Hosts Germany to kick off EURO 2024 with Friday's opening match against Scotland

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

Hosts Germany will kick off the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship (EURO 2024) with the opening match against Scotland at the Allianz Arena on Friday at 1900GMT.

Three-time champions Germany will host the 17th UEFA European Football Championship, starting on June 14, with 24 teams competing.

The 51-game marathon will end with the final on July 14.

- Competition Format

In the European Championship, 24 teams will compete in six groups of four.

The teams that finish in the first two spots in the groups and the best four third-placed teams will advance to the Round of 16.

The group competitions will end on June 26.

Starting from the last-16 round that will start on June 29, the tournament will switch to single-match elimination.

The quarterfinal matches will be played on July 5 and 6, and the semifinals will be played on July 9 and 10.

The EURO 2024 champion will be crowned in the final match at Olympiastadion in Berlin on July 14.

- Türkiye to compete in Group F

Türkiye, which will aim to pass the semifinals after EURO 2008, will compete against Portugal, Georgia and Czech Republic in Group F.

The Crescent Stars will face Georgia in their first match of the championship on Tuesday in Dortmund.

The Red Whites will play their second match in the group against Portugal on Saturday in Dortmund and the third match against the Czech Republic on June 26 in Hamburg.

The groups and the teams that will compete in the competition are as follows:

Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland

Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania

Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England

Group D: Netherlands, France, Poland, Austria

Group E: Ukraine, Slovakia, Belgium, Romania

Group F: Portugal, Czech Republic, Georgia, Türkiye

- Ronaldo, Mbappe and Kane in spotlight

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, French star attacker Kylian Mbappe and English striker Harry Kane will be in the spotlight at EURO 2024.

Ronaldo looks set to go down in history as the first player to participate in six European championships.

The 39-year-old Al-Nassr forward previously donned the colors of Portugal in EURO 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, while clinching the 2016 title in France.

CR7 has scored 14 goals in the past five European championships, also picking up the record for the most appearances by playing in 25 matches.

The only active player who comes close is France star Antoine Griezmann. The 33-year-old Atletico Madrid forward has scored seven goals in the European championships and will feature in this year’s tournament as well.

France's 25-year-old Mbappe is already the third top scorer in the history of the national team with 47 goals.

He is only ten goals away from the record holder of France, Olivier Giroud.

Kane, on the other hand, is the top scorer in the history of the national team with 63 goals and will try to widen the gap with Wayne Rooney, who is the closest pursuer with 53 goals.

- Competition history

The history of the competition holds several great player and team records.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the first name that comes to mind as he is the first player to participate in six European championships, the player with the most final tournament goals and appearances.

French legend Michel Platini holds the record for the most goals scored in a single final tournament with nine goals in the 1984 tournament, which France hosted and won.

His closest follower is his compatriot, Antoine Griezmann, who scored six goals in EURO 2016.

Germany, which are hosting EURO 2024, share the record for most wins in the championship with Spain. Both have three trophies each.

The reigning champions Italy won their second title in EURO 2020.

With two trophies, France also shares the title of the second most successful country in the competition with Italy.