Qualifying for Euro 2016 starts today with 16 teams starting their quest to reach the 15th championships in France in two years time.
UEFA have changed the format of the competition to past tournaments, with the most notable difference being an increase to 24 finalists from the current 16.
Is this too many teams for a continental competition? Almost certainly - the World Cup only has eight more teams, and logistically 24 doesn't make for the easiest fixture breakdown unlike the simple 32-16-8-4-2 format we are all familiar with.
Putting those concerns aside, the extended format will obviously provide more opportunity for mid-ranking nations to qualify for a major tournament - some for the first time, some for the first time in a long while.
The top two in each group qualify automatically as well as the best performing third place team. The remaining eight third place teams will play off to settle the final four places.
Here I look at five countries who need to make the most of this opportunity and book their places at Euro 2016.
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| Romania's Ciprian Marica (London24) |
ROMANIA (Group F)
Romania are so often the nearly men of European football, both in continental qualifiers and for the World Cup. Having missed out on a place in Brazil this summer to Greece in the playoffs, they have an early chance to exact a bit of revenge as they have been paired together in Group F and play each other today. Greece are the top seed in this group but this is arguably the kindest group Romania could ask to be in. Hungary, Northern Ireland, Finland and the Faroe Islands are all opponents they will not fear, and if they get off to a good start, could challenge the Greeks for the group victory. In doing so they would qualify for a first major tournament since Euro 2008, but they are still some way short of the golden era team of the 1990s.
Man to watch: Ciprian Marica - Both his country's captain and their most prolific goalscorer - he scored five goals in their most recent World Cup campaign.
Today's match: vs Greece (h)
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| Hungarian striker Balázs Dzsudzsák (UEFA.com) |
Hungary's wait for qualification to a major tournament now stretches to 28 long years since they made the Mexico 1986 World Cup. Long gone are the days of Ferenc Puskas and world and continental medals. However, there are signs that the Hungarians are once again moving in the right direction over recent years. In both preliminary rounds for Euro 2012 and this summer's World Cup, they finished third in their group, which if they match this time, will guarantee at least a play-off. They have beaten higher ranked opposition in this time, namely Sweden and Turkey. They also have the opportunity to avenge a loss that ultimately cost them a playoff place for Brazil 2014 - Romania beat them 3-0, a defeat which proved decisive in the group - with the Hungarians finishing third, two points adrift. As with the Romanians, they will not lose much sleep about the other teams in the group, but need to take this opportunity with both hands and cannot afford any slip ups as the draw for the next tournament may not be so favourable.
Man to watch: Balázs Dzsudzsák - The 27-year-old winger now captains his team and has seven years international experience to call on. The Dinamo Moscow man also weighs in with goals as well as providing them and is a successful product of his country's youth setup.
Today's match: vs Northern Ireland (h)
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| Montenegro's Stefan Jovetic in action against England (London24) |
MONTENEGRO (Group G)
This could finally be the time Montenegro break through and make the big leagues. They have made quick progress since their competitive debut as an independent nation in qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, where they gained nine points and were only beaten three times in ten matches. Moving forward to Euro 2012, they pushed England close in their group, and showing up the more established Swiss, Bulgarian and Welsh teams. The qualification stage for Brazil 2014 was littered with inconsistency - good results such as beating Ukraine and holding England to a third consecutive draw between the countries were nullified by the lack of a killer instinct to secure vital wins over Poland. Their inexplicable 5-2 defeat to Moldova in the final round of fixtures could show a worrying trait of waving the white flag when a playoff place was still possible (granted, it was unlikely given Ukraine's vastly superior goal difference). They will need to find the winning mentality again as Russia and Sweden will be expected to fighting for the group win. Only Austria can realistically block them from at least third, bar a miracle for Moldova or Liechtenstein. A good start against Moldova tomorrow will set them on their way.
Man to watch: Stevan Jovetic - The Manchester City striker started the season with two goals in an important game against Liverpool.
Tomorrow's march: vs Moldova (h)
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| Scotland captain Darren Fletcher is back after illness (The Guardian) |
SCOTLAND (Group D)
France 1998 was the last tournament the Scots qualified for but there is a genuine chance they can change that this time around. Their opening fixture - away against newly crowned world champions Germany - is as hard as it gets, but they should be quietly confident of a top three finish. Under Gordon Strachan they restored some respectability to a previously disastrous World Cup campaign. They recovered to finish fourth in their group with an impressive double victory over Croatia towards the latter stages of qualifying. It was a case of too little too late though for a side beaten twice by Wales and held by Macedonia. This time, their main competition will come from Ireland and Poland. Games against Gibraltar and Georgia should not cause any problems, though they have let their foot off the gas against lesser opposition in previous campaigns. The combination however of an experienced squad and a full qualifying under Strachan's leadership should give them the push they need to progress.
Man to watch: Darren Fletcher - Back captaining the side after two years due to illness, his big game experience at Manchester United should benefit his country as well as the squad's younger players.
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| Can Vladimir Weiss help Slovakia make Euro 2016? (Soccernet) |
Since qualifying for their only major tournament to date (South Africa 2010) - where they made the last 16 - Slovakia have gone backwards. They were awful in qualifying for Euro 2012, where they were soundly beaten twice by Armenia on the way to a fourth place finish behind Russia, Ireland and the Armenians. Mustering only seven goals in their ten games was the obvious problem, and things didn't get much better for the World Cup qualifiers, finishing a distant third behind Bosnia and Greece. Again, the inability to close down games against supposed lesser opponents proved critical failures - they drew with Lithuania (twice), Latvia and were embarrassingly held by Liechtenstein - all results which rendered their impressive victory over the Bosnians meaningless. This time, there will be less expectation on them to do well, which could play into their hands. If they fail to make the top three in a group containing Belarus, Macedonia and Luxembourg, they don't really deserve to make a big tournament. However, they have the potential to surprise Ukraine and might not need the playoffs if they get their act together.
Man to watch: Vladimir Weiss - The winger, now playing in Qatar, has the ability to change games on his day and has already played in six countries at the age of 24.
Tomorrow's match: vs Ukraine (a)
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