How to watch Euro 2024 | Dates, groups, fixtures & more info

Jonathan Victoria • 11 Jun 2024 Guides

Potentially the closest contest in years.

Football is already back in our lives as the latest edition of the UEFA European Championship gets underway this week!

With what is sure to be the greatest edition of the competition for the longest time, we’re bringing all that you’ll want and need to know ahead of kickoff, including how to watch Euro 2024, fixtures, dates and lots more.

How to watch Euro 2024

All 51 games of Euro 2024 will be shown live on Freeview channels BBC and ITV.

BBC and ITV have shared the broadcasting rights for major international football tournaments for some time now, with the pair agreeing beforehand on who gets what games.

In terms of England’s matches, BBC will show their first two group stage matches while ITV will have the potentially crucial third. 

Should they make it through to the knockout stage, ITV will then have their Round of 16 matchup and their Semi-final fixture if they make it that far. BBC will have the Quarter-final match, again if they were to make it that far.

As for the final, both channels will share it with their own individual coverage.

BBC & ITV broadcast teams

BBC and ITV each have their own Euro 2024 broadcast team, comprised of old football stars and some legends plus the usual suspect presenters and pundits.

BBC

BBC have some great former England stars part of their team this year along with some Premier League managers.

• Presentesr: Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan, Mark Chapman, Alex Scott
• Pundits: Waye Rooney, Micah Richards, Rio Ferdinand, David Moyes, Cesc Fabregas, Ashley Williams, Frank Lampard, Joe Hart, Ellen White, Rachel Corsie, Thomas Frank
• Commentators: Guy Mowbray, Jonathan Pearce, Steve Bower, Steve Wilson, Vicki Sparks, Robyn Cowen
• Co-commentators: Alan Shearer, Jermaine Jenas, Danny Murphy, Martin Keown, James McFadden

ITV

Similar to BBC, a mix of legends, stars and managers make up ITV’s team, with the most notable sure to be Ro Keane, who will no doubt be coming with some more iconic lines throughout the tournament.

• Presenters: Mark Pougatch, Laura Woods
• Pundits: Ian Wright, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Ange Postecoglou, Karen Carney, Eni Aluko, Graeme Souness, Danny Rohl, Christina Unkel
• Commentators: Clive Tyldesley, Joe Speight, Sam Matterface, Seb Hutchinson, Pien Meulensteen
• Co-commentators: Lee Dixon, Ally McCoist, Andros Townsend

When does Euro 2024 start?

Euro 2024 kicks off on Friday 14th June, with the first match due to start at 8pm BST.

Euro 2024 dates

Euro 2024 will start on Friday 14th June and will run for a full month, finishing on Sunday 14th July.

The group stage gets things started, with each team playing three games in this stage.

The group stage will end on 26th June, with the qualified teams going through to the first knockout stage, the Round of 16, which starts on 29th June.

When is the Euro 2024 final?

The Euro 2024 final takes place on Sunday 14th July.

Where is Euro 2024?

Euro 2024 will take place in Germany.

The hosts have previously hosted the competition once before in 1988 (hosted as West Germany), but they did also host a few games during the multi-national Euro 2020 tournament, which saw games played all over Europe.

Euro 2024 venues

There are 10 venues in total from around Germany which will host the tournament. They are:

• Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin – 70,033
• Fussball Arena Munchen, Munich – 66,026
• BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund – 61,524
• Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart – 50,998
• Volksparkstadion, Hamburg – 50,215
• Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen – 49,471
• Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt – 48,057
• Cologne Stadium, Cologne – 46,922
• Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig – 46,635
• Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf – 46,264

Who has qualified for Euro 2024?

24 teams have qualified for Euro 2024, with only one side making their debut in the competition.

There are a few top nations with big-name players who have missed out, but none more major than Norway, which includes Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard.

As for those who did qualify, here is the 24-team field that makes up this year's contest:

• Germany (H)
• England
• France
• Spain
• Italy
• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Croatia
• Portugal
• Hungary
• Scotland
• Switzerland 
• Denmark
• Austria
• Poland
• Ukraine
• Turkey
• Czech Republic
• Slovakia 
• Slovenia
• Serbia
• Albania
• Romania 
• Georgia (D)

Key: H = Host, D = Debutant

Euro 2024 groups

The 24 teams that will compete in Euro 2024 are divided up into six groups of four teams. The groups are:

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 

Euro 2024 format

Euro 2024 begins with the group stage, where each team will play the other three teams in their group.

Teams will get three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Goal difference can play a key factor in the groups as if two teams finish in level points, the team with a superior goal difference will finish ahead.

The top two teams from each group will go through automatically, meaning 12 spots are filled for the Round of 16.

The remaining four spots are for the four best third-placed teams in the groups. These four will be determined by results and goal difference.

Once the 16 teams have been figured out, the tournament will head for the knockout stage.

The knockout stage, or simply knockouts, consists of the Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, and then the Final.

Each game in the knockouts is single elimination, with draws at the end of 90 minutes being decided by extra time, then penalties if there is still no winner after 120 minutes.

Euro 2024 fixtures & schedule

Euros history

The European Championship started back in 1960 and has been held every four years since then, with the exception of 2020 which was postponed a year due to COVID-19 (it was and still is known as Euro 2020).

The tournament is the second most-watched football competition, only being beaten unsurprisingly by the World Cup.

Originally, the competition was named the European Nations’ Cup, but that name held only for two tournaments before being changed in 1968. Ever since the 1996 edition, it has been shortened to the UEFA Euro [year], or more commonly simply just the Euros.

During the first five editions, only four teams would compete in the final tournament, although more did compete in the qualifying rounds. It expanded to eight teams in 1980, then again to 16 in 1996, and then finally expanded to the 24 sides that we know it now in 2016.

All teams other than the host nation must qualify for the tournament via the qualifying process, which typically begins just over a year before the tournament starts.

Up until 2016, the winner of the Euros were invited but not obliged to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup the following year. This contest was competed by the winners of each of the six continental championships (UEFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, AFC, OFC and CAF), plus the current FIFA World Cup champions and the host nation.

But since the 2020 edition onwards, the winner of the Euros now competes in the mandatory CONMEBOL - UEFA Cup of Champions.

Euros winners

There have been a total of 10 winners of the Euros throughout history, with some surprise winners along the way.

The most notable wins of all time come from Denmark, who won in 1992 despite not even qualifying properly for the competition, and Greece, who surprised the hosts Portugal in the final by beating them 1-0.

Spain and Germany hold the distinction of having the joint-most Euros titles with three each (Germany won two as West Germany). Spain are also the only team to have defended their title, having won in 2008 and defending it in 2012.

Here is the full list of European Championship winners:

1960 – Soviet Union

1964 – Spain

1968 – Italy

1972 – West Germany

1976 – Czechoslovakia

1980 – West Germany

1984 – France

1988 – Netherlands

1992 – Denmark

1996 – Germany

2000 – France

2004 – Greece

2008 – Spain

2012 – Spain

2016 – Portugal

2020 – Italy

Euros records

Team

Matches played: 53 – Germany/West Germany

Most championship wins: 3 – Germany/West Germany & Spain

Most wins (games): 27 – Germany/West Germany

Most losses: 17 – Denmark

Most goals scored (total): 78 – Germany/West Germany

Most goals scored (tournament): 14 – France (1984)

Most goals conceded (total): 55 – Germany/West Germany

Most goals conceded (tournament): 13 – Yugoslavia ()

Biggest margin of victory in a final: 4-0 – Spain vs Italy (2012)

Player

Most appearances (tournaments): 6 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal (2004 - 2024) 

Most appearances (games): 25 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

Most wins (games): 12 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

Most goals scored (total incl. qualifying): 55 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

Most goals scored (total excl. qualifying): 14 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

Most goals scored (tournament): 9 – Michel Platini, France (1984)

Youngest player: 17 years, 246 days –  Kacper Kozlowski, Poland

Oldest player: 40 years, 86 days – Gabor Kiraly, Hungary

Fastest goal: 67 seconds – Dmitri Kirichenko, Russia (vs Greece, 2004)

Fastest goal in a final: 2 minutes – Luke Shake, England (2020)

Most clean sheets: 9 – Edwin van der Sar, Netherlands & Iker Casillas, Spain

Most clean sheets (tournament): 5 – Iker Casillas, Spain (2012) & Jordan Pickford, England (2020)

Manager

Most matches: 21 – Joachim Low, Germany

Most matches won: 12 – Joachim Low, Germany

Most tournaments: 4 – Joachim Low, Germany & Lars Lagerback, Sweden and Iceland

Single tournament

Most goals: 142 (2020)

Most goals per match: 4.75 (1976)

Most goals per match (since 1980): 2.78 (2020)

Fewest goals: 7 (1968)

Fewest goals (since 1980): 27 (1980)

Fewest goals per match: 1.4 (1968)

Fewest goals per match (since 1980): 1.93 (1980)