Sporting Kansas City defender Botond Barath and forward Johnny Russell (pictured above) learned their respective national teams' paths to a potential berth in the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament next summer after the playoff draw was conducted on Friday. Only four nations will qualify via the playoffs, and those four will have to win two single-elimination matches on March 26 and March 31 next spring.
Barath and Hungary will visit Bulgaria in the semifinals at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. Should the Magyars win, they would host the winner between Iceland and Romania five days later.
Russell and Scotland, meanwhile, will host Israel in the semifinals at Hampden Park in Glasgow. Should they prevail, they would visit either Norway or Serbia.
The 16 nations battling for the final four playoff berths are among the top teams from the qualifying stage that failed to qualify directly as a top-two finisher or performed well in the 2018-19 UEFA Nations League.
The 24-team UEFA Euro 2020 tournament will be played in 12 cities across 12 European nations next summer. The final tournament draw will be held November 30 before the playoff berths are determined.
Playoff Berth #1
Semifinals (March 26): Georgia vs. Belarus, North Macedonia vs. Kosovo
Final (March 31): Georgia/Belarus vs. North Macedonia/Kosovo (Georgia or Belarus host)
Playoff Berth #2
Semifinals (March 26): Norway vs. Serbia, Scotland vs. Israel
Final (March 31): Norway/Serbia vs. Scotland/Israel (Norway or Israel host)
Playoff Berth #3
Semifinals (March 26): Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Northern Ireland, Slovakia vs. Ireland
Final (March 31): Bosnia and Herzegovina/Northern Ireland vs. Slovakia/Ireland (Bosnia or Northern Ireland host)
Playoff Berth #4
Semifinals (March 26): Bulgaria vs. Hungary, Iceland vs. Romania
Final (March 31): Bulgaria/Hungary vs. Iceland/Romania (Bulgaria or Hungary host)
Euro 2020 Finalists (24 nations)
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- Wales
- Playoff Winner #1
- Playoff Winner #2
- Playoff Winner #3
- Playoff Winner #4
