Euro 2024: England’s Route to the Final

England head into Euro 2024 after comfortably qualifying from their group despite questions being raised over Gareth Southgate’s role as head coach.

Lethargic displays against Malta and North Macedonia have seen the optimism diminish somewhat amongst England fans, but the side will be looking to finally win the competition after agonisingly missing out on the title at Euro 2020. A penalty shootout defeat against Italy was as close as they could come without winning the tournament.

The Three Lions have been placed in Group C after making it into pot one of the draw for the finals. They’ll have to navigate their way to the knockout stages by finishing in the top two of a four-team group. Serbia, Denmark, and Slovenia will be challenging England for a place in the knockout stages. Third place has the possibility of making it to the knockout stage which depends on the ranking against other third-placed teams.

Matchday one for England sees them face Serbia at Arena AufSchalke, before they play Denmark four days later. The group concludes with Southgate’s charges testing themselves against Slovenia in Cologne, which they’ll hope to have qualified for the knockout stages.

If England progresses from Group C then there are multiple paths for them to reach the final of Euro 2024 and have the opportunity to bring football home after 58 years away.

Winning Group C

Should England win Group C, they’ll face off with a team who finished third place in either one of D/E/F. In the same fixture bracket, the runners-up in Group A and Group B will play each other in the round of 16, who England will then face in the last eight in Dusseldorf.

If England triumphed in the quarter-final in this instance, they’d face semi-final opposition in Dortmund from the winner of match 47, which could be from the winners of Group E or D, Group F runner-up, or third place from Group A/B/C/D.

The final, which is to be held in Berlin would see England face the winner of match 49 which includes teams like hosts Germany, Spain, Croatia, and Italy to pick a few.

Group C Runners-Up

Alternatively, England could finish second in the group and face a different road to the final which would be less than ideal given the group stage draw they’ve had.

Finishing second would see England play the winners of Group A, which include Germany, Scotland, Hungary, and Switzerland.

Should England sweep aside any of those teams in the round of 16, the Three Lions could play the winner of Group F, Runner-up in either Group D or E, or third-placed A/B/C in the last eight of the competition.

A victory would see England enter the final four playing any one of those teams listed in the paragraph above, before the final on July 14, where they’d face the winner of match 50.

Third Placed Group

Now, not all is lost if England flop in the group stages of the Euros in Germany. There’s another way in which they can navigate themselves towards the final to pick up their first silverware in 58 years.

If England were fortuitous enough to be the best ranked third place team, they’ll face the challenge of either the Group E or Group F winners in the round of 16.

The quarter-final would pose England the task of then defeating either the winner of Group D, or the runner-up in Group F in the last eight should they play the Group E fixture in the previous round. If they play the Group F winners in the last 16, they’ll face off against either the Group D or E runner-up.

At the semi-final stage, England would then face the winners of match 45 or match 48 for a place in the final.

All routes to the final will see England face challenging and quality opposition no doubt. Finishing first place will give England the best platform to go to the final and it’s not out of the question a third-place finish could enable them similar routes.

Second place would see England have a pool of historically tough opponents in the round of 16, but England proved they could duel with the best after defeating Germany at the round of 16 stage at Euro 2020.

The Three Lions have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the talent of the pitch leading into this tournament. So it’ll be interesting to see if the player can flourish and blossom under the spotlight in Germany next summer.

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