994 – 13 December 1995 |
| Teams | 47 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 231 |
| Goals scored | 680 (2.94 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Davor Šuker (12 goals) |
← 1992 2000 → | |
This was the first European Championship qualifying phase in which three points were awarded for each win, as opposed to the two points that had been awarded previously.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[A] |
|---|---|---|---|
 England |
Host | 5 May 1992 | 4 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1992) |
 Spain |
Group 2 winner | 11 October 1995 | 4 (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988) |
 Russia[B] |
Group 8 winner | 11 October 1995 | 6 (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1988, 1992) |
 Switzerland |
Group 3 winner | 15 November 1995 | 0 (debut) |
| Croatia |
Group 4 winner | 15 November 1995 | 0 (debut) |
 Scotland |
4th best runner-up | 15 November 1995 | 1 (1992) |
 Bulgaria |
2nd best runner-up | 15 November 1995 | 0 (debut) |
 Germany[C] |
Group 7 winner | 15 November 1995 | 6 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992) |
 Romania |
Group 1 winner | 15 November 1995 | 1 (1984) |
 Turkey |
3rd best runner-up | 15 November 1995 | 0 (debut) |
 Denmark |
5th best runner-up | 15 November 1995 | 4 (1964, 1984, 1988, 1992) |
 Czech Republic[D] |
Group 5 winner | 15 November 1995 | 3 (1960, 1976, 1980) |
 Italy |
Best runner-up | 15 November 1995 | 3 (1968, 1980, 1988) |
 France |
6th best runner-up | 15 November 1995 | 3 (1960, 1984, 1992) |
 Portugal |
Group 6 winner | 15 November 1995 | 1 (1984) |
 Netherlands |
Play-off winner | 13 December 1995 | 4 (1976, 1980, 1988, 1992) |
The draw was made on 22 January 1994 in Manchester. Denmark were seeded first as title holders, while the remaining 46 teams were divided into six pots. Yugoslavia did not enter qualifying as they were suspended due to United Nations Security Council Resolution 757.[1]
New teams that joined UEFA's qualification games after the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA):
Initially Czech Republic were in Pool 2 and Wales in Pool 3. Slovakia were initially in Pool 4, before being replaced by Macedonia and put into Pool 5 in place of Luxembourg who were moved down to Pool 6.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Group 5 | Group 6 | Group 7 | Group 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Romania |
 Spain |
 Switzerland |
 Croatia |
 Czech Republic |
 Portugal |
 Germany |
 Russia |
 France |
 Denmark |
 Turkey |
 Italy |
 Netherlands |
 Republic of Ireland |
 Bulgaria |
 Scotland |
 Slovakia  Poland  Israel  Azerbaijan |
 Belgium  Macedonia  Cyprus  Armenia |
 Sweden  Hungary  Iceland |
 Lithuania  Ukraine  Slovenia  Estonia |
 Norway  Belarus  Luxembourg  Malta |
 Northern Ireland  Austria  Latvia  Liechtenstein |
 Georgia  Moldova  Wales  Albania |
 Greece  Finland  Faroe Islands  San Marino |
If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tiebreakers were used to determine the final ranking:[2]
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 21 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | France
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 2 | +20 | 20 | 0–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 10–0 | ||
| 3 | Slovakia
|
10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 14 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 4–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | Poland
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 13 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | — | 4–3 | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | Israel
|
10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 6 | Azerbaijan
|
10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 29 | −27 | 1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain
|
10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 4 | +21 | 26 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Denmark
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 9 | +10 | 21 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | ||
| 3 | Belgium
|
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 15 | 1–4 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Macedonia
|
10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 7[a] | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–5 | — | 3–0 | 1–2 | ||
| 5 | Cyprus
|
10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 20 | −14 | 7[a] | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 6 | Armenia
|
10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 17 | −12 | 5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland
|
8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 17 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 1–2 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Turkey
|
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 15 | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 3 | Sweden
|
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 9 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Hungary
|
8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 8 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | Iceland
|
8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 5 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 5 | +17 | 23[a] | Qualify for final tournament | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 7–1 | |
| 2 | Italy
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 6 | +14 | 23[a] | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | ||
| 3 | Lithuania
|
10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 16 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 4 | Ukraine
|
10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 13 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | 0–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 5 | Slovenia
|
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | — | 3–0 | ||
| 6 | Estonia
|
10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 31 | −28 | 0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czech Republic
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 6 | +15 | 21 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 6–1 | |
| 2 | Netherlands
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 5 | +18 | 20[a] | Advance to play-off | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | |
| 3 | Norway
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 20[a] | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Belarus
|
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 11 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–4 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | ||
| 5 | Luxembourg
|
10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 21 | −18 | 10 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 6 | Malta
|
10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 22 | −20 | 2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 7 | +22 | 23 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 8–0 | |
| 2 | Republic of Ireland
|
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 17[a] | Advance to play-off | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 4–0 | |
| 3 | Northern Ireland
|
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 15 | +5 | 17[a] | 1–2 | 0–4 | — | 5–3 | 1–2 | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | Austria
|
10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 14 | +15 | 16 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | 5–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 5 | Latvia
|
10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 12 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 6 | Liechtenstein
|
10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 40 | −39 | 1 | 0–7 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany
|
10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 10 | +17 | 25 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 3–1 | 4–1 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Bulgaria
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 22 | 3–2 | — | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Georgia
|
10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 15 | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Moldova
|
10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 27 | −16 | 9 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 3–2 | — | 3–2 | 2–3 | ||
| 5 | Wales
|
10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 8[a] | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 6 | Albania
|
10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 16 | −6 | 8[a] | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia
|
10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 5 | +29 | 26 | Qualify for final tournament | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Scotland
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 23 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 5–0 | ||
| 3 | Greece
|
10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 9 | +14 | 18 | 0–3 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Finland
|
10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 15 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 5–0 | 4–1 | ||
| 5 | Faroe Islands
|
10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 35 | −25 | 6 | 2–5 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 0–4 | — | 3–0 | ||
| 6 | San Marino
|
10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 36 | −34 | 0 | 0–7 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — |
The runners-up of each of the eight groups were ranked in a table to decide which seven of them would qualify. The best six runners-up would qualify automatically, while the two worst would compete in a play-off at a neutral venue to determine the final qualifier. As one group had five teams and the others had six, results against fifth and sixth placed teams were not factored in (despite the fact that discarding results against sixth placed teams would’ve been sufficient enough).
| Pos | Grp | Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Italy
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 13 | Qualify for final tournament |
| 2 | 7 | Bulgaria
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 12 | |
| 3 | 3 | Turkey
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 11 | |
| 4 | 8 | Scotland
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 11 | |
| 5 | 2 | Denmark
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 11 | |
| 6 | 1 | France
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 10 | |
| 7 | 5 | Netherlands
|
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 | Advance to play-off |
| 8 | 6 | Republic of Ireland
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 7 |
The bottom two runners-up, the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands, took part in a play-off on a neutral ground, Anfield, to determine the last team to qualify for the final tournament.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland
|
0–2 | Netherlands
|
There were 680 goals scored in 231 matches, for an average of 2.94 goals per match.
12 goals
11 goals
10 goals
9 goals
7 goals
Mixu Paatelainen Gianfranco Zola Andrzej Juskowiak Hakan Şükür6 goals
Ronen Harazi Domingos Paciência5 goals
Kim Vilfort
Youri Djorkaeff Vīts Rimkus Iain Dowie Paulo Alves John Aldridge Florin Răducioiu Igor Kolyvanov Tymerlan Huseynov4 goals
Peter Stöger Marc Degryse Michael Laudrup Todi Jónsson Jari Litmanen Shota Arveladze Temur Ketsbaia Alexis Alexandris Nikos Machlas Panagiotis Tsalouchidis Fabrizio Ravanelli Marc Overmars Clarence Seedorf Jimmy Quinn Rui Costa Vasili Kulkov Dmitri Radchenko Scott Booth John Collins Zlatko Zahovič Fernando Hierro3 goals
Marios Agathokleous Radek Drulák Horst Siegl Martin Reim Georgi Kinkladze Ulf Kirsten Andreas Möller Ronny Rosenthal Armands Zeiberliņš Darius Maciulevičius Arūnas Šuika
Boško Gjurovski Ronald de Boer Wim Jonk Patrick Kluivert Youri Mulder Bryan Roy Phil Gray Michael O'Neill Henning Berg Jan Åge Fjørtoft Kjetil Rekdal Roman Kosecki Luís Figo João Pinto Niall Quinn Marius Lăcătuș Sergei Kiriakov Peter Dubovský Tibor Jančula Primož Gliha Sašo Udovič Julio Salinas Kubilay Türkyilmaz2 goals
Razmik Grigoryan Armen Shahgeldyan Andi Herzog Adi Hütter Nazim Suleymanov Gilles De Bilde Georges Grün Luc Nilis Gunther Schepens Enzo Scifo Lyuboslav Penev Zvonimir Boban Robert Prosinečki Andreas Sotiriou Tomáš Skuhravý Mikkel Beck Michael Schjønberg Ari Hjelm Antti Sumiala Vincent Guérin Frank Leboeuf Zinedine Zidane Lothar Matthäus Matthias Sammer Giorgos Donis Demis Nikolaidis Gábor Halmai Béla Illés József Kiprich Demetrio Albertini Valdas Ivanauskas Serghei Cleșcenco Iurie Miterev Øyvind Leonhardsen Piotr Nowak Paulinho Santos Tommy Coyne John Sheridan Gheorghe Hagi Dorinel Munteanu Vladimir Beschastnykh Valeri Karpin Yuriy Nikiforov Igor Shalimov Ally McCoist John McGinlay Billy McKinlay Jaroslav Timko Džoni Novak José Luis Caminero Donato Luis Enrique Julen Guerrero Juan Antonio Pizzi Kennet Andersson Tomas Brolin Martin Dahlin Thomas Bickel Christophe Ohrel Ciriaco Sforza Nestor Subiat Saffet Sancaklı Sergen Yalçın Dean Saunders Gary Speed1 goal
Salvador Kaçaj Rudi Vata Hysen Zmijani Artur Petrosyan Franz Aigner Dietmar Kühbauer Andreas Ogris Heimo Pfeifenberger Marcus Pürk Dieter Ramusch Herfried Sabitzer Markus Schopp Christian Stumpf Arnold Wetl
Ihar Hurynovich Miroslav Romaschenko Alyaksandr Taykow Gert Verheyen Bruno Versavel Trifon Ivanov Yordan Letchkov Alen Bokšić Nikola Jerkan Nikola Jurčević Ardian Kozniku Mladen Mladenović Igor Štimac Costas Fasouliotis Martin Frýdek Miroslav Kadlec Luboš Kubík Pavel Kuka Václav Němeček Daniel Šmejkal Jan Suchopárek John Jensen Brian Laudrup Allan Nielsen Peter Nielsen Flemming Povlsen Mark Strudal Jens Kristian Hansen Henning Jarnskor Julian Johnsson Jan Allan Müller Jens Erik Rasmussen Petri Helin Janne Lindberg Kim Suominen Laurent Blanc Christophe Cocard Marcel Desailly Christophe Dugarry David Ginola Christian Karembeu Bixente Lizarazu Patrice Loko Jean-Pierre Papin Reynald Pedros Gocha Gogrichiani Zaza Janashia Markus Babbel Thomas Häßler Thomas Helmer Heiko Herrlich Thomas Strunz Christian Ziege Stratos Apostolakis Daniel Batista Kostas Frantzeskos Georgios Georgiadis Dimitris Markos Dimitris Saravakos Vassilios Tsiartas István Vincze Guðni Bergsson Arnar Gunnlaugsson Sigurður Jónsson Tal Banin Eyal Berkovic Haim Revivo Itzik Zohar Dino Baggio Pierluigi Casiraghi Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Del Piero Attilio Lombardo Paolo Maldini Christian Panucci Vitālijs Astafjevs Vladimirs Babičevs Jevgeņijs Miļevskis Daniel Hasler Aurelijus Skarbalius Vaidotas Šlekys Ramūnas Stonkus Vyacheslav Sukristov Audrius Žuta Manuel Cardoni Guy Hellers Luc Holtz Zoran Boškovski Gjorgji Hristov Borče Jovanovski Ljupčo Markovski Toni Micevski Mitko Stojkovski David Carabott Kristian Laferla Serghei Belous Alexandru Curteian Igor Oprea Valeriu Pogorelov Radu Rebeja Serghei Secu Ion Testemițanu Dennis Bergkamp Aron Winter Keith Gillespie Michael Hughes Barry Hunter Steve Lomas Gerry McMahon Gunnar Aase Lars Bohinen Harald Brattbakk Jostein Flo Geir Frigård Mini Jakobsen Wojciech Kowalczyk Tomasz Wieszczycki Jorge Cadete Fernando Couto António Folha Hélder Oceano Carlos Secretário Ray Houghton Roy Keane Paul McGrath Andy Townsend Miodrag Belodedici Ilie Dumitrescu Dan Petrescu Gheorghe Popescu Daniel Prodan Dmitri Cheryshev Igor Dobrovolski Valery Kechinov Aleksandr Mostovoi Mukhsin Mukhamadiev Viktor Onopko Nikolai Pisarev Ilya Tsymbalar Pier Domenico Della Valle Mauro Valentini Colin Calderwood Eoin Jess Pat Nevin Duncan Shearer Miroslav Chvíla Ľubomír Moravčík Štefan Rusnák Július Šimon Dušan Tittel Marek Ujlaky Vladimir Kokol José Emilio Amavisca Andoni Goikoetxea Francisco Higuera Kiko Javier Manjarín Miguel Ángel Nadal Alfonso Pérez Niclas Alexandersson Klas Ingesson Jörgen Pettersson Marc Hottiger Adrian Knup Marcel Koller Emre Aşık Recep Çetin Bülent Korkmaz Ertuğrul Sağlam Ogün Temizkanoğlu Andriy Husin Yuriy Kalitvintsev Serhiy Konovalov Andriy Polunin Viktor Skrypnyk Nathan Blake Chris Coleman Ryan Giggs Mark Pembridge Kit Symons1 own goal
Yervand Krbachyan (against Belgium) Marios Charalambous (against Spain) Urmas Kirs (against Ukraine) Stratos Apostolakis (against Faroe Islands) Marinos Ouzounidis (against Russia) Theodoros Zagorakis (against Russia) Vitali Culibaba (against Georgia) Serghei Stroenco (against Germany) Józef Wandzik (against Romania) Vítor Baía (against Republic of Ireland) Fabio Francini (against Scotland) Ondrej Krištofík (against France) Jesper Blomqvist (against Switzerland) Andy Melville (against Germany)