The qualification consists of two rounds; both of them consist of several groups, which are played as single-round-robin mini-tournaments, with one team from each group selected as the host after the draw. •
Round 1: 54 teams were drawn into 14 groups of three or four. The top two teams from each group advanced to Round 2 League A; the other teams advanced to Round 2 League B. •
Round 2: •
League A: 28 teams will be drawn into seven groups of four. The group winners will qualify for the final tournament. If
Estonia, as the host of the final tournament, wins one of these groups, the best runner-up team will also qualify. Teams that will finish fourth will be relegated to Round 1 League B for the next season. •
League B: 26 teams will be drawn into seven groups of three or four. The group winners will be promoted to Round 1 League A for the next season.
Tiebreakers In a group, teams are ranked according to
points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 14.01 and 14.02): • Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; •
Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; • Goal difference in all group matches; • Goals scored in all group matches; •
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams had the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and were tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams had the same number of points, or if their rankings were not relevant for qualification for the next stage); • Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points); • Position in the applicable ranking: • for teams in Round 1, position in the
2024–25 qualification overall rankings; • for teams in Round 2, position in the Round 1 overall rankings. ==Round 1==