The European Championships, Europe’s premier tournament for the continent’s national teams, is weeks away! Great news for soccer fans across the world. As we approach the competition you may have some questions about the schedule, where and how to watch, and more. Don’t fret! We’ve pulled all the info you need to know in our guide to Euro 2021.
What are the Euros?
The Euros, or more formally the European Championship, is a tournament featuring European national teams. The tournament is organized by UEFA, the governing body of soccer in Europe, and occurs every four years. Portugal are the reigning champs.
All 55 UEFA members go through a qualification process to determine the group of 24 who compete in the tournament proper. Germany and Spain each have three titles, the most of any UEFA members.
When is Euro 2021?
June 11 to July 11, 2021.
Just like Copa America, the Euros were originally scheduled for 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the postponement of the European Championships to 2021.
Where is Euro 2021 being held?
Traditionally, there have been one or two host countries for the Euros. However, this year will be the first-ever pan-European tournament with 11 different host cities and countries. Check out the full list of hosts below.
| City | Country | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | England | Wembley Stadium | 90,000 |
| Rome | Italy | Stadio Olimpico | 70,634 |
| Munich | Germany | Allianz Arena | 70,000 |
| Baku | Azerbaijan | Olympic Stadium | 68,700 |
| Saint Petersburg | Russia | Krestovsky Stadium | 68,134 |
| Budapest | Hungary | Puskás Aréna | 67,215 |
| Seville | Spain | La Cartuja | 60,000 |
| Bucharest | Romania | Arena Nationala | 55,600 |
| Amsterdam | Netherlands | Johan Cruyff Arena | 54,990 |
| Glasgow | Scotland | Hampden Park | 51,866 |
| Copenhagen | Denmark | Parken Stadium | 38,065 |
Each stadia will host Group Stage games. From there, the following will host Round of 16 games: Amsterdam, London, Budapest, Seville, Copenhagen, Bucharest, London, and Glasgow.
For the Quarterfinals, Saint Petersburg, Munich, Baku, and Rome will host, while the remaining Semifinals and Final will be played at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Where can I watch the Euros?
For U.S. fans looking to tune into the tournament, the good news is the competition is being shown on networks with which fans are already familiar.
ESPN / ABC has the English-language rights and will show 39 games on ESPN, seven on ESPN2, and five on ABC. For fans wanting to tune into the Spanish-language broadcasts, TUDN will show all games.
What is the European Championship competition format?
Like the majority of international soccer competitions, participating national teams are blindly drawn into groups. There are six groups of four teams and you can see how each is broken down in the next section.
Teams within a group will play each other and the teams who finish first and second will advance. Additionally, the best four third-place teams will also advance to the next round.
After the Group Stage, teams are put into a bracket and the rest of the competition is a single-elimination knockout tournament, similar to March Madness.
What teams are participating in Euro 2021?
As you know, there are 24 teams competing in the European Championships. The teams are split into the following six groups where they’ll compete in a round-robin format Group State.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Denmark | Netherlands | England | Spain | Hungary |
| Italy | Finland | Ukraine | Croatia | Sweden | Portugal |
| Wales | Belgium | Austria | Scotland | Poland | France |
| Switzerland | Russia | North Macedonia | Czech Republic | Slovakia | Germany |
What is the Euro 2021 schedule?
Unlike Copa America where kickoff times will primarily be in primetime for U.S. fans, Euro 2021 kickoff times will be during the morning and early afternoon. If that sounds vaguely familiar, keep in mind that these kickoff time will be very similar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar. So, treat the 2021 Euros as an opportunity to get your weekday and weekend morning / afternoon viewing routines in place!
- Group Stage: June 11 to June 23 (9am, 12pm, 3pm ET)
- Round of 16: June 26 to June 29 (12pm, 3pm ET)
- Quarterfinals: July 2 to July 3 (12pm, 3pm ET)
- Semifinals: July 6 to July 7 (3pm ET)
- Final: July 11 (3pm ET)
What U.S. demographics are interested in the Euros?
Now that you know the specifics surrounding the competition, let’s first highlight the Euro 2021 fan in the U.S. Below, you can see the average age, gender, ethnicity, and more of interested fans.
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