Euro 2020 draw: qualifying paths confirmed for final 16 nations

Here's a summary of how the final 16 nations will endeavour to seal a place at Euro 2020.   

That concludes the play-off draw from Nyon.   

Path A: Winner of Bulgaria v Hungary will be at home in the final vs winner of Iceland v Romania

Path B: Slovakia v Eire / Bosnia - N. Ireland (winners of Bosnia-NI) at home

Path C: the home side in the final will be the winner of Scotland-Israel vs Serbia v Norway

Path D: Georgia vs Belarus will be at home in the final against the winner of North Macedonia vs Kosovo

Now we have the home side draw per path ....

Right, Giorgio is a bit all over the place as we now move to Path A (I think) Iceland v Romania . 

Our AS English resident Scotland fan is "happy" with this draw

Path C: Scotland vs. Israel 

Path D will be drawn first and as we already know the composition of the semi-final, the draw will designate the home side in the final.  

Our UEFA draw hero, Giorgio Marchetti takes to the stage with the Deputy General Secretary of the governing body talking us through the draw procedure.

Angelos Charisteas is on hand to assist in today's draw with the Greek player talking us through the UEFA 2004 win.  

First up, a little reminder of the 16 participating nations involved in today's draw. Cue, some fine goals blazing into nets and fans subsequently in raptures. 

We're live in Nyon ! Pedro Pinto is our MC this morning.

This is the ultimate prize....The Henri Delaunay Trophy!

AS English feels Georgia will progress to secure a berth at their first ever major finals (joining Finland). 

We also know the composition on Path D too:

The semi-finals are as follows:

Semi-final 1 (1 v 4): Georgia v Belarus
Semi-final 2 (2 v 3): North Macedonia v Kosovo

There are plenty of caveats to today's draw as there will be in next week's final draw given the pan-Euro element with UEFA anxious that nations featuring their national stadium, play their games at home. UEFA's Giorgio Marchetti will capably talk us through this process pre-draw I would imagine.

With the home nation element (there are 12 different venues in Euro 2020 across continental Europe)  also at play in deciding the composition of the final six Euro 2020 groups, should Scotland progress, they will play in Group B at the tournament. Similarly, Rep. of Ireland would join Spain in Group E.  

A reminder of the 20 national sides already through to Euro 2020:

Group A: England (top seed) and Czech Republic.
Group B: Ukraine (top seed) and Portugal.
Group C: Germany (top seed) and the Netherlands.
Group D: Switzerland and Denmark.
Group E: Croatia and Wales.
Group F: Spain (top seed) and Sweden.
Group G: Poland and Austria.
Group H: France and Turkey.
Group I: Belgium (top seed) and Russia.
Group J: Italy (top seed) and Finland.

This is the setting at the main event room in UEFA's Nyon HQ, this pic was taken a little earlier before the arrival of the 16 FA delegations.

For those asking when the main Euro 2020 draw is happening. That particular draw, which will dictate the composition of the six groups at Euro 2020 is happening on November 30th in Romania at 1800 CET.  

Path B could potentially throw up a charged Northern Ireland vs. Rep. of Ireland tie in either Belfast or Dublin. Both nations would need to overcome tricky away trips to Bosnia and Slovakia respectively. 

The semi-finals and final are one-off games and will be staged at the end of March 2020. Thursday 26 March is the earmarked semi final date with the four finals then taking place on Tuesday 31 March.

What we do know pre-draw is the composition of both Path B and Path D with the semi-finals in these two sections will be:

B: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Northern Ireland, Slovakia vs Republic of Ireland.

D: Georgia vs Belarus, North Macedonia vs Kosovo.

What today's draw will also deliver is the home teams for the final game between the winners of these 'path' semi-finals

There is a double treat in-store today for UEFA draw fans as a mini draw will be conducted before the main draw to decide on the 'path' for Bulgaria/Israel/Hungary/Romania. 

The 16 teams are divided into four 'paths':

Path A: Iceland, Bulgaria/Israel/Hungary/Romania.
Path B: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland.
Path C: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Bulgaria/Israel/Hungary/Romania.
Path D: Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus

First things first, what is being drawn today..... There are 4 places still available at Euro 2020 and these are allocated based on performances by national teams at the inaugural UEFA Nations League. 16 teams go into today's draw. 

So, what is today's draw all about we hear you ask! 

Draw proceedings will commence at 1200 CET but we'll be building up ahead of the event with info. and the background to the process.

Hello and welcome to the AS English live coverage of the UEFA Euro 2020 play-off draw.