EXPLORING THE GROUP STAGE RANKINGS IN THE 2024 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Understanding the Group Stage Rules of the 2024 Football  Championships

The tournament in Germany will be the 17th staging of the Euro Championships. Matches were played in Munich in the 2020 edition, while the 1988 version took place in West Germany. 

In total, 24 teams will participate in the football 2024 European Championships, including the likes of Germany, England, France, Spain, and Italy. The nations are split into six groups of four. 

The top two from every group will automatically qualify for the Round of 16. The team that picks up the most points will finish at the top of the Euro group tables, and the nation with the second-highest points tally will take the runner-up spot. 

If the tally is the same at the end of the group stage, goal difference comes into play. The sides with the superior goal difference resulting from head-to-head matches will have the advantage. Also, the higher number of goals in the head-to-head games will impact the final standings if nations still cannot be separated.  

If there are teams still locked together, disciplinary points will have an effect. Nations will get one point for a yellow card, three for a red, and four points for a yellow, followed by a direct sending off. 

While securing a top-two position will guarantee a spot in the knockout round, third place can still be enough for some sides. Four of the best third-place teams will join the top two in the Round of 16. 

The best third-place teams in the group standings are determined by points, goal difference, goals scored, wins, and disciplinary points. Of course, the nations that finish fourth in the group will be eliminated from the competition. 

The Mechanics of the Championship Group Stages

Apart from tournament hosts Germany, every nation had to qualify for the 2024 football tournament. The regular qualifiers took place from March to November 2023, and the play-offs will be held in March 2024.  

In terms of UK team rankings, England and Scotland qualified for the tournament with flying colours. The Scots finished second in Group A, collecting an impressive 17 points. As for the English, they won Group C with six wins and two draws. 

In the 2024 European Championship, Scotland are in Group A, while England will compete in Group C. The two Home Nations and every other team in the groups will play three 90-minute matches. 

The draw for the groups took place in Hamburg in December 2023. Sides were seeded by their overall European preliminary rankings. Germany, Portugal, France, Spain, Belgium, and England – the six best nations – were in Pot 1 and could not be drawn against one another. 

Scotland were in Pot 3, so a tough draw was inevitable. They will face Germany on matchday one of the European Championships, with Group A fixtures against Switzerland and Hungary to follow. 

Winning one of the three group matches will give the nation a great chance to reach the last 16. Four points should do the job, while six will be more than enough. Finishing top is the priority, though, as four first-placed teams will face countries that finish third in other groups.

England’s Group Stage Preview in the 2024 Football Championship

Gareth Southgate’s England have been drawn into Group C of the 2024 European football tournament. The Three Lions have a good record at this stage of the Euros, and England will be looking to finish top of the European Championship 2024 Group C table. 

As a top contender for the 2024 Championship trophy, England will want maximum points from all three Group C matches. They get their campaign up and running with a game against Serbia at Arena AufSchalke on June 16th. The meeting in Gelsenkirchen will be the first-ever competitive matchup between the two nations. 

England’s second group game in Germany is their toughest on paper, as the English will face Denmark at Waldstadion in Frankfurt. The Danes have been on a rapid rise of late and could be a dark horse in Germany. 

England and Denmark squared off at Wembley Stadium in the semi-final of the 2020 European Championship. It was an even game in the English capital, with Southgate’s side needing extra time to secure a narrow 2-1 win. 

England’s third and final group fixture will be against Slovenia at RheinEnergieStadion in the beautiful city of Cologne. There are no easy games in major finals, but Southgate’s side should be too hot to handle for the Slovenians. 

If the Three Lions manage to win Group C, they will face one of the third-place sides in Gelsenkirchen on June 30th. England are the clear favourites to finish first in their group, and they should have no issues if they remain professional and are at their best. 

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Our website is easy to navigate, and there are a whole host of betting markets to choose from. Bettors can bet with us on the correct score to the number of cards in a match. You can also predict the outright winner from now until the end of the competition.