Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has scheduled its 16th European Championship, known as UEFA Euro 2020 or Euro 2020 from June 11 to July 11, 2021.
Originally, the tournament was supposed to be held in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. The contest retained the same name instead of replacing 2020 with 2021.
UEFA Euro 2020 Format
The competition will consist of 24 teams and 51 matches across 11 cities in 11 UEFA-approved countries. UEFA also demanded to have spectators but the limited number will vary according to each city. UEFA Euro 2020 will start will group stages and the top two in each of the six groups will proceed to the round of 16. The four best third-place teams will also join them in the round of 16.
How Do the Groups Look Like?
Group A: Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland
Group B: Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia
Group D: England, Croatia, Scotland, Czech Republic
Group E: Spain, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia
Group F: Hungary, Portugal, France, Germany
Matches Scheduled for Group Stages
Each team will play 3 games in each group. Here is the full fixture followed by the city, which will host the match.
Friday 11th June
Group A: Turkey vs Italy (Rome)
Saturday 12th June
Group A: Wales vs Switzerland (Baku)
Group B: Denmark vs Finland (Copenhagen)
Group B: Belgium vs Russia (St Petersburg)
Sunday 13th June
Group D: England vs Croatia (London)
Group C: Austria vs North Macedonia (Bucharest)
Group C: Netherlands vs Ukraine (Amsterdam)
Monday 14th June
Group D: Scotland vs Czech Republic (Glasgow)
Group E: Poland vs Slovakia (St Petersburg)
Group E: Spain vs Sweden (Seville)
Tuesday 15th June
Group F: Hungary vs Portugal (Budapest)
Group F: France vs Germany (Munich)
Wednesday 16th June
Group B: Finland vs Russia (St Petersburg)
Group A: Turkey vs Wales (Baku)
Group A: Italy vs Switzerland (Rome)
Thursday 17th June
Group C: Ukraine vs North Macedonia (Bucharest)
Group B: Denmark vs Belgium (Copenhagen)
Group C: Netherlands vs Austria (Amsterdam)
Friday 18th June
Group E: Sweden vs Slovakia (St Petersburg)
Group D: Croatia vs Czech Republic (Glasgow)
Group D: England vs Scotland (London)
Saturday 19th June
Group F: Hungary vs France (Budapest)
Group F: Portugal vs Germany (Munich)
Group E: Spain vs Poland (Seville)
Sunday 20th June
Group A: Italy vs Wales (Rome)
Group A: Switzerland vs Turkey (Baku)
Monday 21st June
Group C: North Macedonia vs Netherlands (Amsterdam)
Group C: Ukraine vs Austria (Bucharest)
Group B: Russia vs Denmark (Copenhagen)
Group B: Finland vs Belgium (St Petersburg)
Tuesday 22nd June
Group D: Czech Republic vs England (London)
Group D: Croatia vs Scotland (Glasgow)
Wednesday 23rd June
Group E: Slovakia vs Spain (Seville)
Group E: Sweden vs Poland (St Petersburg)
Group F: Germany vs Hungary (Munich)
Group F: Portugal v France (Budapest)
Then there will be two days rest on 24th and 25th June before Knockout stage starts.
UEFA Euro 2020 Knockout Phase -Round of 16
Saturday 26th June
2nd in Group A vs 2nd in Group B (Amsterdam)
1st in Group A vs 2nd in Group C (London)
Sunday 27th June
1st in Group C vs 3rd in Group D, E, or F (Budapest)
1st in Group B vs 3rd in Group A, D, E, or F (Seville)
Monday 28th June
2nd in Group D vs 2nd in Group E (Copenhagen)
1st in Group F vs 3rd in Group A, B, or C (Bucharest)
Tuesday 29th June
1st in Group D vs 2nd in Group F (London)
1st in Group E vs 3rd in Group A, B, C, or D (Glasgow)
30th June and 1st July will be rest days then Quarter final will start between the final 8.
Quarter-Finals
Friday 2nd July
QF1: Winner 6 vs Winner 5 (St Petersburg)
QF2: Winner 4 vs Winner 2 (Munich)
Saturday 3rd July
QF3: Winner 3 vs Winner 1 (Baku)
QF4: Winner 8 vs Winner 7 (Rome)
Semi-Finals
After two days rest on 4th and 5th July, Semi-finals will take place between final four in London. Winner QF2 will go against Winner QF1 on 6th July whereas Winner QF4 will meet Winner QF3 on 7th July.
Final
The final match of UEFA EURO 2020 will also take place in London on Sunday 11th July after 3 rest days (8th, 9th, and 10th July)
International Squads Ready for Competition
Defending champions Portugal is in the same group as France, who they beat in UEFA EURO 2016. This time France has cooked up a new strategy by reinstating Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema as the key striker after a 5-year international ban due to his involvement in sex tape blackmailing.
Almost all teams have finalized their squads except England, Denmark, and the Czech Republic at the moment. An interesting development for the fans was that no players from Real Madrid were called to Spain’s squad. Even the captain Sergio Ramos was left out.
UEFA Euro 2020 COVID-19 Protocols
UEFA EURO 2020 aims to deliver a safe event for spectators by reducing the risk of getting an infection. They did it by implementing some new rules like wearing masks, dedicated 30-minutes entry time for ticket holders, temperature checks, and rapid COVID-19 tests. Reportedly, the measures will differ according to each host city.
Each ticket holder will be assigned a dedicated 30-minute entry time slot to arrive at the stadium. You’ll also need to wear a face mask at all times. Other measures may include temperature checks or COVID-19 rapid tests, but every stadium will be a little bit different.
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