Tonight at 22:00 Bulgarian time marks the start of the 17th edition of the European Football Championship for men. The opening match pits hosts Germany against Scotland in a Group A clash of the competition, taking place at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Before the match, there will be a traditional opening ceremony, where the legendary football player Franz Beckenbauer, who passed away on January 7 this year, will also be honored. The reigning champions are Italy, who triumphed in the 2021 edition postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic against England on penalties.
Germany will host the Old Continent championship for the second time in history, after West Germany hosted the competition in 1988 and the winner was the Netherlands. The Bundesteam shares first place in trophies with Spain - both countries have three in their showcases, but the last for the Germans dates back to 1996 in England. The squad has experienced a lot of bad results and humiliations in the last 6 years, starting with the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when the team failed to make it past the group stage. Now, in front of their home crowd, Julian Nagelsmann's side will try to please their loyal supporters and end their wait for a major international trophy - the Germans last celebrated at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
There has been cause for optimism among the hosts since the start of the calendar year after Germany went unbeaten in their four friendlies before the championship, winning three and drawing one, beating the strong sides of France and the Netherlands. Nagelsmann and company are in Group A at this year's tournament, with the other three teams in it being Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland, which in any case suggests that any moment of carelessness on the part of the hosts could be fatal. The Scots are the team's first opponent, and the British have improved a lot in recent times and are no longer just a fighting team. There are also many positive things to say about Hungary and Switzerland, but what stands out about both sides is the discipline and danger posed by both the Hungarians and the Crusaders.
Group B of Euro 2024 could easily be called the "Group of Death". It includes the current winner of the trophy Italy, the three-time champion Spain, Croatia and the tough team of Albania. The Albanians appear to be underdogs in the eyes of many, but they are far from being underestimated after winning their qualifying group and are led by Brazil's Silvinho, a former Barcelona player. Luciano Spalletti's Italy will have the tough task of getting out of their group unscathed first before thinking about a possible defense of the trophy. The Azzurri do not feature the names of particular stars, but history shows that the Italians may not shine and may not necessarily be among the favorites, but find a way to the title, as they did three years ago.
The Spaniards ended their trophyless drought about a year ago when they won the Nations League against their first opponents this year, Croatia. La Furia Roja produced strong performances in the friendlies and will be highly motivated to triumph in the race again after thrashing Italy in 2012. Speaking of the Croatians, led by the ageless Luka Modric, Zlatko Dalic's side have shown what they are capable of at the last two World Cups, and now they will be looking to upset the favorites at the European Championships as well.
In Group C is perhaps the biggest favorite for a debut crown in history - the perennial contenders England team. "If not now, when?". It's a question that many of the Three Lions have asked themselves over the years, but in the end, they are only left with the world title from their home World Cup back in 1966. Gareth Southgate's men arrive in Germany with the confidence of having one of the strongest squads, as the coach himself had to make very bold and surprising decisions for the group, considering the huge range of players in certain positions. So at Euro 2024 we won't see players like Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire, but Southgate has shown that he weighs in on the place and bet on players in form and with better seasons than others. It's unclear what else Judd Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Harry Kane, who have been heavily eyed, will show, but England are clear favorites and will be looking to build on their 2021 final.
Against themselves, the Three Lions will have three opponents who should not bother them, but should not become a reason to relax - Denmark, Serbia and Slovenia. The Danes gave England a serious sweat in the semi-final three years ago, while the Serbs and Slovenians are traditionally tough rivals who, in given the opportunity, they will not hesitate to punish a more prominent opponent on the field.
In Group D is the other main contender for a third triumph in history - Didier Deschamps' France team. The Roosters last won the tournament in 2000 and lost to Portugal in the final on home soil eight years ago. The French forgot the pain of that in the World Cup trophy dispute in 2018, but another one followed – again at the World Cup, this time in Qatar, where Lionel Messi grabbed the long-awaited world crown with Argentina. In the national team of France there are footballers such as Kylian Mbappe, who will play in Real Madrid from next season, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Ousmane Dembele, and Deschamps have plenty of options in the rest of the lines.
The French team will try to go painlessly through their group, which also includes Poland, Netherlands and Austria. Certainly, the Tulips are expected to be the most serious opponent of the Roosters, but it is too early to say how far Ronald Koeman's players will go. Poles and Austrians should not be underestimated as they have their arguments too and quality players to back it up with the likes of Robert Lewandowski in Druzhina Polska and Marko Arnautovic for Austria.
Group E brought together Belgium, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine. The Belgians' "golden generation" is about to find its logical conclusion, without a major trophy at that, but the Red Devils still have the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in their squad to lead Domenico Tedesco's side to glory a triumph. Belgium have always had quality but have failed in crucial moments – such was the case in the semi-finals in Russia 2018, when the team lost to France. Now, Belgium enters the role of favorite in an equal group, where all the other three teams - Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine - can easily continue to the eliminations of the European Championship.
In the last group F is the 2016 European champion Portugal. The Mariners, like Belgium, have always had great footballers in their squad, eventually reaching the top eight years ago, albeit the hard way. Led in this championship as well by the ever-present Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 39 never ceases to amaze and reached 130 goals for the national team in the 3:0 win over the Republic of Ireland, Roberto Martinez's men will look to translate the quality they have into winning results on the grounds in Germany. Rivals of the Portuguese in the group are Turkey, Georgia and the Czech Republic, with the Czechs being the team's first opponents. And here, like the previous group, any one of the Turks, Georgians and Czechs can qualify for the 1/8 finals. It is important to note that Georgia is at the European Championship for the first time in its history, and the lack of experience could play a bad joke on Willy Sagnol's squad, which has otherwise progressed dramatically in recent years.
The top six teams from each group plus the four best runners-up qualify for the Euro 2024 1/8-finals. In the event of a tie on points, the next metric that will be taken into account is the goal difference, followed by the number of goals scored. The group stage ends on June 26, with the round of 16 starting three days later. The quarter-finals will be played on July 5 and 6, and the semi-finals on July 9 and 10 in Munich and Dortmund respectively. The final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin is on July 14 at 22:00 p.m. Bulgarian time.
The matches from the European Championship will be distributed equally between Nova TV and BNT. Traditionally, the opening game pitting Germany against Scotland will be broadcast live on both televisions. After the first day of the schedule, there will be three matches per day and they will start at 16:00, 19:00 and 22:00, with the exception of the last matches of the groups, where there will be decisive clashes that will determine who goes on to the round of 16 teams. They will be at the same time. | BGNES
