Euro 2024: What to know about the European Championship

Posted by Admin June 13, 2024 Sports

The European Championship, also known as Euro 2024, kicked off on June 14 when host Germany defeated Scotland 5-1 in Munich. Here’s what to know about the monthlong tournament:

The tournament is being held in Germany, with matches in 10 cities: Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart.

The final will be played on July 14 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

England, France and host Germany were considered among the pre-tournament favorites. England, which hasn’t won a major international tournament since the 1966 World Cup, lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy in a penalty shootout. Spain and Portugal also have strong teams.

The group stage has six groups of four teams. The teams in each group play each other once, with three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The top two teams in each group, as well as the four best-performing third-place teams, advance to the round of 16. At that point, the tournament becomes a straight knockout competition through the quarterfinals, semifinals and final to determine the champion.

Germany, Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland are in Group A.

Spain, Croatia, Italy and Albania are in Group B.

Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia and England are in Group C.

Poland, Netherlands, Austria and France are in Group D.

Belgium, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine are in Group E.

Turkey, Georgia, Portugal and Czech Republic are in Group F.

Italy won the last Euros, which were staged in 2021 because the original tournament was postponed for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy beat England in the final at Wembley Stadium in a penalty shootout.

Yes, the Portuguese great is competing in a record sixth European Championship. Going into the tournament he already held the record for the most appearances at the Euros, with 25, and the most goals, with 14. Ronaldo, 39, won the competition with Portugal in 2016.

No. The Manchester City striker may be one of the most prolific goal-scorers in world soccer, but his national team, Norway, didn’t qualify for Euro 2024.

U.S. viewers can watch Euro 2024 on Fox.

Here’s a list of upcoming matches, with kick-off times listed in local time in Germany and Eastern Standard Time in parenthesis:

June 20

Slovenia vs. Serbia, 3 p.m. (9 a.m. EST)

Denmark vs. England, 6 p.m. (noon EST)

Spain vs. Italy, 9 p.m. (3 p.m. EST)

June 21

Slovakia vs. Ukraine, 3 p.m. (9 a.m. EST)

Poland vs. Austria, 6 p.m. (noon EST)

Netherlands vs. France, 9 p.m. (3 p.m. EST)

June 22

Georgia vs. Czech Republic, 3 p.m. (9 a.m. EST)