UEFA EURO 2020 – what’s the latest?

The Scottish National Team are preparing to make a welcome return to the pitch this evening in their 2020-21 UEFA Nations League campaign. Steve Clarke’s men face a double-header against Israel at Hampden Park today, Friday 4th September, followed by a trip to the Czech Republic on Monday 7th.

Both games will be played behind closed doors following the UEFA ruling last month against spectators attending international matches during September. A few short weeks later, the team will make their crucial bid to qualify for the UEFA EURO 2020 tournament as they take on Israel for the second time in two months at Scotland’s national stadium, on 8th October.

James Forrest scores against Israel at Hampden Park in their November 2018 Nations League clash.

So let’s recap on the latest news on all things EURO 2020.

The 60th edition of the UEFA European Championship was postponed in March this year, following the global COVID pandemic, until summer 2021. The new dates are 11 June – 11 July. The tournament will still carry the title ‘EURO 2020’.

The journey to the EUROs

Scotland earned their play-off place by winning the Nations League Group C1, with Israel second. Scotland, then managed by Alex McLeish, lost 2-1 away to Israel in October 2018 before beating them 3-2 at Hampden the following month to top the group. The national team finished third in qualifying Group I, with Israel coming fifth in Group G.

Should Scotland be successful in their rearranged play-off qualifier against Israel on 8th October, their quest to reach the final tournament will see them travel to face either Norway or Serbia on 12th November.

Host cities  

In June 2020, all 12 original host cities reconfirmed their commitment to host in summer 2021. Host cities are Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome, St Petersburg. Rome will host the opening game on 11 June 2021 and London will stage the semi finals on 6th and 7th July and final on 11 July. Read more about the announcement in Glasgow of the reconfirmation here. Find out more about each of the host cities here.

Matches at Hampden 

Hampden Park will play host to 4 matches in this special anniversary edition of the UEFA European Championship, staged across 12 host cities for the first time in the competition’s history.

The new final tournament match dates for Hampden Park in 2021 are:

Group stages:
• Monday 14th June 2021 (play off winner C vs Czech Republic, 2pm KO)
• Friday 18th June 2021 (Croatia vs Czech Republic, 5pm KO)
• Tuesday 22nd June 2021 (Croatia vs PO winner C, 8pm KO)

Round of 16:
• Tuesday 29th June 2021 (tbc)

Match schedule

Download your copy of the latest match schedule here.

Who has qualified already?

Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Wales
Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland
Group C: Ukraine, Netherlands, Austria, Path D/A*
Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic, Path C**
Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden, Path B***
Group F: Germany, France, Portugal, Path A/D*
These 16 teams will compete in the play-offs, with four qualifying:
*Iceland/Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary / Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus
**Scotland, Israel, Norway, Serbia
***Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland

Tickets 

Prior to the postponement of the tournament, a record number of ticket requests and sales were recorded by UEFA for their flagship tournament. Sales were strong for Hampden Park, with between 40% and 60% of ticket holders being from Glasgow and Scotland across the 4 matches. For more information on tickets, visit euro2020.com/tickets.

A warm welcome

In Glasgow, the Local Organising Committee, comprising the Scottish FA, Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, EventScotland/VisitScotland and Police Scotland, are looking forward to delivering a world class event in summer 2021.

Rod Petrie, Scottish FA President and Chair of LOS Glasgow: “LOS Glasgow is absolutely committed to providing a memorable experience for the city, the country as a whole, and to fans across Europe when the tournament takes place next year."

Councillor David McDonald, Depute Leader, Glasgow City Council: “We believe this is an important signal that Glasgow and Scotland is committed to being open for business once again. UEFA EURO 2020 will make a significant contribution to creating a festival atmosphere in the city centre, provide an opportunity for communities to gather and celebrate together and give a welcome boost to businesses in the city following an exceptionally difficult year.”