The qualification process for the 2024 European Championships is over! (for most teams anyway). Football fans across Europe won't have to wait long to find out the group they will play in during the opening stage of the tournament as the draw will take place on the 2nd of December at 17:00 GMT in Hamburg.

England will be looking to go that one step further this time around after losing to Italy in the final of the previous edition of the tournament. Revenge was taken by The Three Lions during the qualification process, however, as Gareth Southgate's men beat them twice (2-1 in the opening game, and 3-1 seven games later)

A draw against North Macedonia in the final game of the qualifying stage allowed England to secure a top seed for the tournament, meaning they will avoid Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and France until the latter stages of the tournament.

Portugal and Germany were in England's group in 2000, which was the last time The Three Lions were knocked out during the group stages at a Euros. You might be surprised to know that Germany actually finished bottom of that group, as Portugal and Romania were the nations who progressed to the knockout stages. That group can certainly be described as a 'Group of Death' and the potential for another group of similar toughness does exist.

England's worst case scenario at EURO 2024

Sitting in pot 2 we have Hungary and Denmark, two nations that could have a very strong tournament. Hungary have performed strongly against England recently, as they beat The Three Lions twice in the 2022-23 edition of the UEFA Nations League. They've also had a strong qualification process, finishing top of their group having not lost any of their eight games (five wins, three draws)

Denmark have also had a relatively strong qualification, but they did lose to Kazakhstan (more on them later) and Northern Ireland. Denmark were beaten by England at the semi-final stage of the 2021 edition of the tournament, and that might spark a desire for revenge should they be drawn alongside England.

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Lurking in pot three is Netherlands. Everyone knows how strong this nation can be. They have formidable players such as Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo and could prove to be an incredibly tricky customer should they be drawn against England. Scotland also sit in pot three, and their very strong qualification campaign could see them perform well at the Euros and become a thorn in England's side.

The growing rivalry between England and Italy might not stop at the end of the qualifying process, as the two sides could meet once again. Italy could be in pot 4, meaning that they could join the previously mentioned nations in what would surely be dubbed as the 'Group of Death' should these groups come to fruition.

Italy had a nervy qualification process that saw them benefit from some potentially suspect refereeing during their final qualification game against Ukraine, who were looking to qualify for their first international tournament since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

England's best case scenario at EURO 2024

But it is not all doom and gloom, as the potential for an absolute gift of a group also exists. Pot 2 includes Albania and Romania. The former will be at just the second European Championships in their history. They should not be underestimated, of course, however, as they topped their qualification group, losing only once to Poland. Ultimately, they are arguably one of the weakest teams in pot 2, and it would boost England's chances considerably should they be drawn against them.

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Romania was, of course, present during the shock group stage exit in 2000. However, they no longer boast the same level of talent now that they did during the latter stages of their 'golden generation.' Similarly to Albania, they should not be underestimated, but England will be anything but disappointed should they be drawn against them.

In pot three, Slovenia are easily the weakest nation that could be drawn against England. The Balkan nation, ranked 50th in the world, have only ever qualified for the final tournament once, all the way back in 2000. During that tournament, they played out an incredible 3-3 draw with the then-Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, whom Slovakia had gained independence from in 1992, partly kicking off the brutal conflict that saw Yugoslavia removed from EURO 1992, allowing Denmark to win their only piece of international silverware.

Pot four is yet to be fully determined, as most of the teams will come from the playoff tournaments that are yet to be played. Any one of Georgia, Greece, Luxembourg, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Wales, Israel, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Iceland could be present in pot 4. The less said about Iceland the better when it comes to England and international football.

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However, it is Kazakhstan that England will want. The central Asian nation joined UEFA in the early 2000s after failing to qualify for the 1998 and 2002 World Cups as part of Asia's AFC. They are the lowest-ranked of any nation left in the qualification process, and you would presume that this would be a guaranteed win for England should they be drawn into The Three Lions' group.

The easiest group that England could face would include Albania, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan. This draw would go a long way to helping England in their journey to go one step further than they did in the 2021 edition of the tournament. We're not sure any of us need reminding of the outcome of that final.