New-look qualifiers begin road to France

The new-look European Qualifiers kick off on Sunday, with 53 nations chasing an expanded 23 places alongside hosts France at UEFA EURO 2016.

• For the first time, qualifying takes place under the 'Week of Football' concept, in which games are spread out from Thursday to Tuesday (or in the case of this week, Sunday to Tuesday). Kick-off times will be set mainly at 18.00CET and 20.45CET.

• In all, 50 of the 53 qualifying hopefuls have fixtures over the coming week. France will also take on Serbia as part of a programme where they face the odd team from the five-team Group I on each matchday.

•  The nine group winners, the nine runners-up and the best third-placed side will qualify directly for the final tournament. The eight remaining third-placed teams will contest play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers for the finals.

FULL FIXTURE LIST

Sunday 7 September
Highlights
• World champions Germany start their campaign against Scotland in Dortmund.
• Gibraltar play their first competitive senior international against Poland in Faro-Loule, Portugal.
• Portugal themselves face Albania without Cristiano Ronaldo in Aveiro.

Can Germany add the European title?©Getty Images

18.00CET
Group D: Georgia v Republic of Ireland
Group F: Hungary v Northern Ireland
Group I: Denmark v Armenia

20.45CET
Group D: Germany v Scotland, Gibraltar v Poland
Group F: Faroe Islands v Finland, Greece v Romania
Group I: Portugal v Albania
Friendly: Serbia v France

Monday 8 September
Highlights
• Spain begin their bid for a third straight European title against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Valencia.
• Switzerland welcome England to Basle, while Ukraine v Slovakia and Austria v Sweden could be evenly matched.

18.00CET
Group G: Russia v Liechtenstein

20.45CET
Group C: Luxembourg v Belarus, Spain v Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine v Slovakia
Group E: Estonia v Slovenia, San Marino v Lithuania, Switzerland v England
Group G: Austria v Sweden, Montenegro v Moldova

The Netherlands have a tough start©Getty Images

Tuesday 9 September
Highlights
• The Czech Republic and the Netherlands are paired once again while Italy go to Norway.
• The Group B game between Israel and Belgium has been postponed to 31 March.

18.00CET
Group A: Kazakhstan v Latvia
Group H: Azerbaijan v Bulgaria

20.45CET
Group A: Czech Republic v Netherlands, Iceland v Turkey
Group B: Andorra v Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina v Cyprus
Group H: Croatia v Malta, Norway v Italy

• Next Week of Football: 9-14 October
Highlights
Thursday 9 October: Sweden v Russia
Friday 10 October: Turkey v Czech Republic
Saturday 11 October: Poland v Germany
Sunday 12 October: Luxembourg v Spain
Monday 13 October: Bosnia and Herzegovina v Belgium
Tuesday 14 October: Denmark v Portugal