The E.F.U.Nations’ Cup for Season 188 has begun with the qualification rounds. These comprised ten groups of five teams, after the bottom ten countries (nos. 46-55 in the rankings) played off for a place in the competition.
The tables in the qualification rounds finished as follows, the teams in bold qualifying in 1st or 2nd place (points shown in brackets):
Group A: England (15), Denmark (15), Albania (12), Hungary (6), Cyprus (5)
Group B: Croatia (13), Scotland (13), Ukraine (13), Latvia (12), Bulgaria (7)
Group C: Finland (19), Spain (15), Northern Ireland (12), Armenia (9), Serbia (4)
Group D: France (22), Slovakia (14), Russia (12), North Macedonia (8), Faroe Islands (1)
Group E: Portugal (14), Slovenia (14), Sweden (12), Norway (9), Lithuania (5)
Group F: Netherlands (20), Kazakhstan (9), Romania (8), Luxembourg (8), Republic of Ireland (7)
Group G: Germany (16), Belarus (13), Azerbaijan (11), Austria (9), Bosnia & Herzegovina (7)
Group H: Belgium (17), Georgia (16), Turkey (12), Czechia (11), Andorra (1)
Group I: Switzerland (18), Iceland (15), Wales (14), Montenegro (7), Kosovo (4)
Group J: Italy (22), Poland (13), Greece (13), Israel (7), Estonia (3)
The eight third-placed teams with the best records played-off against each other to find the four remaining finalists:
Ukraine 1:0 – 0:2 Greece (1-2)
Turkey 1:2 – 1:4 Russia (3-5)
Albania 1:1 – 1:4 Wales (2-5)
N. Ireland 3:0 – 2:2 Sweden (3-4)
The finals will be hosted by England and the draw for the finals threw up some interesting ties, in particular England v. Scotland in the tournament opener in Group A:
Group A: England, Scotland, Germany, Belarus
Group B: Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Slovakia
Group C: Iceland, Sweden, Slovenia, France
Group D: Georgia, Russia, Italy, Spain
Group E: Croatia, Switzerland, Finland, Wales
Group F: Poland, Belgium, Denmark, Kazakhstan
The finals will be played during the coming week, so check back here for the results.