England draw Denmark, Serbia and Slovenia, Scotland to play Germany in tournament opener

Thanks for your company

That concludes our coverage of the draw for Euro 2024. There's your summer mapped out for next year, it should be a belter.

Match notes

There are no timings on the matches as yet, now we (mostly) know who will play who and where that will be thrashed out over the next few days. For England and Scotland though, this much we definitely know:

16 June - Serbia (Gelsenkirchen)

20 June - Denmark (Frankfurt)

25 June - Slovenia (Cologne)

14 June - Germany (Munich)

19 June - Switzerland (Cologne)

23 June - Hungary (Stuttgart)

A quick recap

Here's a little reminder of how the draw landed earlier.

The Welsh task

The equation is pretty simple for Wales - win two home games in four days in March and they've made it. Under Rob Page they've walked this path before, taking the same play-off path to Qatar which was secured with a pair of memorable, emotional victories in Cardiff over Austria and Ukraine.

Elsewhere

That looks a good draw in Group F for a Portugal squad that is loaded with talent, and surely will be among the favourites if Roberto Martinez can corral from it an XI that is more balanced and harmonious than the one that underperformed in Qatar. Group B looks tough, with champions Italy up against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, a young and improving Spain team and Albania, who were impressive in qualifying.

What of the hosts?

For those of us who grew up watching German international teams make the last four of tournaments as a habit, the last five years have been a bit surreal. They haven't won a knockout game at a tournament since Euro 2016, a run that includes the only two World Cup exits in the group phase in their history. Can Julian Nagelsmann cobble a team together to arrest that decline? There are some echoes here of the 2006 World Cup, where Jurgen Klinsmann had a similar task and took the country on a memorable run to the semi-finals.

England's time?

Some people have England as favourites for the tournament; personally I'd have them second, because of the road block they couldn't get beyond in Qatar. The French have more firepower in their starting XI and more depth in their squad, but England ran them pretty close in the World Cup. If - and it's a big if, as form, injuries, freak results and many other factors can tip things upside down - both sides win their respective groups, they can't meet until the final in Berlin. As I say though, that's if with a capital I and F, in Times New Roman 72 and in bold.

There it is then

Well, what do we make of all that? On the face of it, I'd say Group B looks the tightest in terms of how close all four teams are (in my humble etc), though that may change when we find out the full line-up in Group D. England and Gareth Southgate will be happy enough you'd imagine, Wales will have a task in Group D if they make it and what a draw for Scotland - the showpiece opening match, and I'd say a fair chance of advancing to the knockout stages of an international tournament for the first time ever.

Any more, any more? Pot four!

Here come the variables, and we'll find out where Wales will be going if they can get through those play-offs. Before that happens Group B gets a whole lot tougher as the champions Italy land in it. England's first game of the tournament is confirmed to be Serbia. If Wales make it through, my word it's tough - they'll be in with France, Austria and the Netherlands.

Group A - Germany (A1), Hungary (A3), Scotland (A2), Switzerland (A4)

Group B - Spain (B1), Albania (B4), Croatia (B2), Italy (B3)

Group C - England (C4), Denmark (C2), Slovenia (C1), Serbia (C3)

Group D - France (D4), Austria (D3), Netherlands (D2), Play-off winner A (D1)

Group E - Belgium (E1), Romania (E3), Slovakia (E2), Play-off winner B (E4)

Group F - Portugal (F3), Turkiye (F1), Czechia (F4), Play-off winner C (F2)

So, to pot three...

Here come Scotland, and they're out first! Just like at France 98, they'll open the tournament. What a match for them, Germany on the opening day! And how about Group D - as in qualifying, France will face the Netherlands.

Group A - Germany (A1), Hungary (A3), Scotland (A2)

Group B - Spain (B1), Albania (B4), Croatia (B2)

Group C - England (C4), Denmark (C2), Slovenia (C1)

Group D - France (D4), Austria (D3), Netherlands (D2)

Group E - Belgium (E1), Romania (E3), Slovakia (E2)

Group F - Portugal (F3), Turkiye (F1), Czechia (F4)

Pot two on the way

There's a galaxy of stars up there doing the draw, among them Ricardo Quaresma, Thomas Rosicky and Steve McManaman. Here's where pot two lands, teams from the pot in bold. It's a tough one for England, a rematch of that dramatic Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley.

Group A - Germany (A1), Hungary (A3)

Group B - Spain (B1), Albania (B4)

Group C - England (C4), Denmark (C2)

Group D - France (D4), Austria (D3)

Group E - Belgium (E1), Romania (E3)

Group F - Portugal (F3), Turkiye (F1)

England to kick-off in Gelsenkirchen

That'll be on Sunday 16 June.

A number one for pot one

It's Gigi Buffon who gets pot one, and it falls as follows (group position for fixtures in brackets):

THE MASCOT

Before we get started we meet the tournament mascot Albärt, a 'bear' who hands over the first ball which is of course Germany. They occupy position A1 in Group A and will kick the whole tournament off with the opening match in Munich next June.

HERE WE GO

Giorgio Marchetti, the Deputy General Secretary of UEFA, gets it popping in the spectacular Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. It's all pleasantries and well wishes to competing teams so far, and now we're just getting a quick run down on why which teams are in which pots, and how it will all unfold. We'll be doing the pots in order from one to four, so it's the highest ranked teams out first.

WHO DO YOU FANCY?

If they’re any kind of barometer the current FIFA world rankings have France as the highest ranked European side, followed by England and then Belgium. All of pot 1 are in the top 10, bar the hosts who have seen their ranking slip to 16 after a succession of poor international tournaments. One thing to note is that with Netherlands and Croatia in pot 3, and defending champions Italy in pot 4, we’ve got a decent percentage chance of the phrase ‘Group of Death’ being in heavy rotation in the build-up to the tournament.

If you’re the kind of swashbuckling, romantic soul that pulls for the underdog, then this is the tournament for you. Where the World Cup is pretty much a closed shop and the preserve of international football’s elite, the Euros has served up some memorable victories against the odds. Czechoslovakia, Denmark and Greece all put it on their supposed betters to win this title.

TOP OF THE POTS

You’ll be wanting to know which teams are in which pots I guess? Well, sit there wondering no longer:

Pot 1: Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, England

Pot 2: Hungary, Romania, Albania, Turkiye, Denmark, Austria

Pot 3: Netherlands, Croatia, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Czechia

Pot 4: Italy, Serbia, Switzerland, Play-off winner A, Play-off winner B, Play-off winner C

Path A: Wales v Finland, Poland v Estonia

Path B: Bosnia and Herzegovina v Ukraine, Israel v Iceland

Path C: Georgia v Luxembourg, Greece v Kazakhstan

IT’S BIGGER THAN THAT CHRIS, IT’S LARGE

The last time that the European Championship was held in Germany, it was still struggling for an identity and was effectively a staging post between World Cups. There were only eight teams involved in 1988, and it was sorted out in a fortnight.

Now the tournament is a behemoth – some say too big – and while it will never attain parity with the World Cup, via expansion and a cranking up in how seriously it’s taken across the continent, the Euros are the third biggest sporting event on the planet after said World Cup and the Olympics. The Eurocentric nature of world football, with the game organised to the whims of the super clubs in the Champions League, only underscores its importance. In the international game this is UEFA’s big show, and it’s a very big deal.

ICH BIN EIN HAMBURGER

Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms and Angela Merkel were born in this city; the pre-mania Beatles cut their teeth here in 1960, and in 1983 the Bundesliga stalwarts housed in these parts won the European Cup courtesy of a screamer from former Fulham manager Felix Magath. Tonight, all eyes are on Hamburg for the Euro 2024 finals draw, which is incoming.

195 days from now, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, the 17th European Championship will be kicking off. Germany has a stellar history of hosting international tournaments; when prefixed by West they put on an excellent World Cup in 1974 and a European Championship in 1988. Since reunification, they served up a great stage for the 2006 World Cup.

Next year they’re back in that particular game. Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Stuttgart, Gelsenkirchen, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Leipzig and Hamburg will be hosting the 51 matches of Euro 2024 next June and July. We know 21 of the competing teams at this point, the final three will be sorted out in the play-offs in March. In a few moments time, we’ll have the structure for the whole jamboree in place.

There will be big glass fish bowls, balls with wee bits of paper folded inside them and some suited and booted ex-pro’s gliding around the stage as it all unfolds. Eyes down then for the draw for Euro 2024!