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Official Website of the UEFA Euros 2020 

Today marks the start of Euros 2020 or more formally the UEFA European Football Championships 2020. Hold up! It’s 2021, why are the Euros 2020 starting only now? Well, I think we all know the reason and I don’t really want to talk about it. So, if you don’t know, the Euros are a football/soccer tournament held every 4 years for teams who are members of UEFA (the governing body for football in Europe).

The general format of the Euros is that all member teams qualify to the tournament through a series of matches. The 24 teams who qualify would go on to play a group stage with 4 teams in each group. The top 2 teams of each group qualify for the next round alongside the top 4 of the 3rd place teams. The tournament then moves on to a knockout phase and the winner will be crowned in the final on the 11th of July held in Wembley Stadium, London.

Speaking about venues, this year’s competition is slightly different to previous ones in terms of host venues. Historically, the competition is held by one host nation or jointly by 2 neighbouring countries. However, this year the competition is being held in 11 countries across Europe. They are Amsterdam, Baku, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome, Saint Petersburg, and Seville. This makes for an interesting dynamic with the current restrictions happening in the background. Each host venue has laid down unique rules and restrictions on who and how many fans can attend the games.

Now that we established the format of the competition lets take a look at the teams who have qualified and a deeper look into which group I think is the most interesting. The 24 teams that have qualified are:

Two groups catch my eye immediately as I look across the teams. Group D and Group F. In Group D, we have a rematch of the 2018 World Cup Semi-final between England and Croatia but the big match that I am looking forward to is England vs Scotland. The fierce rivalry between the 2 nations coupled with this being the first time Scotland have qualified for the group stages since 1996 is sure to send some sparks flying. The match is also scheduled to be played in Wembley Stadium which adds even more significance to the fixture. Group F has a star-studded cast of teams as reigning champions Portugal look to defend their title against 2018 World Cup winners France who will be keen to show the world that they continue to be the best team in the world. Germany would also have a chip on their shoulder as they would want to shrug off an abysmal performance in the 2018 World Cup and re-establish themselves as a football powerhouse.

No matter which team you support, it is a relief that big sporting events are returning to our screens. Whether or not you agree that a cross continent sports tournament should really be held when the P word is still not fully under control, it would be great to have something to look forward to and cheer for. Enjoy the matches and let me know if you have any hot takes on Euro 2020 at @adfok15 on Twitter. I have my money on France winning it all and by god I hope football doesn’t come home.

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This series is brought to you by Adrian Fok (@adfok15). He will be writing about fascinating stuff that will help you to have a more insightful conversation in pubs or mamaks.