The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship in Germany is casting its shadow ahead. Under national coach Julian Nagelsmann, the DFB team is aiming for its fourth title. Where is EURO 2024 on TV? Who are the favorites? And: who is playing against whom? Here are the most important questions and answers about the home European Championships!
On Friday, June 14th, the time has come: the 2024 European Football Championship begins in Germany. 18 years after the World Cup in their own country, many fans are hoping for a second summer fairy tale.
Here is the most important information about the German home European Championship!
European Football Championship 2024 in Germany: Who will broadcast the games on TV?
- Magenta TV has acquired the broadcast rights for all 51 European Championship games and granted sublicenses to ARD, ZDF and RTL. The pay-TV provider will show five games exclusively.
- ARD and ZDF broadcast 34 games, including all European Championship games of the German national team.
- RTL and TVnow broadcast 17 games, including two round of 16 and one quarter-final.
- sport.de offers a detailed live ticker for all 51 European Championship games.
European Football Championship 2024 in Germany: The game mode
The game mode has not changed compared to the 2016 and 2021 European Championship tournaments.
- 24 nations are there. They are divided into six preliminary round groups of four teams each.
- The two best and four best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16.
- The tournament will consist of 51 games in total.
- Germany automatically qualifies as hosts.
European Football Championship 2024 in Germany: The groups
20 teams got their European Championship ticket through qualification. They are divided into four lottery pots. Three tickets will still be awarded through the European Championship playoffs.
- Group A: GermanyScotland, Hungary, Switzerland
- Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania
- Group C: England, Serbia, Slovenia, Denmark
- Group D: France, Austria, Netherlands, winners playoff path A
- Group E: Belgium, Romania, Slovakia, winners playoff path B
- Group F: Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, winner playoff path C
On Thursday, March 21st, a total of twelve teams will face each other in three playoff paths:
- Playoff Path A: Poland v Estonia (8:45 p.m.), Wales v Finland (8:45 p.m.)
- Playoff Path B: Israel – Iceland (8:45 p.m.), Bosnia-Herzegovina – Ukraine (8:45 p.m.)
- Playoff Path C: Georgia – Luxembourg (6:00 p.m.), Greece – Kazakhstan (8:45 p.m.)
The winners of these six games will meet in three playoff games on March 26th.
European Football Championship 2024 in Germany: The venues
Ten locations have been awarded the contract for the European Championships in Germany:
- Berlin (Olympic Stadium, 70,033 seats)
- Munich (Allianz Arena, 66,026 seats)
- Dortmund (Signal Iduna Park, 61,524 places)
- Stuttgart (Mercedes-Benz Arena, 50,998 seats)
- Hamburg (Volksparkstadion, 50,215 seats)
- Gelsenkirchen (49,471 places)
- Frankfurt am Main (Deutsche Bank Park, 48,057 seats)
- Cologne (RheinEnergieStadion, 46,922 seats)
- Düsseldorf (Merkur Spiel-Arena, 46,264 seats)
- Leipzig (Red Bull Arena, 42,600 seats)
Some of the arenas have smaller spectator capacities than in the Bundesliga. During the European Championship tournament, the stadiums will officially have different names.
European Football Championship 2024 in Germany: When will the DFB team play?
- The opening game will take place on Friday, June 14th (kick-off 9:00 p.m.) in Munich. The German team’s opponent is Scotland.
- The DFB team will play their second European Championship preliminary round game against Hungary on June 19th in Stuttgart. The third German group match will take place on June 23rd in Frankfurt am Main against Switzerland.
- The final will take place on Sunday, July 14th (kick-off 9:00 p.m.) in Berlin.
- Dortmund and Munich are the locations of the two semi-final games. Berlin, Dortmund and Munich will also host the most European Championship matches with six games each.
European Football Championship 2024 in Germany: numbers and facts
- The 2024 European Championship in Germany is the 17th European Championship in football history. It is the second European Championship in Germany after 1988.
- The European Championships take place every four years. So far there has only been one exception to this rule: due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 European Championship was only held a year later.
- The Soviet Union became the first tournament winner in 1960.
- The reigning defending champion is Italy.
- Record European champions are Germany (1972, 1980, 1996) and Spain (1964, 2008, 2012).
- France (1984, 2000) and Italy (1968, 2021) follow with two European Championship titles each.
- Six nations each have a European Championship title: the Soviet Union (1960), Czechoslovakia (1976), the Netherlands (1988), Denmark (1992), Greece (2004), Portugal (2016)
European Football Championship 2024 in Germany: The favorites
As world champions in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, France goes into the tournament as the big favorites. In 2021, the Équipe Tricolor failed in the round of 16 against Switzerland.
England, the 2021 European runner-up, and Nations League winner Spain are also given good chances. With ten wins in ten qualifying games and a goal record of 36:2, Portugal is also recommended for the role of title contender.
After a disappointing test match year in 2023, Germany only has the role of co-favorites, hoping for home advantage. Defending champion Italy is still in the discovery phase under new coach Luciano Spalletti.
The secret favorites are Belgium under former Bundesliga coach Domenico Tedesco and Austria, which has found new strength under German team boss Ralf Rangnick.