The pandemic has had the longest wait, but finally, the European Championship will be held this June. From the 11th of this month, eleven different countries will host the group stage matches of the first multisex edition in the history of the competition.
The 24 participating teams will be able to count on the support of the fans from the stands, although it will not be possible to reach 100% of the capacity.
Some of the most powerful teams in the world will compete with each other in a competition where France, the last world champion, is on paper one of the big favorites. Among the candidates for the title will also be the Portugal by Cristiano Ronaldo, the reigning champion. Germany, England, Belgium and Spain will be clear aspirants to win the championship.
The European Championship will start on June 11 and will last exactly one month, since the final will take place on July 11 at Wembley.
Group A
Italy, Switzerland, Wales and Turkey.
In the group A Italy comes out as the main favorite to go round, although the always combative Switzerland will not make things easy. Gareth Bale’s Wales and a Turkey eager to be important will try to make their way to the round of 16 despite not having it easy.
Group B
Belgium, Denmark, Russia and Finland.
In this case, Belgium comes out as a candidate to take first place in the group, which at the pace of Kevin De Bruyne, will try to get rid of its main obstacles in the group stage, Russia and Denmark. Under the orders of the Catalan Robert Martínez, Belgium is presented as one of the great attractions of the championship. The last member of the group will be Finland, which in principle comes out as the team with the fewest options to pass the round.
Group C
Netherlands, Northern Macedonia, Ukraine and Austria
With the help of young talents such as Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt, among others, the Netherlands returns to a major tournament for the first time since 2014, which will face Ukraine and Austria, two teams eager to qualify for the round of 16 for the first time in its history. This group will also include Northern Macedonia, debuting in this competition.
Group D
England, Scotland, Croatia and the Czech Republic
A renewed England will have to face Croatia, a very competitive team, which as we could see in the 2018 World Cup, is eager to surprise and take the title. They will also face Scotland, who are returning to a European Championship 25 years later, and the Czech Republic, who will be looking for a ticket that will open the door for them in the round of 16.
Group E
Spain, Sweden, Slovakia and Poland
Luis Enrique’s block, with a large presence of Manchester City players, is presented as a big favorite in the first position of this group E. However, Robert Lewandowski’s Poland is the big threat to snatch the victory of the group. Spain will also have to face Sweden, a team that has shown several times that it is not an easy rival. Finally, in group E there will also be Slovakia, which will play its second consecutive European Championship this summer.
Group F
Germany, France, Portugal and Hungary
Definitely the death group of this edition. Germany, France and Portugal, three favorites for the title will have to compete with each other to advance. Portugal will come out wanting to repeat victory, as they did in 2016. On the other hand, the reigning world champion France and Germany of Joachim Löw will fight to avoid it. Hungary, fourth in the group, will have to row a lot to try to get a place in the qualifiers.
The first and second placed in each group, along with the top four third, will play in the round of 16, as scheduled between the 26th and 29th of this month.
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