Euro 2024: Group Stage Draw Pots and Potential Opponents for England and Scotland

Gareth Southgate, the coach of the England national team, is urging his players to rediscover their strengths as they prepare for the Euro 2024 group-stage draw. Taking place in Hamburg on December 2, this draw will determine the opponents for the 21 nations that have qualified. Additionally, three more teams will be determined through next year’s play-offs, with England and Scotland already set to represent the home nations. There is still an opportunity for Wales to qualify for Germany through the play-offs.

The upcoming draw is anticipated to form challenging groups, as Italy, the defending champions, have been placed in Pot 4, and Pot 3 includes Croatia, who reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, alongside the Netherlands. UEFA’s decision to allocate pots based on the results of the qualifying groups has resulted in a wide-open draw. The final position and points accumulated during the Euro 2024 qualifiers, as well as a country’s FIFA ranking, were taken into account.

Germany, being the host nation, secured a place in Pot 1, followed by the top group winners Portugal, France, Spain, Belgium, and England. There will be six sets of four teams in the tournament, and the top two teams from each set, along with the four best third-placed teams, will move on to the knockout stages.

The Euro 2024 play-offs are set to happen on March 21 and 26 of next year. Twelve teams will be involved and they will be divided into three brackets: Paths A, B, and C. The draw for the play-offs will take place in Nyon on November 23. While the specific details for the play-offs will be finalized at that stage, the overall format is already known. On June 14, 2024, the tournament will commence, starting with Germany’s participation in the first game of Group A held in Munich. The initial phase of the competition will take place from June 14 to 26, followed by the elimination stage occurring from June 29 to July 14, concluding with the grand finale in Berlin.