EURO 2024: Europe’s Football Festival Kicks Off
The UEFA EURO 2024, the highly anticipated European Championship, has begun, promising a month of thrilling football action.
Germany was chosen to host the tournament by UEFA in September 2018, beating out Turkey in the bidding process. West Germany previously hosted EURO 1988, making EURO 2024 the first European Championship held in the unified Germany.
Germany also has a history of hosting major football events, having hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
The tournament commenced on June 14th with the opening match in Munich, where host nation Germany faced Scotland in Group A. The group stage will run until June 26th, followed by the Round of 16 starting on June 29th. The final match, determining the champion of Europe, is scheduled for July 14th in Berlin.
Which Countries are Competing in EURO 2024?
A total of 24 teams are participating in EURO 2024, divided into six groups of four. Turkey is among the nations vying for the coveted title of European Champion.
The groups are as follows:
- 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
Tournament Format
In the group stage, each team will play against every other team in their group once. The top two teams from each of the six groups, along with the four best third-placed teams, will advance to the Round of 16. From there, the top 8 teams will proceed to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals and the final.
When are Turkey’s Matches?
Turkey has participated in the European Championship finals six times previously. Their first appearance was in the 1960 finals, where they were eliminated in the first round. They had to wait until 1996 for their second tournament.
At EURO 1996, Turkey lost all three of their matches without scoring a single goal. In EURO 2000, they advanced from the group stage but were eliminated by Portugal in the quarter-finals. EURO 2008 marked Turkey’s greatest success in the tournament, reaching the semi-finals where they narrowly lost 3-2 to Germany.
EURO 2016 saw Turkey secure one win in three matches, while EURO 2020 turned into a nightmare, with the national team losing all their matches and scoring only one goal in the tournament played in 2021 due to the pandemic.
In the EURO 2024 Qualifiers, Turkey topped Group D, which included Croatia, Wales, Armenia, and Latvia, securing their place in the finals. Drawn into Group F, Turkey will face Georgia, Portugal, and the Czech Republic. Turkey’s EURO 2024 group match schedule is as follows:
- June 18th: Turkey vs. Georgia (19:00 CEST – Dortmund)
- June 22nd: Turkey vs. Portugal (19:00 CEST – Dortmund)
- June 26th: Turkey vs. Czech Republic (22:00 CEST – Hamburg)
Turkish referees Halil Umut Meler and Alper Ulusoy will also be participating in the tournament, with Meler as one of the 19 main referees and Ulusoy serving as a VAR referee.
Who are the Tournament Favorites?
According to sports data analysis firm Opta, England and France are the frontrunners for the tournament title. These two nations have almost identical chances of reaching the semi-finals. Following closely behind England and France are host nation Germany and Spain.
Opta’s predictions are based on a model that uses betting market odds and their own team rankings to estimate the probability of each match outcome – win, draw, or loss. The odds and rankings are derived from teams’ past and recent performances. The model then considers the structure of the groups and the knockout stages, using match outcome probabilities to assess the strength of opponents and the difficulty of their paths to the final.
Which Cities Will Host the Matches?
EURO 2024 matches will be held in 10 different stadiums across 10 host cities.
The cities, stadiums, and their capacities are:
- Berlin: Olympiastadion Berlin (71,000)
- Cologne: Cologne Stadium (43,000)
- Dortmund: BVB Stadion Dortmund (62,000)
- Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf Arena (47,000)
- Frankfurt: Frankfurt Arena (47,000)
- Gelsenkirchen: Arena AufSchalke (50,000)
- Hamburg: Volksparkstadion Hamburg (49,000)
- Leipzig: Leipzig Stadium (40,000)
- Munich: Munich Football Arena (66,000)
- Stuttgart: Stuttgart Arena (51,000)
Does EURO 2024 have an Official Match Ball?
The official match ball for UEFA EURO 2024, used throughout the final tournament, is named FUSSBALLLIEBE.
It was unveiled in November 2023 at a special event in front of the Berlin Olympiastadion by UEFA and adidas. FUSSBALLLIEBE is German for “love of football.”
Does EURO 2024 have a Mascot?
The mascot for EURO 2024 is Albärt, chosen through a vote by UEFA.com users and school children across Europe. Albärt received 32% of the votes.
Albärt is a furry teddy bear and was first introduced to German fans in Gelsenkirchen in June 2023.