The UEFA European Championship, commonly known as Euro 2024, is set to kick off on Friday, June 14, 2024 in Germany.
This year’s tournament will mark the 17th edition of the competition. The article provides a comprehensive overview of Euro 2024, including key dates, participating teams, favourites, and the tournament format.
When will the tournament start?
Held in Germany, Euro 2024 will officially begin on Friday, 14 June 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, 14 July at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
This will be the first time that Germany has hosted the tournament since reunification, with the 1988 edition held in West Germany.
Who are the favourites?
At the time of writing, England are favourites at 7/2 and France 4/1 with the bookmakers, while hosts Germany are 5/1.
The next closest is Spain at 8/1, while Scotland are 100/1 to go all the way.
What are the groups?
Euro 2024 groups
A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland
B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania
C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England
D: Poland, Netherlands, Austria, France
E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine
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 will progress to the round of 16, along with the four best third-placed finishers.
Who are the form teams?
In the tournament, six teams were unbeaten during qualifying – France, England, Portugal, Belgium, Romania and Hungary.
Portugal is the only side who won every match, ending qualifying having scored 36 goals and conceding only two.
Spain and Scotland lost only one match, while Turkey and Austria also qualified with equally impressive records.
Despite Portugal winning every single qualifying match, they lacked the top goalscorer across these games. That was Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, who notched 14 goals in eight matches for Belgium.
Are there any key omissions?
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will play no part in the competition in the summer as Norway failed to qualify.
In the same group as Spain and Scotland, they didn’t accumulate enough points to gain an automatic spot and cannot qualify via the play-offs either.
Sweden are another notable nation that will not play a part in Germany, failing to qualify for the first time since 1996.
When are the Euro 2024 fixtures?
Friday, 14 June
Germany v Scotland (20:00 – Group A)
Saturday, 15 June
Hungary v Switzerland (14:00 – Group A)
Spain v Croatia (17:00 – Group B)
Italy v Albania (20:00 – Group B)
Sunday, 16 June
Poland v Netherlands (14:00 – Group D)
Slovenia v Denmark (17:00 – Group C)
Serbia v England (20:00 – Group C)
Monday, 17 June
Romania v Ukraine (14:00 – Group E)
Belgium v Slovakia (17:00 – Group E)
Austria v France (20:00 – Group D)
Tuesday, 18 June
Turkey v Georgia (17:00 – Group F)
Portugal v Czech Republic (20:00 – Group F)
Wednesday, 19 June
Croatia v Albania (14:00 – Group B)
Germany v Hungary (17:00 – Group A)
Scotland v Switzerland (20:00 – Group A)
Thursday, 20 June
Slovenia v Serbia (14:00 – Group C)
Denmark v England (17:00 – Group C)
Spain v Italy (20:00 – Group B)
Friday, 21 June
Slovakia v Ukraine (14:00 – Group E)
Poland v Austria (17:00 – Group D)
Netherland v France (20:00 – Group D)
Saturday, 22 June
Georgia v Czech Republic (14:00 – Group F)
Turkey v Portugal (17:00 – Group F)
Belgium v Romania (20:00 – Group E)
Sunday, 23 June
Scotland v Hungary (20:00 – Group A)
Switzerland v Germany (20:00 – Group A)
Monday, 24 June
Albania v Spain (20:00 – Group B)
Croatia v Italy (20:00 – Group B)
Tuesday, 25 June
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, 26 June
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)
When is the Euro 2024 final?
The final will be held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on 14 July 2024. Kick-off time is 20:00 BST.
Source: BBC