Are You Ready For UEFA Euro 2020? Here's What You Should Know

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February 08,2021
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Oscar Holt

Are You Ready For UEFA Euro 2020?

The UEFA Euro 2020 or Euro 2020 football tournament will be the sixteenth edition of the European national team tournament. Initially, UEFA was to hold this tournament between June 12 and July 12, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 spread worldwide, the competition was postponed to June 11, 2021.

Where Will Be Played The UEFA Euro 2020?

London will host the round of 16 and group stage matches and semi-finals, and the Final match. Saint Petersburg, Munich, Rome, and Baku will be venues for Quarterfinals and group stage matches. On the other hand, Bilbao, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Budapest, Glasgow, Copenhagen, and Dublin will receive the round of 16 and group stage matches. The host cities were divided into six pairs. These pairs were determined considering criteria such as sports level, geographic factors, political restrictions, and security considerations.

How Will UEFA Euro 2020 Be Played?

On this occasion, no country will qualify automatically since the tournament will be held in several nations. On June 11, 2021, the group stage will start, and the final will be played on July 11. During the group stage, the 24 teams will be divided into six groups; they will have four teams. In addition to the four best third, the winner and second-best of each group will advance to the knockout stages.

How Was The Qualifying Stage Of Euro 2020?

The qualification for Euro 2020 took place between March and November 2019. The 55 national associations affiliated with UEFA participated in it. For the first time, the Euro qualifying teams will come from two different tournaments. One of them is the classification of the Euro 2020 itself. Through it, 20 teams will gain their spots. The other tournament is the 2018-2019 UEFA Nations League. The latter will grant the remaining 4 positions through some playoff series between teams from 16 nations. At the time of postponing the Euro Cup, only remained to define the last 4 participants.

How Will The Playoffs Be Played, And Who Will Play Them?

Sixteen teams will fight for the remaining four places for UEFA EURO 2020. The draws established the matches as held in November last year. The participating teams were distributed on four different paths, as shown below:

Playoff semi-finals:

Path A: Bulgaria vs. Hungary / Iceland vs. Romania
Path B: Slovakia vs. the Republic of Ireland / Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Northern Ireland
Path C: Norway vs. Serbia / Scotland vs. Israel
Path D: Georgia vs. Belarus / Macedonia vs. Kosovo

Playoffs finals:

Path A: Bulgaria or Hungary vs. Iceland or Romania
Path B: Slovakia or Republic of Ireland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina or Northern Ireland
Path C: Norway or Serbia vs. Scotland or Israel
Path D: Georgia or Belarus vs. Macedonia or Kosovo

The first-mentioned teams will play at home, even in the finals. According to some criteria established by UEFA, the winning teams in each group will be assigned to groups B, C, D, or F of Euro 2020. We will have to wait until next year to see the premiere of the new multi-venue format of Euro 2020. It will also be interesting to see how the playoff unfolds and which teams will finish completing the 24 qualifiers. Football fans will look forward to watching the start of this great competition.