UEFA has confirmed that plans to increase the size of the European Championship from 24 to 32 countries have been scrapped.
“No change has been proposed for the EURO final tournament, which will still feature 24 teams.” UEFA stated on its official website recently.
Qualification for the Euros will be conducted in 12 groups of four and five teams. According to a statement, the group winners of the European qualifiers will be automatically entered into the tournament. While the second-placed teams will either qualify directly or participate in play-off matches.
Moreover, UEFA announced the relocation of the 2023 Super Cup from Kazan, Russia, to Athens, Greece. On August 16, the game will be held at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
A 32-team format would have virtually guaranteed that all heavyweight European nations would be able to coast into the competition. But keeping it at 24 will almost certainly mean that the occasional miss (such as the Netherlands in 2016) will still occur. Many smaller countries, however, will continue to struggle to reach the Eurozone.
The Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, and Italy will compete in the Nations League in June.
