The March internationals are over and it won’t be long before the summer comes around and Euro 2024 is upon us.
Can Gareth Southgate guide the Three Lions to silverware and will Steve Clarke’s Tartan Army make a statement in a major tournament?
These are just three questions avid fans will have, as top European teams jostle for position on the global stage.
With the draw having already been made and each team’s potential route to glory established, BBC Sport provides the lowdown on all the key details for Euro 2024.
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When will the tournament commence?
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 Germany has hosted the tournament since reunification, with the 1988 edition held in West Germany.
What about tickets?
Tickets were initially on sale to the public from 3 to 26 October and were allocated through a lottery.
A final resale window is now open until 15 April allowing match ticket holders to offer any remaining unwanted tickets to others.
Uefa is also releasing a small number of last-minute tickets, which may include areas with restricted views and this will run until all matches are sold out.
Who are the favourites?
England are currently the 3/1 favourites with bookmakers and France at 7/2, while hosts Germany are 6/1.
The next closest are Spain at 7/1, while Scotland are 80/1 to go all the way.
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
How can I watch it?
BBC and ITV will share broadcasting coverage of Euro 2024 in the UK, following the pattern that was in place for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and previous European Championships.
Full schedules, as well as confirmation of the BBC’s punditry team, will be confirmed closer to the beginning of the tournament.
Where are England and Scotland going to be playing?
England’s group-stage matches: 16 June v Serbia in Gelsenkirchen (20:00 BST), 20 June v Denmark in Frankfurt (17:00 BST), 25 June v Slovenia in Cologne (20:00 BST).
Scotland’s group-stage matches: 14 June v Germany in Munich (20:00 BST), 19 June v Switzerland in Cologne (20:00 BST), 23 June v Hungary in Stuttgart (20:00 BST).
Who could they meet in the knockouts?
If England top Group C, they will face one of the third-placed teams from Group D, E or F in the last 16.
The Three Lions would face the winner of Group A in the last 16 if they finish second in the group.
If Scotland top Group A they’ll face the second-placed team from Group C, so one of England, Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia.
Should Steve Clarke’s side finish second, they’ll face the second-placed team from Group B, so one of Spain, Albania, Croatia and Italy.
Both sides could also progress as one of the four best third-placed teams in the group stage.
Who are the form teams?
Coming into the tournament, six teams were unbeaten during qualifying – France, England, Portugal, Belgium, Romania and Hungary.
Portugal are the only side to have 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 did not have the top scorer across these games. That was Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, who notched 14 goals in eight matches for Belgium.
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)
Are there any key omissions?
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland and Arsenal midfielder 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.
Sources: BBC Sport
