The2024 UEFA Men's European Football Championship, commonly referred to asUEFA Euro 2024 (stylised asUEFA EURO 2024) or simplyEuro 2024, was the 17thUEFA European Championship, the quadrennial internationalfootball championship organised byUEFA for theEuropean men's national teams of their member associations.Germany hosted the tournament, which took place from 14 June to 14 July 2024. The tournament involved 24 teams, withGeorgia making their European Championship debut.
It was the third time that European Championship matches were played on German territory, and the second time inreunified Germany, asWest Germany hosted the1988 tournament, and four matches of the multi-nationalEuro 2020 were played inMunich. It was the first time the competition was held in what was formerlyEast Germany, withLeipzig as a host city, as well as the first major tournament since the2006 FIFA World Cup that Germany served as a solo host nation.[1][2] The tournament returned to its usual four-year cycle after the 2020 edition was postponed to 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Italy were the defending champions, having won the2020 final againstEngland onpenalties,[3] but failed to defend the title after being eliminated bySwitzerland in the round of 16.[4] Host nationGermany were eliminated bySpain in the quarter-finals; Spain went on to win the tournament for a record fourth time after defeating England 2–1 in thefinal.[5]
On 8 March 2017, UEFA announced that two countries, Germany and Turkey, had announced their intentions to host the tournament before the deadline of 3 March 2017.[6][7]
The host was selected on 27 September 2018 inNyon, Switzerland.[2][12][14][15] Germany initially planned to fully host Euro 2020, although it had not announced any firm interest by May 2012.[16]
Germany had a wide selection of stadiums that met UEFA's minimum capacity requirement of 30,000 seats for European Championship matches.[17] The Olympiastadion in Berlin was the largest stadium at UEFA Euro 2024. It hosted the final of the tournament, along with three group-stage matches, a round of 16 match, and a quarterfinal.
Of the ten venues selected for Euro 2024, nine were used for the2006 FIFA World Cup:Berlin,Dortmund,Munich,Cologne,Stuttgart,Hamburg,Leipzig,Frankfurt, andGelsenkirchen.[18][19]Düsseldorf, which was not used in 2006 but had previously been used for the1974 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 1988, served as the tenth venue; conversely,Hanover,Nuremberg andKaiserslautern, host cities in 2006 (in addition to 1974 and 1988 in Hanover's case), were not used for this championship. Munich, the site of the first game of UEFA Euro 2024, was also a host city at the multi-nationalUEFA Euro 2020 tournament, hosting four matches (three involving Germany) in front of a greatly reduced number of spectators due toCOVID-19 restrictions.[20] During the tournament, all but Arena AufSchalke were known by different names, mainly due to the stadia sponsorship prohibition.
Each team chose a "team base camp" for its stay between the matches. The teams trained and resided in these locations throughout the tournament, travelling to games staged away from their bases. The "team base camp" needed to be in Germany.[33]
Tickets for the venues were sold directly by UEFA via its website, or distributed by the football associations of the 24 finalists. Ticket sales started on 3 October 2023. More than 80% of the 2.7 million tickets for the 51 tournament matches were available for the fans of the participating teams and the general public.[57] Fans of each participating team allocated 10,000 tickets for group stage matches, 6,000 tickets for the round of 16 and quarter-finals, 7,000 for the semi-finals, and 10,000 for the final match. Over 50 million applications from 206 countries were received. Besides fans of Germany, most tickets were requested by fans supporting Turkey, Hungary, England, Albania and Croatia.[58] Prices ranged from €30 (for a seat behind the goal at a group match) to €2000 (for a Prime Seat in the main stand at the final).[59]
As hosts, Germany qualified for the tournament automatically. The 23 remaining spots were determined by aqualifying tournament; 20 spots were decided by the direct qualification of the winners and runners-up of the 10 qualifying groups, with the remaining three spots decided byplay-offs.[60] Places in the play-offs were given to the teams that performed the best in the2022–23 UEFA Nations League who did not already qualify via the main qualifying tournament.[61] The draw for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying group stage was held on 9 October 2022 at theFesthalle inFrankfurt.[62][63] The qualifying group stage took place from March to November 2023, while the three play-offs were held in March 2024.[64]
Albania andRomania returned after missing out onEuro 2020, the former qualifying for only their second major tournament.Serbia andSlovenia both returned for the first time sinceEuro 2000, with Serbia qualifying for the first time since Serbia andMontenegrobecame separate nations, and Slovenia qualifying for their fourth major tournament as an independent nation.[66][67]Georgia beatGreece onpenalties in the play-offs to qualify for their first-ever tournament sincegaining independence from theSoviet Union in 1991, also becoming the only debutants for this edition and ensuring every final tournament since the inauguralEuro 1960 saw at least one new team make their debut.[68]
Notable absentees includedSweden,Russia, andWales. Sweden failed to reach the finals for the first time sinceEuro 1996 and also failed to qualify for their second major tournament in a row, having missed out on the2022 World Cup. Russia, who were regulars at finals sinceEuro 2000, were barred from the qualifiers altogether in the aftermath of thecountry's invasion of Ukraine. Wales, who reached the knockout stages at the previous two editions, including the semi-finals atEuro 2016, lost toPoland on penalties in the play-offs. Having made their debut at the previous edition, bothNorth Macedonia andFinland failed to qualify for this edition.
At a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee inHvar, Croatia, on 20 September 2022, it was confirmed thatRussia would be excluded from qualifying for Euro 2024, reaffirming the suspension of all Russian teams followingthe country's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and making this the first European Championship finals Russia would miss since2000.[73][74][75][76]
The final tournament draw took place on 2 December 2023, 18:00CET, at theElbphilharmonie inHamburg.[77] The teams were seeded in accordance with theoverall European Qualifiers rankings. Hosts Germany were automatically seeded into pot 1, and they were placed in position A1. The three play-off winners were not known at the time of the draw, and the teams participating in those play-offs, scheduled to be held in March 2024, were placed into pot 4 for the draw.[78][79][80][81] The draw was disrupted by various sexual noises whilst it was taking place, as the result of a prankster.[82][83]
Pot 1: Germany (Host), group winners ranked 1–5
Pot 2: Group winners ranked 6–10, group runner-up ranked 1 (6–11 overall)
Pot 3: Group runners-up ranked 2–7 (12–17 overall)
Pot 4: Group runners-up ranked 8–10 (18–20 overall), play-off winners A–C (identity unknown at the time of the draw)
The maximum squad size of the teams was increased from the original quota of 23 to 26 players. Teams had to provide the list containing a minimum of 23 players and a maximum of 26 by the deadline of 7 June.[84]
In April 2024, 19 refereeing teams were selected to take charge of the 51 matches at the tournament, including an Argentine team selected as part of a co-operation agreement between theUEFA andCONMEBOL confederations.[85][86]
In addition, UEFA announced twenty video match officials and twelve support match officials (who would act as fourth official or reserve assistant referee).[86]
UEFA announced the tournament schedule on 10 May 2022, which included kick-off times only for the opening match, semi-finals, and final.[87][88] The kick-off times for all other matches were announced on 2 December 2023 following the draw.[89][90]
If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:[78]
Higher number of points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
Superior goal difference resulting from the matches played between the teams in question;
Higher number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
If, after having applied criteria 1 to 3, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams who are still level to determine their final rankings.[a] If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 will apply;
Superior goal difference in all group matches;
Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
Lower disciplinary points total in all group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card regardless whether it was a direct red card or two yellow cards, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
However, the normal criteria does not apply if on the last round of the group stage, two teams who are facing each other are tied in points, goal difference and goals scored then they drew their match, and no other teams are tied; in that case, their ranking is determined by apenalty shoot-out.
Notes
^If there is a three-way tie on points, the application of the first three criteria may only break the tie for one of the teams, leaving the other two teams still tied. In this case, the tiebreaking procedure is resumed, from the beginning, for the two teams that are still tied.
In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time,extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If still tied after extra time, the match was decided by apenalty shoot-out.[78]
UEFA's technical observer team was given the objective of naming a team of the best eleven players from the tournament. Six players from the winning Spanish squad were named in the team.[145]
The Young Player of the Tournament award, open to players born on or after 1 January 2002, was given toLamine Yamal, as chosen by UEFA's technical observers.[147]
Unlike in previous editions, the "Alipay Top Scorer" award, given to the top scorer of the tournament, was allowed to be shared among multiple players, whereas previous installments used assists and minutes played as tiebreakers. The award was thus given to each of the six players who scored three goals in the tournament:Cody Gakpo,Harry Kane,Georges Mikautadze,Jamal Musiala,Dani Olmo, andIvan Schranz.[148]
The Goal of the Tournament was decided by a panel of UEFA technical observers. On 16 July 2024, UEFA announced that Spanish wingerLamine Yamal's semi-final goal againstFrance had been chosen as the best goal of the tournament.[149]
The Fans' Goal of the Tournament was decided by online voting. A total 10 goals were in the shortlist, chosen by UEFA technical observers. On 20 July 2024, after an open vote on the official Euro 2024 website, UEFA announced that Turkish defenderMert Müldür's group stage goal againstGeorgia had been chosen as the fans' goal of the tournament.[151]
A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[78]
Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches;[A] yellow cards expired after the completion of the quarter-finals (yellow card suspensions were not carried forward to any other future international matches)
^As yellow cards are not carried forward topenalty shoot-outs, players may be shown two yellow cards in the same fixture without being sent off. However, this would result in a suspension for accumulating two yellow cards during the tournament.
^Daku was handed a two-match ban,[157] with the second match of the suspension to be served outside the tournament.
^Demiral was handed a two-match ban,[159] with the second match of the suspension to be served outside the tournament.
The prize money was finalised on 2 December 2023. Each team received a participation fee of €9.25 million, with the winner able to earn a maximum of €28.25 million.[161]
After securing a record fourth title,Spain became the first European Championship winners to win all theirgroup matches twice (having done so previously in2008), withFrance (1984) andItaly (2021) the only other teams to have achieved this once. This statistic refers to the European Championship since1980, with the inclusion of the group stage.[162]
Spain also became the first European team to win all seven matches at European championship without needing apenalty shoot-out.[163] France also won every match without needing a penalty shoot-out in 1984, albeit while playing only five matches.
Spain's 15 goals broke the record for most goals scored by a team at a single European Championship. The record was previously held by France, scoring 14 goals in 1984. Ten different players scored for Spain, another record.[162]
England became the first team to lose back to back European Championship finals, whileGareth Southgate became the first manager to lose back to back finals in either the World Cup or European Championships.
By taking charge ofGermany's tournament opener againstScotland,Julian Nagelsmann became the youngest head coach to manage a match at the European Championship at the age of 36 years and 327 days, surpassing the previous record set in2000 bySlovenia coachSrečko Katanec by six days.[162]
Lamine Yamal became the youngest player to play at a UEFA European Championship aged 16 years and 338 days old, after featuring for Spain in their opening match againstCroatia. The previous youngest player was Poland'sKacper Kozłowski, aged 17 years and 246 days in2021.[164]
With his goal in Spain's semi-final against France, Yamal then became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship, aged 16 years and 362 days. The previous youngest was Switzerland'sJohan Vonlanthen, aged 18 years and 141 days in 2004, also against France.[165]
Yamal's appearance in thefinal, one day after his 17th birthday, also made him the youngest player to both appear in and also win a UEFA European Championship final.[166] Previously, the youngest player to both appear in and also win a UEFA European Championship final was Portugal'sRenato Sanches, in2016, aged 18 years and 328 days.
Nedim Bajrami set the record for fastest goal scored in European Championship history, scoring inAlbania's opener against Italy after just 23 seconds. This shattered the previous record of 67 seconds, set byRussia'sDmitri Kirichenko in2004. Kirichenko's goal was then pushed into third place followingMerih Demiral's goal forTurkey againstAustria in the round of 16, coming after only 58 seconds. The fourth-fastest goal was also recorded, whenYouri Tielemans scored forBelgium againstRomania after only 74 seconds.[167]
Portugal'sPepe became the oldest player to make an appearance at the European Championship, aged 41 years and 130 days in his side's quarter-final match against France. Hungary goalkeeperGabor Király, the previous record holder, was aged 40 years and 86 days when he faced Belgium in the round of 16 in2016. Before Pepe, the oldest outfield player wasLothar Matthäus, who won his 150th and final cap for Germany aged 39 years and 91 days in 2000.[168]
Cristiano Ronaldo extended his own record for the most tournaments featured in, appearing in his sixth European Championship.[169]
Luka Modrić became the oldest player to score a goal at the European Championship, aged 38 years and 289 days in Croatia's group stage match against Italy. The previous record was held byAustria'sIvica Vastić, who was 38 years and 257 days old when he scored against Poland in2008.[170]
Kevin Csoboth set the record for the latest regulation time goal in tournament history, scoring forHungary againstScotland in the 10th minute after the 90-minute mark.[171][172]
The final Group F game betweenCzech Republic andTurkey broke the record for the most number ofcards shown in total in a single match. 19 cards (17 yellow and 2 red) were shown (Czech Republic receiving 7 of them and Turkey 12), surpassing the previous record of 10 shown in theEuro 2016 final between Portugal and France.[173]
Portuguese goalkeeperDiogo Costa made three saves in theround of 16 penalty shoot-out againstSlovenia, breaking the European Championship record for most saves in one penalty shoot-out, while Slovenia became the first team in tournament history to miss all of their penalties.[174][175]
The official logo was unveiled on 5 October 2021, during a ceremony at theOlympiastadion inBerlin. The logo depicted theHenri Delaunay Trophy with 24 coloured slices around the trophy representing the 24 participating nations, and the ellipse reflected the shape of the Olympiastadion.[176] The coloured slices also represent the flags of all 55 UEFA member nations.[177][178][179] In addition, each of the ten host cities had their own unique logo, featuring the following local sights:[180]
The official slogan of the tournament was "United by Football. [German:]Vereint im Herzen Europas " (English: United in the heart of Europe). The slogan was chosen to promote diversity and inclusion.[181]
In November 2023, it was announced thatEA Sports had picked up the rights for the UEFA Euro 2024 video game, and that the Euro 2024downloadable update would be coming toEA Sports FC 24,EA Sports FC Mobile, andEA Sports FC Online in the summer of 2024.[182] Released on 11 June, the update featured a full tournament mode, local and online friendlies, and a Euro-themed single player career mode, called "Lead Your Nation", each including all of the teams, players, and tournament venues.[183][184]
From Euro 2024,Fanatics would be controlling the e-commerce, event retail and licensing of UEFA National Team competitions untilEuro 2028.[185]
Topps, also owned by Fanatics, was the official sticker and trading card partner of the tournament, marking the end ofPanini's association with UEFA which began in 1976. Stickers were produced for all the Euro 2024 teams, including the teams that did not qualify for thequalifying play-offs. These stickers could be sold, collected ortraded.[186]
In December 2023, Italian DJ groupMeduza, American pop rock bandOneRepublic and German singerKim Petras were all announced as the official music artists of the tournament.[187] However, in March 2024, it was announced that Petras had withdrawn from production due to scheduling issues, and was replaced by German singerLeony.[188] The official song, "Fire", was released on 10 May 2024.[189] It was performed live by the three music artists at the tournament's closing ceremony before thefinal on 14 July 2024.[190]
Unlike the previous two tournaments, UEFA discontinued4Kultra-high-definition broadcasts due to technical constraints, and amid lukewarm interest in the format among European broadcasters in comparison tohigh-dynamic-range (HDR) colour.[192]
UEFA, in collaboration with AIM Sport, usedvirtual advertising for the first time in the history of Euros, having three different types of sponsorship besides the Global sponsors, one pack for Germany, one for the United States and another for the Chinese market.[193]
The official UEFA Euro 2024 mascot was unveiled on 20 June 2023 at the Germany vsColombia international friendly inGelsenkirchen.[213] The mascot was a teddy bear with shorts on.[214] A public vote was used to select the name of the mascot, with options being "Albärt", "Bärnardo", "Bärnheart" and "Herzi von Bär", all referencing the German word for bear (Bär).[215] Results were made public on 5 July, with the mascot's name announced to be "Albärt", getting 32% of the votes.[216]
Unofficially the event even has ananimal oracle following in the footsteps ofPaul the Octopus: Bubi the Elephant, who "predicted" Germany's opening round against Scotland with her initial kick through a makeshift goal.[217]
Officialreplica-version of the match ball "Fussballliebe".
The official match ball of the tournament, "Fussballliebe", was unveiled by UEFA andAdidas on 15 November 2023.[218] Translated from theGerman as "football love", it featured black wing shapes with red, blue, orange and green edges and curves to showcase the qualified nations' vibrancy to the tournament, and the love that fans around the world give to football. Created with sustainable organic materials,[218] this was the first ball for a UEFA Euro to feature "Connected Ball Technology", where it contained internal electronic sensors, allowing detection of its movement for UEFA match officials to use to assist in decision-making.[219]
The Group F match between Turkey and Portugal was interrupted four times bypitch invaders trying to take a selfie withCristiano Ronaldo. Two others invaded the pitch right after the final whistle. Additional pitch invasions happened during the game between Albania and Italy, one during the game between Romania and Ukraine, and one during the round of 16 game between Romania and the Netherlands. During another pitch invasion after the semi-final between Spain and France, a security guard chasing the invader accidentally slid into Spanish strikerÁlvaro Morata, who suffered an injury as a consequence.[220][221][222][223][224][225]
During the second half of the Group A fixture between Scotland and Hungary, Hungarian strikerBarnabás Varga was leftunconscious after a collision with Scottish goalkeeperAngus Gunn, landing in afencing response. It was later revealed that Varga had suffered from aconcussion and sustained multiplefracturedcheekbones.[232] Rapidly following the incident, medics made their way toward the scene and protective sheets were held around Varga. However, the stretcher bearers were seen walking toward the player, rather than running, prompting dismay from players, fans, and staff alike. Hungary captainDominik Szoboszlai and fellow playerEndre Botka proceeded to run with the stretcher in an attempt to speed up the process.[233] Following the injury, the captain expressed his frustration, stating that the medical staff did not react quick enough, with hopes that "everyone can save a few seconds and save a life." This was rebutted by UEFA, who claimed that the coordination between the on-site medical staff was "professional", with "no delay in the treatment of and assistance to the player."[234]
The match was resumed after 10 minutes, as Hungary went on to win by a score of 0–1 following a stoppage time goal fromKevin Csoboth, with Varga making a full recovery after undergoing surgery.[235]
During the group stage, several controversies came up due to the behaviour of variousBalkan fans and players. Albania and Serbia were both fined €10,000 after their fans displayedirredentist symbols; Serbian fans displayed maps ofKosovo asbeing a part of Serbia while Albanian fans displayed maps ofGreater Albania. Serbia threatened to quit the tournament if UEFA did not take action against Croatia and Albania after some of their fans chanted anti-Serbian slogans during the match, such asUbij ubij ubij Srbina ("Kill kill kill the Serb"); an investigation was later launched into Croatia.[236] After the group stage game between Albania and Croatia,Mirlind Daku led the Albanian supporters in chanting anti-Macedonian and anti-Serbian slogans, and Albania was fined €47,250 and Daku was banned for two games. Kosovar journalistArlind Sadiku was banned after making thecrossed hands gesture towards Serbian fans during the Serbia and England game.[236]
In the Austria vs Turkey match on 2 July 2024, Turkish playerMerih Demiral celebrated his second goal of the match with awolf salute. The gesture is seen as ultra-nationalist due to its connection withfar-right extremist groupGrey Wolves and is banned in Austria, as well as France.[237] The celebration was criticised byGerman interior ministerNancy Faeser, whileNationalist Movement Party presidentDevlet Bahçeli shared his support for the celebration.[238] Demiral also posted a photo on hisTwitter account of him performing the celebration along with the caption of: "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk!". UEFA opened an investigation on Demiral the following day[239] before later handing him a two-match ban, meaning he would miss Turkey's quarter-final match against the Netherlands, as well as their first2024–25 UEFA Nations League match as they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.[240] Ahead of Turkey's following match against the Netherlands, Turkish supporters were seen making the controversial hand gesture en masse while on their way to the stadium as well as inside the stadium.[241][242][243] UEFA's ban on Demiral was criticised by some Turkish media outlets as hypocritical and of double standard by drawing comparisons with the lighter penalty received byJude Bellingham for offensive gesture made at the same tournament and with political gestures made by footballers of other nations which had gone unpunished in previous editions of the tournament.[244][245]
The decisions of refereeAnthony Taylor in the quarter-final between Germany and Spain were controversial. On the one hand,Toni Kroos could have received two yellow cards in the first minutes of the game, and on the other hand, a penalty for Germany could have been awarded in extra time after a handball by SpaniardMarc Cucurella in his own penalty area.[252][253][254] In its internal review of the tournament, the UEFA Referees Committee came to the conclusion that a penalty should have been awarded.[255]
^"EURO 2024 an Rhein und Ruhr".nrw.de (in German). North Rhine-Westphalia State Government. 27 September 2018.Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved28 September 2018.
^"UEFA Euro 2024 match schedule"(PDF).UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2023.Archived(PDF) from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved2 December 2023.
^"Who made it through from the EURO 2024 groups".UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 26 June 2024. Retrieved1 July 2024.Denmark are through to the round of 16 as group runners-up (finishing ahead of Slovenia on disciplinary points).
^"Meduza, OneRepublic and Kim Petras announced as UEFA EURO 2024's official music artists".UEFA. 2 December 2023. Retrieved21 May 2024.on 20 March 2024 it was announced that due to unforeseen scheduling issues Kim Petras could no longer be part of the production of the official UEFA EURO 2024 song. Instead, German singer and songwriter Leony was announced as an official UEFA EURO 2024 music artist, who together with Italian producers Meduza and American pop-rock trailblazers OneRepublic will perform the official tournament song.
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