Euro 2016 draw LIVE: Follow the draw as England are drawn with Wales, Slovakia and Russia in Group B

Northern Ireland face Germany, Poland and Ukraine while the Republic get set for Belgium, Italy and Sweden

Tom Sheen
Saturday 12 December 2015 14:16 GMT
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England are drawn into Group B at Euro 2016 where they will face Wales, Slovakia and Russia
England are drawn into Group B at Euro 2016 where they will face Wales, Slovakia and Russia

This is it, the big one from Paris.

Fans across Europe will find out which teams they will face in the group stages (and later rounds if they progress) at next summer's European Championships in France.

With hosts France automatically assigned as team A1, the 23 remaining teams have been split into four pots to learn their fate.

England are also in Pot 1 but the other home nations Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the Republic of Ireland, are all in Pot 4, meaning only one of those three sides could face the Three Lions.

Scroll below the blog to see how the draw works...

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How does the draw work?

There will be six groups at the tournament but the teams will be drawn by Pot rather than by Group. Pot 1 has five teams (as France are already drawn) while Pots 2, 3, and 4 have six teams each.

The teams have been placed in their Pots based on coefficient points; the points total is reached with 20 per cent of weighting given to results in qualifying and the final tournament of Euro 2012, 40 per cent to qualifying and the final tournament of the 2014 World Cup and 40 per cent to results in Euro 2016 qualification.

England, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Belgium are the teams in Pot 1 and will be the first teams to be drawn. The draw then skips to Pot 4, then goes in reverse order to Pot 3 then Pot 2.

The top two teams in each group PLUS the four best third-placed sides will advance to the knockout stages.

All of Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are in Pot 4 meaning that they can’t be drawn together and only one of the three teams has the prospect of facing England in the Group stage.

England will be desperately hoping to avoid Italy, who sit in Pot 2, having played the side in each of the last two international tournaments and effectively being knocked out at the hands of the Azzurri.

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What about the knockout stages?

The knockout stages are already set thus (all times CET):

Round of 16

Match 1: Runner-up Group A v Runner-up C (15.00, 25 June, St-Etienne)

Match 2: Winner D v Third-place B/E/F (21.00, 25 June, Lens)

Match 3: Winner B v Third-place A/C/D (18.00, 25 June, Paris)

Match 4: Winner F v Runner-up E (21.00, 26 June, Toulouse)

Match 5: Winner C v Third-place A/B/F (18.00, 26 June, Lille)

Match 6: Winner E v Runner-up D (18.00, 27 June, St-Denis)

Match 7: Winner A v Third-place C/D/E (15.00, 26 June, Lyon)

Match 8: Runner-up B v Runner-up F (21.00, 27 June, Nice)

Quarter-finals

1: Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2 (21.00, 30 June, Marseille)

2: Winner Match 3 v Winner Match 4 (21.00, 1 July, Lille)

3: Winner Match 5 v Winner Match 6 (21.00, 2 July, Bordeaux)

4: Winner Match 7 v Winner Match 8 (21.00, 3 July, St-Denis)

Semi-finals

1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2 (21.00, 6 July, Lyon)

2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4 (21.00, 7 July, Marseille)

Final

Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 (21.00, 10 July, St-Denis)

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