The 17th edition of Europe’s premier nations football competition has arrived, and here’s what you need to know.
The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament will be held in Germany, and 24 teams will compete to be crowned the champions of Europe.
Italy are the title defender, having won the last edition by beating England in the final on penalties in Euro 2020.
When will the tournament start?
Euro 2024 will officially begin on Friday, June 14, 2024, at the Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Munich.
Scotland will be the team facing the hosts in the first match to kick off the tournament.
It will continue for a month and conclude on Sunday, July 14, at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
This will be the first time Germany has hosted the tournament since reunification, with the 1988 edition held in West Germany.
Who are the favourites?
Europe’s finest sports pundits and analysts have France ahead of all competing teams, followed by England, host nation Germany, Portugal, and Spain, as favourites to win the coveted tournament.
What are the groups?
Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland
Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania
Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England
Group D: Poland, Netherlands, Austria, France
Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine
Group F: Turkey, Georgia, Portugal, Czech Republic
What is the format?
The format will be the same as for Euro 2020.
The top two teams in each group and the four best third-place finishers will advance to the round of 16.
Who are the teams on form?
Six teams were unbeaten during qualifying for the tournament: France, England, Portugal, Belgium, Romania, and Hungary.
Portugal is the only side that won every match, ending qualifying with 36 goals and conceding only two.
Spain and Scotland lost only one match, while Turkey and Austria qualified with equally impressive records.
Despite Portugal winning every single qualifying match, they did not have the top goalscorer across these games. That was Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, who notched 14 goals in eight games for Belgium.
Who are the players to watch?
Among the myriad of talented footballers set to grace the field, here are four players who are poised to make a significant impact: the Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo, the trio from England( Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Phil Foden), the French captain Kylian Mbappe, finest midfielder Toni Kroos, Bundesliga player of the year Florian Wirtz, 16-year-old Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal, and Belgium’s Kelvin De Bryune.
Which stadiums might we see?
The aforementioned Allianz Arena and Olympiastadion will both be seen throughout the tournament, but there are 10 host cities in total, including Cologne and Dortmund.
Signal Iduna Park, home of Borussia Dortmund’s ‘yellow wall’, will host matches in Groups B, D and F while also being selected as one of the venues for the last 16 and the semi-finals.
Here is the full list of venues for the tournament:
Berlin: Olympiastadion (70,000 capacity)
Cologne: Cologne Stadium (47,000),
Dortmund: BVB Stadion Dortmund (66,000)
Dusseldorf: Dusseldorf Arena (47,000)
Frankfurt: Frankfurt Arena (48,000)
Gelsenkirchen: Arena AufSchalke (50,000)
Hamburg: Volksparkstadion Hamburg (50,000)
Leipzig: Leipzig Stadium (42,000)
Munich: Munich Football Arena (67,000)
Stuttgart: Stuttgart Arena (54,000)
When is the Euro 2024 final?
The final will be held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on July 14 2024. Kick-off time is 20:00 GMT.
When are the Euro 2024 fixtures(Group matches)?
Friday, June 14
Germany v Scotland (20:00 – Group A)
Saturday, June 15
Hungary v Switzerland (14:00 – Group A)
Spain v Croatia (17:00 – Group B)
Italy v Albania (20:00 – Group B)
Sunday, June 16
Poland v Netherlands (14:00 – Group D)
Slovenia v Denmark (17:00 – Group C)
Serbia v England (20:00 – Group C)
Monday, June 17
Romania v Ukraine (14:00 – Group E)
Belgium v Slovakia (17:00 – Group E)
Austria v France (20:00 – Group D)
Tuesday, June 18
Turkey v Georgia (17:00 – Group F)
Portugal v Czech Republic (20:00 – Group F)
Wednesday, June 19
Croatia v Albania (14:00 – Group B)
Germany v Hungary (17:00 – Group A)
Scotland v Switzerland (20:00 – Group A)
Thursday, June 20
Slovenia v Serbia (14:00 – Group C)
Denmark v England (17:00 – Group C)
Spain v Italy (20:00 – Group B)
Friday, June 21
Slovakia v Ukraine (14:00 – Group E)
Poland v Austria (17:00 – Group D)
Netherlands v France (20:00 – Group D)
Saturday, June 22
Georgia v Czech Republic (14:00 – Group F)
Turkey v Portugal (17:00 – Group F)
Belgium v Romania (20:00 – Group E)
Sunday, June 23
Scotland v Hungary (20:00 – Group A)
Switzerland v Germany (20:00 – Group A)
Monday, June 24
Albania v Spain (20:00 – Group B)
Croatia v Italy (20:00 – Group B)
Tuesday, June 25
France v Poland (17:00 – Group D)
Netherlands v Austria (17:00 – Group D)
Denmark v Serbia (20:00 – Group C)
England v Slovenia (20:00 – Group C)
Wednesday, June 26
Slovakia v Romania (17:00 – Group E)
Ukraine v Belgium (17:00 – Group E)
Czech Republic v Turkey (20:00 – Group F)
Georgia v Portugal (20:00 – Group F)