The 2024 European Championship is sure to be the most talked-about event in a year packed with major soccer tournaments.
Starting in June, Germany will host the UEFA competition, which is held every four years to choose a European champion.
At their meeting in Nyon on 27 September 2018, the UEFA Executive Committee decided that Germany will host the 17th UEFA European Championship. Turkey was the only other country to submit a proposal to host the 2024 Euro.
Despite having hosted the tournament in 1988, this will be Germany’s first UEFA European Championship since reunification. In addition, the nation hosted the 2006 World Cup.
Who will play in Euro 2024?
With their status as hosts, Germany was automatically qualified for the event. The top two finishers from each of the 10 groups directly qualified for 20 spots.
On the other hand, the top three finishers from each of the remaining three groups were filled through play-offs.
The 2022-23 UEFA Nations League top teams who didn’t make it through the regular qualifying competition received a spot in the 2024 Euro play-offs. The Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany, hosted the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying group stage draw on October 9, 2022.
Nineteen of the twenty-four teams who were eligible to compete returned from the last tournament. This group comprises the following teams: Italy (the current champions), England (the runner-up), France (the World Cup runner-up), and Croatia (the bronze medalists).
Aside from Portugal, no other team qualified with a perfect record; nonetheless, France, England, Belgium, Hungary, and Romania all qualified without a defeat.
After not making it to Euro 2020, Albania and Romania both had a triumphant comeback; Albania qualified for only their second international tournament. For the first time since Euro 2000, both Serbia and Slovenia made it back to the tournament.
Slovenia qualified for their fourth major tournament as an independent country. Meanwhile, while Serbia qualified for their first event since Serbia and Montenegro became distinct entities.
Following their 1991 independence from the Soviet Union, Georgia qualified for its first tournament ever with a penalty shootout victory against Greece. They were also the only newcomers to the event for this year, continuing a trend that began with the first final in 1960.
Who will miss Euro 2024?
Countries like Russia, Wales, and Sweden are prominently missing. Not only did Sweden not make it to the finals, but they also did not qualify for either the 2022 World Cup or Euro 1996. That makes it two consecutive major tournaments which they will miss.
Russia was immediately disqualified from participating in the qualifications after its invasion of Ukraine. Prior to that, the nation had been a fixture at finals since Euro 2000. After the 1992 FR Yugoslavia incident, this is the first time a national team has been disqualified from the tournament.
After advancing to the semifinals in both of the prior tournaments, Wales fell to Poland in the play-offs after a penalty shootout. Finland and North Macedonia, which both participated in the previous edition for the first time, did not make the cut this time around.
All Euro 2024 teams
- Germany
- Belgium
- France
- Portugal
- Spain
- Scotland
- Türkiye
- Austria
- England
- Hungary
- Slovakia
- Albania
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Romania
- Switzerland
- Serbia
- Italy
- Czechia
- Slovenia
- Croatia
- Georgia
- Ukraine
- Poland
Photo credit: IMAGO / Eibner
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