3) Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland have been another team who have benefitted from the format expansion as they qualified for their first major tournament in three decades and qualified from the group stages for the first time since the 1982 World Cup.
Drawn in perhaps the weakest of groups in qualifying, Northern Ireland qualified for their first European Championship by topping their group above Romania and Hungary. The team were handed a tough draw in the final tournament as their group consisted of World Champions Germany alongside Poland and Ukraine.
However, Northern Ireland fared better than most had expected as they shockingly beat Ukraine 2-0 and lost to Germany and Poland by only a one-goal margin.
Northern Ireland were fourth among the third-placed teams and with a superior goal difference above Albania and Turkey, qualified for the round of 16 where they put up a tough fight against Wales before an unfortunate own goal by Gareth McAuley ended their tournament hopes.
The format expansion has been a morale booster for Northern Ireland and they will surely be an opponent to be wary of in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
