UEFA Euro 2024: Five games to watch in the group stage as England, France and Spain get underway in Germany

The 2024 edition of UEFA Euro is about to start. On Friday 14 June, tournament host Germany will kick off the competition, three years after UEFA Euro 2022, which took place a year later in the summer of 2021 due to the COVID outbreak. The 24 teams are divided into six groups that will determine access to the knockout stage. Let’s now detail the games that will be played in the initial phase and let’s take a look at the five games you can’t miss:

1. Germany v Scotland, June 14

The first game of the tournament is unmissable. Julian Negalsmann’s team kicks off UEFA Euro 2024 and is always interesting to watch, also taking into account the importance of the teams involved. While Scotland should not be underestimated and will want to do better after being eliminated in the group stage of the last edition, Germany definitely need to respond after a disappointing few years, having been eliminated in the group stage of the last two editions of the World Cup. World (in 2018 and 2022) and were eliminated by England in the round of 16 of the last edition of Euro. After Hansi Flick failed to revive the national team, Nagelsmann was asked to take charge and guide his team in the home tournament this summer. A good start against Scotland will be crucial for him and the team.

2. Spain x Croatia, June 15

On the first weekend of action, Spain and Croatia face off in one of the most important games of the opening phase, as the two teams will also play Italy and Albania later. Spain is coming off a disappointing 2022 World Cup, when they lost to Morocco in the round of 16 and were also eliminated by Italy on penalties in the last edition of the Euro. Spain is a young team with a lot of talent, but Croatia can count on the experience of players who made history like Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic or Ivan Perisic. Both teams cannot fail, as they will face another tough opponent, Luciano Spalletti’s Italy, in the same group. Whoever wins this game will certainly be closer to qualifying for the next phase, while the losing team will need to win the two remaining clashes.

3. Denmark v England, June 20

Another moment to keep an eye on in what will probably be the most anticipated day of the group stage will be when Denmark face England in the second round of the competition. Denmark was among the surprising teams in the 2020 edition. Despite Christian Eriksen’s tragic incident in the first game of the tournament, the Danish team only lost to England in the semi-final in extra time. Denmark will face Gareth Southgate’s team again this year, but the Three Lions are favorites not just to win this game, but to win it all. During the 2022 World Cup, Denmark failed to qualify for the knockout stages, while England were only eliminated by France in the quarter-finals.

4. Spain x Italy, June 20

We already mentioned Spain in the first game of the tournament against Croatia, but the game against Italy will probably be the most exciting of the entire group stage. Italy were the winners of the last edition of the UEFA Euro, but they are a completely different team to three years ago. In addition to the squad, former coach Roberto Mancini left his position last summer after failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and was replaced by Luciano Spalletti, in charge of starting a new cycle with a renewed team and young players. The Azzurri will face Spain again after the 2020 edition, when the team led by Luis Enrique lost on penalties against Italy in the semi-final played at Wembley. Three years later, here they are playing again.

5. Netherlands v France, June 21

The day after these two big games, the Netherlands will face France in the second round of Group D. The team coached by Ronald Koeman will be without midfielders Frenkie De Jong and Teun Koopmeiners, who were injured before the start of the tournament and they will lose the Euro. . However, the Dutch team is still full of talent and could be one to watch this summer, even if France are the most likely candidates, alongside England, to win the tournament. France can count on a strong team led by new Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe and will want to react after the disappointing defeat in the final to Argentina in 2022 and also the elimination in the round of 16 on penalties against Switzerland at UEFA Euro 2022 .