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17/6/24
Euro 2024
Euro 2024 started on Friday 14th June. The UEFA European Championships is a football tournament between the countries of Europe and is held every 4 years. This year it is being held in Germany. The competition starts with 6 groups, with 4 qualifying teams in each group. Scotland is in Group A and England is in Group C. Unfortunately Wales and Northern Ireland did not qualify.
The teams play the three other teams in their group. If they win a match they get 3 points and if they draw they get 1 point. If they loose they don’t receive any points. Whichever two team gets the most points from the group will then go on to play in the quarter final rounds, as well as four extra teams. These are the teams that have come third in their group and have got the most points. The semi finals and final will then follow, with the teams with the most points carrying on in the competition. The final will be on Sunday 14th July.
European Championships Facts
Euro 2024 will be the 17th UEFA European Championships, with the first one taking place in 1960. The Euros are played every four years with qualifying teams from the different countries of Europe.
The number of teams able to qualify for the competition has changed over the years. It started with just 4 teams and then from 1980 onwards there were 8 qualifying teams. In 1996 it changed again and the number of teams qualifying doubled to16. In 2016 it went up to 24 teams being able to qualify.
The final of Euro 2020 was between Italy and England in 2021. This was because the 2020 Championships were delayed because of Covid. It was held at Wembley Stadium and Italy won. By the end of the 90 minutes both sides had scored 1 goal, so it then went to penalties, where Italy scored 3 and England scored 2, so Italy were crowned the winners.
The sixteen European Championships have been won by ten countries: Germany and Spain have both won the championship three times, Italy and France have won twice. Then the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece and Portugal have all won the championship once.
The Henri Delaunay Trophy is won by the winning team of the Euros. It is named after Henri Delaunay, the first General Secretary of UEFA, who came up with the idea of a European Championship. Unfortunately he died five years before the first tournament in 1960. In 2008 this trophy was remade so it was bigger and more impressive. It was made out of silver is now 60cm tall, 18cm taller than the previous one.
The winning team are allowed to keep the trophy for 4 years and the name of the team is engraved on it. The winning team are also awarded gold medals, with the second place team receiving silver medals. There used to be another match played to decide the third place but since 1980 this no longer happens.
England
England have played in ten of the previous European Championships. In 1968 and 1996 they got through to the semi finals and in 2021 (2020 Championship) they finished second against the winners Italy.
England also compete in the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Nations League. They won the World Cup once in 1966.
The colours the team wear for their home kit is usually white and/or blue. Their away colours are often red and sometimes blue. The crest on their shirts is of three lions. Lions have been always been used on English shields and kings of the past have often used lions as part of their emblems.
The manager of the England team is currently Gareth Southgate. He has been the manager of the team since 2016. Before being the manager Gareth Southgate played for England 57 times between 1995 and 2004. He also managed the England under-21 team from 2013 to 2016.
The captain is Harry Kane. He has scored more goals than anyone ever has for England. The top three goal scorers for England, before the start of Euro 2024 are…
1. Harry Kane – 63 goals in 91 matches
2. Wayne Rooney – 53 goals in 120 matches
3. Sir Bobby Charlton – 49 goals in 106 matches
Scotland
Scotland have previously played in three previous European Championships, in 1992, 1996 and 2021 (2020 Championship). This will be their fourth time in the competition. Previously they have not continued after the group stages, failing to get enough points to get into the quarter finals.
Scotland also compete in the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Nations League.
England and Scotland are the oldest national football teams in the world. They played the world’s first international football match against each other in 1872.
The colours the team wear is usually dark blue but have used a variety of different colours too. Their crest has thistles on it, the national flower of Scotland as well as a lion too.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots and Public Domain and Shutterstock images.
