[1] Apart from Lithuania, 45 of the remaining 54 UEFA member national teams entered the qualifying competition.

The qualifying competition consists of two rounds:[3] Initially the elite round would consist of 24 teams, drawn into six groups of four teams, with the six group winners and the runner-up with the best record against the first and third-placed teams in their group qualifying for the final tournament.

The following criteria are applied (Regulations Article 15.01):[3] The draw for the qualifying round was held on 11 November 2016, 09:10 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The draw for the elite round was held on 24 November 2017, 11:45 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

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