What Is The Structure Of The Euro 2020 Tournament?
The European Championship will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2020 with the tournament taking place in 12 cities across the continent. Already, Europe’s heavyweights such as Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, and Germany have qualified for the group stages of the tournament. The Championship will kick off on June 12, 2020, with Stadio Olimpico, Rome, hosting the opening match between Italy and Turkey. Wembley Stadium in London will host the closing ceremony as well as Euro 2020 finals. Here is how the tournament has been planned.
24 Countries Will Compete For The Trophy
24 teams will compete for the coveted Henri Delaunay Cup only for the second time in the history of UEFA Euro. The first 24-team UEFA European Championship was held in 2016 in France. The qualification campaign involved 55 countries drawn in ten groups of five and six teams. The top two teams from each of the ten groups automatically reached the tournament. So far, 20 teams have already qualified for Euro 2020. The other four teams will qualify via play-offs to be held in March 2020.
Six Groups Of Four Teams
The draw for Euro 2020 took place on November 30, 2019, in Bucharest. The tournament will feature six groups of four teams each. So far, only Groups A and B are complete with four teams. The other four groups will have to wait until the end of March 2020 to know the fourth member. The European champions, Portugal, have been drawn against the reigning world champions France and the immediate former world champions Germany in Group F, also known as “the group of death.” The group state will run from June 12 to June 24, with four matches played daily.
Sixteen Teams To Qualify For The Next Round
From the group stages, 16 of the 24 countries will qualify for the next round of matches or round of 16. The two top teams in each of the six groups will book a place in the next round of matches. The other four teams that will make it to the next round will be the four best third-place finishers.
12 Cities In 12 Countries To Host The Tournament
Euro 2020 will be held across Europe for the first time in 60 years. 12 host cities in 12 countries have been selected including Baku, Amsterdam, Munich, Bilbao, Rome, Bucharest, Saint Petersburg, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, and Dublin. Of all the hosts, only Azerbaijan has failed to qualify for the tournament. Hungary, Romania, and the Republic of Ireland are among the teams competing for the remaining four slots.
Hosts To Play All Their Group Stage Games At Home
The host nations that automatically qualified for the group stages of Euro 2020 were paced in Groups A to F. Only Russia and Denmark have been placed in the same group (B). These teams will play all their three group stage matches at home. Because Russia and Denmark are in the same group and are both hosts, a draw was held on November 22, 2019, to decide where the match between the two will be played. Fortunately for Denmark, they will play Russia at home.
Eight cities including London, Glasgow, Dublin, Copenhagen, Budapest, Bucharest, Bilbao, and Amsterdam will each host one round of 16 games. Quarter-final matches will be held in Baku, Rome, Munich, and Saint Petersburg. London will again host the semi-finals and the final.
