UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has confirmed that the UEFA European Championship (Euro) qualifiers are set for a major overhaul, with the core goal of boosting the tournament’s "excitement" and eliminating one-sided "drubbings"—such as England’s unbeaten stroll past Malta, Portugal’s easy win over Liechtenstein, and France’s rout of Gibraltar (who lost all 8 qualifiers, scoring 0 goals and conceding 41)—which fans have criticized as "dull".
Čeferin made it clear that there are no plans to adjust the Euro finals for now, but admitted at the 2025 Portugal Football Summit: "The qualifiers need to be more engaging. We won’t add more matches, but we will refine the format to make it more attractive, and we’re currently pushing forward with relevant plans."
It is reported that UEFA has launched an internal assessment, and the reform direction is likely to draw on the experience of two of its successful tournaments: first, the UEFA Nations League’s model of "top-tier nations facing each other + promotion/relegation" (ensuring frequent clashes between elite teams and avoiding lopsided matchups); second, the UEFA Champions League’s "single-leg league phase" (abandoning the traditional home-and-away double round-robin, replacing it with 6 single-leg games, which has produced more thrilling contests).
Notably, the reform comes amid growing backlash against international breaks: fans have complained about "dense schedules and uneven match quality" after three two-week international breaks in the first three months of this season. FIFA has already planned adjustments from next year—scrapping the October international break and merging it with September’s to create a three-week window, allowing national teams to schedule 4 matches. UEFA hopes the Euro qualifier reforms will further balance fixture density and entertainment value.
