England will face Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia in their Euro 2024 group next summer while Scotland will kick off the tournament against hosts Germany on June 14.
Gareth Southgate’s side face a repeat of their Euro 2020 semi-final against the Danes in Group C, having won 2-1 after extra-time in July 2021 before eventually losing to Italy in the final.
England’s first game on June 16 sees them travel to Gelsenkirchen to take on Serbia, who finished second in qualifying Group G behind Hungary, and who they have not faced since their split with Montenegro in 2006.
They then take on Denmark four days later in Frankfurt before rounding off their group on June 25 in Cologne against Slovenia, who they previously beat in a must-win final group game at World Cup 2010 to reach the knockout stages.
“When Denmark came out, you could still have had Denmark, Croatia and Italy or something like that, then you’re wondering where it’s heading,” Southgate told Sky Sports News after the draw.
“But of course, you have to be very careful not to underestimate the opponents that you have. I’ve been fortunate as a coach and a player to go to eight tournaments. I’ve seen a lot of teams that were fancied and well-ranked going in to tournaments and not deliver in their group.
“We have to have the humility to start again. As well as we’ve been playing, as well as we’ve built over a long period of time and we’ve had five years where we’ve been ranked in the top five in the world, we’ve had consistency of performance and results, but a new tournament means a new challenge and the first objective is to get out of the group again.
“It’s clear that the team are heading in a good direction… we were in a tough qualifying group and we won it comfortably, but that’s history. You have to go again in the next calendar year.
“It’s nice when we’re travelling around Europe, we are well-received, we do get a lot of credit which is lovely. But we know there’s still a step we want to take and that’s what drives us.”
Should England win their group, they would face either the third-placed team from Group D, E or F in the last-16 – and could set up a quarter-final clash with Scotland if Steve Clarke’s side finished second in Group A.
If the Three Lions were to finish second in Group C, they would face the winner of Group A, most likely Germany, in the second round, just as they did at Euro 2020, albeit on opposition soil three years on.
The Scots face a tough test in that group against the hosts, as well as games against perennial qualifiers Switzerland and Hungary, who reached the knock-out stages in 2016, also in Group A.
The Tartan Army have history kicking off tournaments, having been drawn to face Brazil in the opening game of World Cup 1998, a game they narrowly lost 2-1 to a second-half Tom Boyd own goal.
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Brentford manager Thomas Frank says he will be slightly biased towards Denmark in who he supports at Euro 2024 – but believes England are the favourites in the group
This time they begin at the Allianz Arena before facing Switzerland in Cologne on June 19, before Hungary await in Stuttgart on June 23.
Wales, should they qualify, will face another difficult prospect with the Netherlands, Austria and France awaiting in Group D for the Path A play-off winner.
Their first game would see them face the Netherlands in Hamburg on June 16, before games with Ralf Rangnick’s Austria on June 21 and World Cup 2022 runners-up France on June 25.
Southgate: Major tournament experience can help England
England manager Gareth Southgate to Sky Sports News:
“Probably the biggest pressure is the pressure you put on yourself because of what you want to achieve and what you want to bring for your country. It’s no more or less than when I started in the job seven years ago.
“We now have a lot more experience, a lot more experience of big matches and navigating tournaments so we’re looking forward to it. We’re hoping we can give our fans some more great nights like we have in the last three tournaments.
“The first thing [England have learned from last few tournaments] is when you have a difficult performance or result, which happens in every tournament, we’ve been able to navigate that. Even the players have got used to that… you have to stay on track in those moments.
“We’ve also got great experience of really big matches, including several quarter-finals, which people kind of dismiss now, but quarter-finals of major tournaments are big games. We won one in Russia against Sweden, we also beat Ukraine [at Euro 2020] and they’re big nights.
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England manager Gareth Southgate says his side need to be very careful to not underestimate their opponents at Euro 2024
“They’re stored in the memory bank for us as a staff, but also a lot of the players that are with us.
“Every group of players realise you only get a certain number of tournaments and you want to be playing in a team that has a chance of winning. Results over a consistent period will tell you we are one of those teams that can, as the likes of France and Portugal will feel as well.
“There are good teams in Europe, it’s a tournament that has had all sorts of different winners because teams have peaked at the right moment. Denmark and Greece did it, so it does throw up some anomalies, but we want to go into every tournament as competitive as we are.
“We set that out 10 years ago, ‘can we get to the latter stages of tournaments regularly’, because that’s how you learn to win in the end.”
Clarke: All matches in our group will be competitive
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Scotland manager Steve Clarke has admitted he is hoping to cause an upset in his side’s Euro 2024 opener against hosts Germany
Scotland manager Steve Clarke to Sky Sports News:
“The draw is what it is. I’ve got to go away and do some homework, look at the opposition and prepare the team properly, that’s the most important thing.
“The good thing about the draw is we now have clarity – we know who we play and when we play them so we can prepare for it.
“It should be a good occasion, but we have to make sure it’s about the match and not the occasion. We will turn up and play as well as we can play.
“All the matches in the group will be competitive. It’ll be a tough group and we look forward to the challenge.
“For the last four years, all we’ve tried to do is improve from game to game. We feel we’re on a path where we’ve done OK, but we also feel that we can do a little better so we’ll go away, work hard and try and be as good as we can be come the tournament next summer.
“This time, without the Covid restrictions and the tournament being spread all over Europe, it will be more like what you would call a normal tournament. For the Tartan Army to come here and enjoy themselves in a different country, I’m sure they’ll have a great time an the German people will love them and the Tartan Army will love being here.
“In terms of preparation, there’ll be two friendlies in March, two friendlies in June and then we should be ready for kick-off.”
Full Euro 2024 schedule
The Group Stages
June 14
Germany vs Scotland (Munich)
June 15
Spain vs Croatia (Berlin)
Italy vs Albania (Dortmund)
Hungary vs Switzerland (Cologne)
June 16
Serbia vs England (Gelsenkirchen)
Poland/Wales/Finland/Estonia vs Netherlands (Hamburg)
Slovenia vs Denmark (Stuttgart)
June 17
Austria vs France (Dusseldorf)
Belgium vs Slovakia (Frankfurt)
Romania vs Israel/Bosnia & Herzegovina/Ukraine/Iceland (Munich)
June 18
Portugal vs Czech Republic (Leipzig)
Turkey vs Georgia/Greece/Kazakhstan/Luxembourg (Dortmund)
June 19
Croatia vs Albania (Hamburg)
Scotland vs Switzerland (Cologne)
Germany vs Hungary (Stuttgart)
June 20
Spain vs Italy (Gelsenkirchen)
Denmark vs England (Frankfurt)
Slovenia vs Serbia (Munich)
June 21
Poland/Wales/Finland/Estonia vs Austria (Berlin)
Netherlands vs France (Leipzig)
Slovakia vs Israel/Bosnia & Herzegovina/Ukraine/Iceland (Dusseldorf)
June 22
Georgia/Greece/Kazakhstan/Luxembourg vs Czech Republic (Hamburg)
Turkey vs Portugal (Dortmund)
Belgium vs Romania (Cologne)
June 23
Switzerland vs Germany (Frankfurt)
Scotland vs Hungary (Stuttgart)
June 24
Croatia vs Italy (Leipzig)
Albania vs Spain (Dusseldorf)
June 25
Netherlands vs Austria (Berlin)
France vs Poland/Wales/Finland/Estonia (Dortmund)
England vs Slovenia (Cologne)
Denmark vs Serbia (Munich)
June 26
Czech Republic vs Turkey (Hamburg)
Georgia/Greece/Kazakhstan/Luxembourg vs Portugal (Gelsenkirchen)
Slovakia vs Romania (Frankfurt)
Israel/Bosnia & Herzegovina/Ukraine/Iceland vs Belgium (Stuttgart)
Rest days on June 27 and 28
Round of 16
June 29
37 1A vs 2C (Dortmund)
38 2A vs 2B (Berlin)
June 30
39 1B vs 3A/D/E/F (Cologne)
40 1C vs 3D/E/F (Gelsenkirchen)
July 1
41 1F vs 3A/B/C (Frankfurt)
42 2D vs 2E (Düsseldorf)
July 2
43 1E vs 3A/B/C/D (Munich)
44 1D vs 2F (Leipzig)
Rest days on 3 and 4 July
Quarter-finals
July 5
45 W39 vs W37 (Stuttgart)
46 W41 vs W42 (Hamburg)
July 6
47 W43 vs W44 (Berlin)
48 W40 vs W38 (Dusseldorf)
Rest days on 7 and 8 July
The semi-finals
July 9
49 W45 vs W46 (Munich, 8pm)
July 10
50 W47 vs W48 (Dortmund, 8pm)
Rest days on July 11, 12 and 13
The final
July 14
W49 vs W50 (Berlin, 8pm)
Where and when will the final be played?
The Henri Delaunay trophy
The final will take place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday July 14.
Which stadiums are being used?
Allianz Arena in Munich will host the first game of the tournament
The 10 host venues are as follows:
- Berlin – Olympiastadion Berlin
- Cologne – Cologne Stadium (RheinEnergieSTADION)
- Dortmund – BVB Stadion Dortmund (Signal Iduna Park)
- Dusseldorf – Dusseldorf Arena (MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA)
- Frankfurt – Frankfurt Arena (Deutsche Bank Park)
- Gelsenkirchen – Arena AufSchalke (Veltins-Arena)
- Hamburg – Volksparkstadion Hamburg
- Leipzig – Leipzig Stadium (Red Bull Arena)
- Munich – Munich Football Arena (Allianz Arena)
- Stuttgart – Stuttgart Arena (MHPArena)
How can I buy tickets?
Ticket applications for Euro 2024 opened on October 3 through the tournament’s official website. The initial window closed on October 26, with fans then contacted if they had been successful.
There will be other opportunities to buy tickets as teams confirm their places at the tournament, including through the play-offs next year. There will also be a resale platform that opens in Spring 2024.
UEFA have said that more than 80 per cent of the 2.7 million tickets available will be for the fans of the participating teams and the general public.
Group-stage prices range from €30 (£26) to €200 (£174), increasing in price with each round. Tickets for the final range from €95 (£83) to €1,000 (£870).
What is the tournament format?
The format will be the same as for Euro 2020.
The top two teams from each of the six final tournament groups will proceed to the round of 16 along with the four best third-placed finishers.
Albärt is the mascot for Euro 2024
The quarter-finals and semi-finals follow before the Euro 2024 winner will be crowned in Berlin on July 14.
Euro 2024 key dates
Remaining qualifying dates
March 21, 2024: play-off semi-finals
March 26, 2024: play-off finals
Final tournament
December 2, 2023: Euro 2024 draw, Hamburg
June 14, 2024: Euro 2024 opening game, Munich Football Arena (Allianz Arena)
June 30 – July 2: Round of 16
July 5-6: Quarter-finals
July 9-10, 2024: Semi-finals
July 14, 2024: Euro 2024 final, Olympiastadion Berlin