England's potential knockout stage opponents at Euro 2024 as Gareth Southgate's side aim for success

The wait is almost over as England look to produce a memorable summer by finding success at Euro 2024.

Gareth Southgate has named his squad and the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice will carry the hopes and dreams of the nation in a bid for a first senior men’s major tournament win since the 1966 World Cup Final triumph against West Germany. The current crop of Three Lions stars came close to victory in the last European Championships after a heartbreaking loss in the final against Italy prevented them from lifting the Henri Delaunay Trophy for the first time in their history.

But what lies ahead for Southgate and his squad and who could England face if they come through what looks to be an awkward group stage campaign in Germany?

Group stage

England have been handed a challenging group and will be wary of underestimating all three opponents as their bid for Euro 2024 gets underway. First up for Southgate and his squad is a meeting with a Serbia side that could contain current Premier League stars Dorde Petrovic and Sasa Lukic, as well as former Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. That game takes place in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, June 16 and the group stages continues four days later in Frankfurt when the Three Lions take on Denmark. The final game of the group stage takes place in Cologne on Tuesday, June 25 as England meet Slovenia for only the second time at a major tournament.

Who will England face if they win Group C?

Winning group C would see England face the third placed team in either Group D, E or F in the round of 16 and that would mean a potential clash with the likes of the Netherlands, Ukraine, Turkey or Poland. Coming through that tie would set up a quarter-final meeting with the winners of the round of 16 clash between the runners-up in Group A and B. Possible last eight opponents would be the likes of Switzerland and England’s Euro 2020 Final conquerers Italy. Victory in the quarter-finals would set up a last four meeting with some genuine powerhouses, with former World Cup winners France or Belgium the most likely opponents.

Who will England face if they are runners-up in Group C?

Finishing second in the group stage could set up something of a nightmare scenario for England as it would mean a likely round of 16 meeting with old foes Germany, provided they come through their group with Switzerland, Hungary and Scotland. Should they come through the meeting with the hosts, Southgate’s side would face either the winner of Group B and that could be one of Spain, Italy or Croatia or a third placed side from Groups A, D, E or F, with a semi-final clash against Portugal or the Netherlands looking the most likely prospect in the last four.

Who will England face if they finish third in Group C?

Four of the six third-placed sides in the group stage will progress into the round of 16 and the criteria for their ranking will be in order: Higher number of points, superior goal difference, higher number of goals scored, higher number of wins, lower disciplinary points total based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points), position in the overall European Qualifiers rankings or drawing of lots if Germany are involved. In the event of England finishing third, they would face the winners of Group F or Group E and that could mean taking on Belgium, Turkey or Portugal.

Euro 2024 groups in full

Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England Group D: Poland, Netherlands, Austria, France Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine Group F: Turkey, Georgia, Portugal, Czech Republic