[1] A total of 53 national teams entered this qualifying competition, which was played in two rounds between September 2015 and April 2016.

The following criteria were applied:[3] The draw for the qualifying round was held on 3 December 2014, 09:00 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

For political reasons, Spain and Gibraltar (due to the disputed status of Gibraltar), as well as Russia and Ukraine (due to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine), could not be drawn in the same group.

The draw for the elite round was held on 3 December 2015, 11:45 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

[10] Germany, which received a bye to the elite round, were automatically seeded into Pot A.