[1] A total of 46 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 19 November 2014, 10:15 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The match was completed with a 1–1 scoreline before a 3–0 default victory was awarded to the Republic of Ireland due to Slovenia fielding an ineligible player.

The draw for the elite round was held on 13 November 2015, 11:00 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

[12] England and Spain, which received byes to the elite round, were automatically seeded into Pot A.