In the 54-year history of the European Championship, England,
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have never
all qualified for the same finals.
Given that Northern Ireland and Wales have never made
it to a finals, it is an inevitable statistic - but one that could
change at Euro 2016.
While only 16 teams contested Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, 24 nations will compete in an expanded tournament in France.
Will that make room for all five?
With the top two teams in the eight groups, along with
the best third-placed side, all qualifying directly for the finals,
there has never been a better chance for them all to progress.
Even if they fail to make that first cut, the other
third-placed sides in each qualifying group will get a second chance,
playing off against each other in two-legged play-offs.
After their opening qualifying games, this is how the
home nations and the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2016 prospects are
shaping up.
England
Euro pedigree:
England's failure to make the 2008 finals - via
a defeat to Croatia forever associated with coach Steve McClaren's umbrella
- was the only time they have been absent in the last seven European Championships.
Paul Gascoigne scored England's second when the hosts beat Scotland at Euro 1996
As reigning world champions they finished third in
Italy in 1968, and they were also beaten semi-finalists as hosts in 1996
when Alan Shearer finished as top goalscorer.
Euro 2016 qualifying So far:
A trip to Switzerland, who took eventual runners-up Argentina to
within two minutes of penalties at the World Cup, presented a formidable
early test for England, particularly after
they went out of Brazil 2014
without winning a game.
But Roy Hodgson's side passed with merit as
Danny Welbeck scored both goals in a 2-0 win in Basel.
Still to come:
Given their win over Switzerland and a shock defeat for the next
highest-ranked team in the group - Slovenia, who lost in Estonia - some
fans are claiming that England are all but through with only one game
played.
Certainly San Marino at home should pose few problems
for England in their next match on 9 October, but Slovenia, who have
lost by only a single goal in two previous meetings with England, may
fancy their chances of improving on that record in Ljubljana on 14 June
2015.
| England's remaining Euro 2016 qualifiers |
|---|
| Switzerland (h) 8 September 2015 |
| San Marino (h) 9 October; (a) 5 September 2015 |
| Estonia (a) 12 October; (h) 9 October 2015 |
| Slovenia (h) 15 November; (a) 14 June 2015 |
| Lithuania (h) 27 March 2015; (a) 12 October 2015 |
Former England international Danny Mills:
"I want England to show a bit of determination and physicality in
this campaign and they certainly did that against Switzerland.
"The World Cup was hopeless. It was absolutely
diabolical. It is still basically the same group of players, albeit
depleted with a couple of retirements, but they produced a decent and
respectable performance in Basel.
"It's a long process but we have seen signs of positivity."
Scotland.
Euro pedigree:
With a team containing the likes of Gary McAllister, Ally McCoist
and Andy Goram, Scotland qualified for successive European Championships
in 1992 and 1996.
Drawn alongside Germany and the Netherlands, they failed to make the knockout stages in 1992.
Colin Hendry and Scotland were denied a place in the knockout stages of Euro 1996 on goals scored.
Four years later, a 78th-minute goal from the
Netherlands' Patrick Kluivert made little difference to an England side
already 4-0 up on the Dutch, but meant that Scotland lost out on goals
scored.
Euro 2016 qualifying So far:
Scotland emerged from their first qualifier without a point but
plenty of positives, pushing world champions Germany all the way
before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat.
Gordon Strachan's side more than held their own in
Dortmund, particularly at the start of the second half, and felt that
they were hampered by referee Svein Oddvar Moen's performance.
Still to come:
With their toughest-looking fixture in their group - Germany away -
behind them, Scotland will hope to get their first points on the board
against Georgia at Ibrox on 11 October.
| 2016 Euro qualifiers Scotland's remaining |
|---|
| Georgia (h) 11 October: (a) 4 September 2015 |
| Poland (a) 14 October; (h) 8 October 2015 |
| Republic of Ireland (h) 14 November: (a) 13 June 2015 |
| Gibraltar (h) 29 March 2015: (a) 11 October 2015 |
| Germany (h) 7 September 2015 |
Group G may well turn into a three-way fight for second
place between Scotland, Poland and Republic of Ireland. If so,
Scotland's trips to Warsaw on 14 October and Dublin on 13 June 2015
could prove crucial.
However, as fans might recall from a promising Euro 2008 qualification campaign
that was derailed by defeat to unfancied Georgia,
Scotland will need to be wary on their return to Tbilisi.
Former Scotland international Pat Nevin : "Since Gordon Strachan took over, he has put belief into
Scotland's players. They believe they can stand up to teams and take
them on.
"If you have that belief, you have that chance to take
on teams. There is enough fight in this Scotland squad to give other
teams a game in this group."
Wales
Euro pedigree:
Twice Wales have been within sniffing distance, but the finals have so far remained just out of reach.
In 1976 the finals consisted of four teams, and Wales
fell in the quarter-finals, losing 3-1 on aggregate to hosts Yugoslavia.
Vadim Evseev scored the decisive goal as Wales lost their Euro 2004 play-off against Russia
Twenty-eight years later, another two-legged tie and
another disappointment as Russia prevailed 1-0 in the play-offs for Euro
2004.
Euro 2016 qualifying So far:
Gareth Bale to the rescue. The world's most expensive footballer at
£85.3m proved priceless to his nation, scoring twice to help them snatch
a 2-1 victory from an underwhelming performance away to Andorra
in the first match of their qualification campaign.
Still to come:
With Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen to build a team around, Wales
have their most talented crop of players in a long time. Unfortunately
for them, the same is true of Group B rivals Belgium and
Bosnia-Hercegovina.
| Wales' remaining Euro 2016 qualifiers |
|---|
| Andorra (h)13 October 2015 |
| Bosnia-Hercegovina (h) 10 October 2014; (a) 10 October 2015 |
| Cyprus (h) 13 October 2014; (a) 3 September 2015 |
| Belgium (a) 16 November 2014; (h) 12 June 2015 |
| Israel (a) 28 March 2015; (h) 6 September 2015 |
Both have their own stars with Eden Hazard and Vincent
Kompany heading the Belgian cast list and Manchester City's Edin Dzeko
at the centre-point of Bosnia-Hercegovina's attacks. Both arguably have
more strength in depth as well.
Edging either out to claim an automatic qualifying spot is a big test for Wales.
Former Wales international Iwan Roberts:
"I am very positive about Wales' chances in this group.
"I wasn't that impressed by Belgium in the World Cup and I think that we can go and beat Bosnia.
"We have got two players in Gareth Bale and Aaron
Ramsey who can win you any game and around them we have eight or nine
players who are playing regularly in the Premier League."
Northern Ireland
Euro pedigree:
None.
Northern Ireland have never qualified for a Euro
finals. They came mighty close in 1984, though, beating West Germany
home and away, but were ultimately edged out by the defending champions
on goal difference.
David Healy got a record 13 goals in Euro 2008 qualifying but Northern Ireland finished behind Spain and Sweden.
Euro 2016 qualifying So far:
Without a competitive win away from home since September 2010,
Michael O'Neill's side may well have taken a draw had they been offered
it before kick-off against Hungary in Budapest.
Instead,
on the ninth anniversary of a legendary qualifying win over England,
Northern Ireland secured another famous victory as Niall McGinn and Kyle Lafferty scored in the final 10 minutes
to snatch a 2-1 win.
Still to come:
Group F is an interesting mix of teams, made all the more intriguing
by the results in the first set of games. As well as Northern Ireland's
win, Greece, the highest-ranked team in the group, lost at home to
Romania.
A comfortable victory at home to the Faroe Islands on 11 October could well take Northern Ireland to the top of the group.
| Euro 2016 qualifiers Northern Ireland's remaining |
|---|
| Faroe Islands (h) 11 October 2014; (a) 4 September 2015 |
| Greece (a) 14 October 2014; (h) 8 October 2015 |
| Romania (a) 14 November 2014; (h) 13 June 2015 |
| Finland (h) 29 March 2015; (a) 11 October |
| Hungary (h) 7 September 2015 |
If they are still in the upper end of the table after
away trips to Greece and Romania, on 14 October and 14 November
respectively, then a historic first finals could be on the cards.
Former Northern Ireland international Keith Gillespie:
"We have to make sure that we don't slip up against the Faroe
Islands - winning home and away against them is imperative as I think
that everyone else will.
"Too often in the past everyone has been full of
optimism going into the first game and we have been defeated and ended
up playing catch-up on the rest of the group. Thanks to the win in
Budapest, that is not the case this time.
"But with three of the first four games away from home,
it is important to get as many points as possible on the board early on
to keep pace.
Republic of Ireland
Euro pedigree:
The highlight of the Republic of Ireland's European Championship
record came six minutes into their very first match at the tournament's
finals.
Republic of Ireland were in a group with West Germany and USSR - the two eventual finalists - at Euro 1988
Ray Houghton's early strike was the only goal in their
1988 group opener against England.
However, a draw against the Soviet
Union and a narrow defeat to eventual champions Netherlands ensured Jack
Charlton's men went no further.
The less said about their second finals campaign in
2012, during which they won no games, scoring only one goal and
conceding 10, to finish bottom of an admittedly tough group, the better.
So far in Euro 2016 qualifying:
The moment of Euro 2016 qualifying so far? Aidan McGeady's sublime spin and shot to
secure a 2-1 win for the Republic of Ireland's opener against Georgia in the last minute of normal time
is certainly up there.
As well as three points, the Everton winger's goal
ensured that the first competitive game for the Republic's managerial
dream team of Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane ended in success.
Still to come:
From the faintly ridiculous to the sublime. The Republic of Ireland
take on Gibraltar (still to be awarded full Fifa membership) and Germany
(world champions) in their next two games.
Republic of Ireland's remaining Euro 2016 qualifiers |
|---|
| Gibraltar (h) 11 October 2014; (a) 4 September 2015 |
| Germany (a) 14 October 2014; (h) 8 October 2015 |
| Scotland (a) 14 November 2014; (h) 13 June 2015 |
| Poland (h) 29 March 2015; (a) 11 October 2015 |
| Georgia (h) 7 September 2015 |
Neither match will probably be decisive in their
campaign, however. Instead, the games against Poland and Scotland will
be where the Republic of Ireland's bid for automatic qualification
prospers or perishes.
