EURO 2024: 100 days from the start of the European Championship

2024-03-07 08:49:00, Sport CNA

Within 100 days, the football EC starts in Germany. Among the participants is Albania. But what are the Germans waiting for?

Which teams will participate in the championship?

As of Wednesday (March 6), there are 100 days left from the start of the European Football Championship. Now the names of 21 of the 24 teams that will participate in the tournament in Germany are known. The host is automatically qualified. While 20 other teams won the right to appear in the competition after group matches. Soon, after the playoffs, the names of the other participating teams will be announced. 12 teams will compete for the remaining three places: Poland, Estonia, Wales, Finland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel, Iceland, Ukraine, Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece and Kazakhstan. At the end of March, three mini-tournaments will be played where it will be decided which teams will qualify for EURO 2024.

What does the EC format look like?

The format of the 2024 European Championship is identical to the 2020 Championship. The teams will be divided into six groups (of four national teams). The top two teams from each group and the best four teams in third place qualify for the round of 16. The matches will be played in ten stadiums in Germany. Matches start at 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00 German time. The tournament opens with the Germany-Scotland match on June 14 in Munich. The final is played exactly one month later in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

What chance does the German "Elf" have?

In the current FIFA ranking, the German national football team is in 16th place, which is a poor result for this team. Such a poor ranking is the result of the last few unsuccessful years, namely the poor results of the German team under coaches Joachim Löw and Hansi Flick. Between 2006 and 2016, Germany was among the top four teams in every European or World Championship. Including here the great triumph of 2014 – when the German "Elf" (the German eleven) won the title of world champion. This was followed by a steep decline. In the European Championship 2020, Germany was defeated in the round of 16 (by England). Even in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, there was a total failure of the German team, because the Germans were eliminated from these two tournaments after the group stage.

New coach Julian Nagelsmann was appointed to the post last September. He had a brief phase of euphoria with the team. But the former Bayern boss has meanwhile recorded a negative record in his first four appearances - a win against the USA, a draw against Mexico and two defeats against Turkey and Austria. The German team has extremely quality players, there is no doubt about that. But some of the main pillars of the team, such as Joshua Kimmich or Leon Goretzka, are not in good shape. The fans hope that the return of Toni Kroos to the national team will help to stabilize the German team.

Coach Nagelsmann says the team's main problem is mentality. "We have been seeing for years that Germany has had failures. Finally we have to start working on football." The players of the German national team will soon have the opportunity to prove themselves: On March 23, the friendly match against France will take place, and three days later against the Netherlands.

What is the mood in Germany before the tournament?

EURO 2024: 100 days from the start of the European Championship

What is the mood in Germany before the tournament?

EURO 2024: 100 days from the start of the European Championship

EURO 2024 in Germany will be held at a very difficult political time. This is why the UEFA president, Aleksander ?eferin, admitted in an interview to the English newspaper Telegraph that "security is the biggest concern" for him. Slovenia has meanwhile met twice with the federal minister of the interior, Nancy Faeser, with whom he has discussed security. He says the German authorities are "very determined to help us" and added that "everything will be fine".

The security concept for the tournament was introduced in January and has been widely supported. The secretary of state at the interior ministry, Juliane Seifert, told news agency dpa that the security issue "will be a priority for the ministry and for the federal government." "It is clear that we are living in very challenging times, especially because of Russia's war against Ukraine, or because of the war in the Gaza Strip, as well as new challenges, for example, cyber attacks.

At the DFB, they are much more relaxed: "I hope that this EC will have a positive effect, especially on people's minds," said director Andreas Rettig. "As for security, I can tell everyone that nobody should worry about it ." However, the possible qualification of Israel or Ukraine to EURO 2024 could result in the apparent intensification of security measures in Germany./ DW