Football
When Does Euro 2024 Get Underway?
UEFA Euro 2024 starts in Germany on Friday, June 14, where the hosts take on Scotland at the Munich Football Arena in the opening match of the European Championship.
Image Credits: Football Italia
The 2024 UEFA European Championship (Euros) starts Friday, June 14, in Germany. The countdown to the seventeenth edition of the world’s second-biggest international football tournament, which gets underway in Bavaria this week, is well and truly on. The opening match sees the hosts take on Scotland in Munich.
The Euro 2024 final will be held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, July 14. This is the third time the tournament will host games in Germany, twice since reunification. However, matches will be played in what is now formally East Germany. SportsBoom’s guide to UEFA Euro 2024 is here!
Image Credits: Rebecca Leisten www.rebecca-leisten.de
How does Euro 2024 work?
Euro 2024 takes place across 10 cities throughout Germany, beginning in Munich and ending in Berlin. There are 51 matches during this month-long football extravaganza. Each host city had to have a stadium capacity of 30,000 or more to be considered. Germany automatically qualified as hosts. The other 23 countries played a two-year qualifying tournament to decide who takes part in the UEFA European Championship.
The format sees qualified countries split into six groups of four (Group A-F), where they will play one-off matches against each opponent. The top two teams qualify for the first knockout stage of the tournament, known as the Round of 16, as well as the four best third-placed teams.
From here, one-off matches, with extra time and penalties (if necessary), will see teams fight for glory in the Berlin final in mid-July. The group stages begin on June 14 and end June 26. The Round of 16 starts on June 29 and ends July 2, with a two-day break after the last group game. The quarter-finals take place over two days (July 5-6), also after a two-day rest period.
As always, there is a two-day rest period before the two semi-finals, which are played on July 9 and 10. There is then a three-day break for the last two sides to rest and recover before the showpiece final on Sunday, July 14.
UEFA EURO 2024 Venues
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Berlin | Berliner Olympiastadion | 70,000 |
| Munich | Munich Football Arena | 67,000 |
| Dortmund | BVB Stadion Dortmund | 66,000 |
| Stuttgart | Stuttgart Arena | 54,000 |
| Gelsenkirchen | Arena AufSchalke | 50,000 |
| Hamburg | Volskparkstadion Hamburg | 50,000 |
| Frankfurt | Frankfurt Arena | 47,000 |
| Dusseldorf | Dusseldorf Arena | 47,000 |
| Cologne | Cologne Stadium | 47,000 |
| Leipzig | Leipzig Stadium | 42,000 |
Which teams have qualified for Euro 2024?
Twenty-three teams have qualified for Euro 2024. Italy are the reigning champions, edging England on penalties after a memorable Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium, London, on July 11, 2021. Nineteen countries who participated in the previous tournament, qualified for Euro 2024. 2022 World Cup runners-up France and bronze medalist Croatia will also be in Germany.
Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal were the only country to qualify with a flawless record. Belgium, England, France, Hungary, and Romania also qualified without defeat. Albania and Romania qualified after missing out on Euro 2020. Both Slovenia and Serbia qualified for their first competition since Euro 2000. Serbia qualified for their first tournament since Serbia and Montenegro became separate nations.
Slovenia qualified for their fourth major international football tournament as an independent nation. Georgia beat Greece on penalties in the European Championship play-offs to qualify for their first-ever tournament since gaining independence from the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1991. Georgia are the only debutants for Euro 2024, which ensures that every tournament since the inaugural European Championship in 1960, had one new team make their finals debut.
Image Credits: Football.ua
Who are the most successful European Championship countries?
Germany and Spain are the most-decorated countries at the Euros. Both countries have won the European Championship three times. Germany (West Germany) have played in the most finals (6), winning three and losing three times. Spain has only lost one final. The two European powerhouses have met once in a final, when Spain edged Germany 1-0 in 2008.
Defending champions Italy, and France, have each won two Euro titles. Italy have lost two of their four finals, while France have lost one of their three finals. The former Soviet Union has lost three finals. The USSR did, however, win the inaugural tournament in 1960.
Portugal and the former Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia) have each one and lost a European Championship final. Portugal is the newest-crowned kings of Europe, winning the 2016 tournament. Other one-time winners are the Netherlands, Denmark, and Greece. All three have one the only final they played.
Image Credits:Rob Croes, Anefo
Serbia (former Yugoslavia), Belgium, and England have also reached the final, but came out second-best. Yugoslavia lost both finals in 1960 and 1968. England lost the most-recent 2020 final, while Belgium’s only final appearance was in 1980.
To add perspective to these records, the first five tournaments (1960 – 1976) only had four entrants. The next four editions (1980 – 1992) doubled in size to eight teams. From 1996 to 2012, sixteen countries participated in the championship. In 2016, the Euros expanded to 24 teams. There will be 24 countries at the tournament up to 2032, but with UEFA, anything is possible.
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UEFA European Championship Most Successful Teams
| Rank | Country | Champions | Runners-up | Total |
| =1 | Germany* | 1972 - 1980 - 1996 | 1976 - 1992 - 2008 | 3 |
| =1 | Spain | 1964 - 2008 - 2012 | 1984 | 3 |
| 2 | Italy | 1968 - 2020 | 2000 - 2012 | 2 |
| 3 | France | 1984 - 2000 | 2016 | 2 |
| 4 | Soviet Union/Russia* | 1960 | 1964 - 1972 - 1988 | 1 |
| 5 | Czechoslovakia* | 1976 | 1996 | 1 |
| 6 | Portugal | 2016 | 2004 | 1 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 1988 | - | 1 |
| 8 | Denmark | 1992 | - | 1 |
| 9 | Greece | 2004 | - | 1 |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 1976 | 1996 | 1 |
| 11 | Slovakia | 1976 | 1996 | 1 |
*Includes 1972 & 1980 titles won as West Germany
*Includes results as Soviet Union and Russia
*Both Czech Republic and Slovakia awarded Czechoslovakia’s 1976 title
Image Credits: Bildersindtoll
FAQs
France’s Michel Platini has scored the most hat-tricks at the UEFA European Championships (Euros). Platini bagged two trebles at the tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s greatest striker, has scored the most goals at the UEFA Euros. Ronaldo has netted 14 goals, five more than Michel Platini.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.