Who will England play next at Euro 2024? Possible last 16 opponents as Netherlands, Belgium and others await

England have reached the last 16 of Euro 2024 after a 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Wednesday night saw them top Group C after Denmark and Serbia played out the same scoreline.

Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier started the game at left-back before being replaced by Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold with 84 minutes gone in a drab contest in Germany. Magpies winger Anthony Gordon was a late substitute as he replaced Manchester City star Phil Foden with 89 minutes on the clock.

Despite drawing with Denmark and Slovenia in the group phase, England are through to the next round in first place after a 1-0 win over Serbia to kick off the tournament. With the final set of group games to be played on Wednesday, the Three Lions will learn their last 16 opponents before the day is out and here we break down how it all could play out.

Who will England play next?

By winning Group C, England have made sure they will not play hosts Germany in the next round. They will face the Netherlands or whoever places third in Group E. Ronald Koeman’s side finished third in Group D after a surprise 3-2 loss to Austria on Wednesday. They had beaten Poland in their opening game and drew 0-0 with France, however are currently the best third-placed side at the tournament.

Group E promises to provide a thrilling finish with all four sides locked on three points each as Slovakia face Romania and Ukraine take on Belgium in the final group games at 5pm and England could face any four of those teams in the first knockout stage.

Still with us? Good, because this is where things get a bit more confusing. It is the results of the final Group F games, which kick off at 8pm, between Georgia and Portugal and Czech Republic and Turkey that will decide England’s last 16 fate.

The Three Lions will face the Netherlands if Czech Republic fail to beat Turkey and if Georgia also do not win against Portugal. This is due to Turkey, Czech Republic and Georgia still being able to finish third in Group F which would mean they take Hungary’s spot in the third-place standings. So if Czech Republic or Georgia win, the knock-on effect will see England play whoever finishes third in Group E, which as mentioned above could be one of four teams.

When and where do England play next?

England’s next game will be at 5pm on Sunday in Gelsenkirchen at the Arena AufSchalke, the home of FC Schalke 04.

What has been said following England’s latest Group C game?

Newcastle defender Trippier has admitted he and his England teammates are keen to improve at Euro 2024 after the sleepy draw with Slovenia. Some fans jeered at full time following a second-straight draw for the Three Lions and while Trippier backed Southgate he sympathised with the travelling fans.

“I’ve got the utmost respect for Gareth for what he has done for me personally and for my England career but, of course, us players get the frustration,” said Trippier. “All we can do after win, lose or draw is applaud the fans because we appreciate they have travelled out here in numbers and have spent so much money to come and support us.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and, of course, they want to see more from us. Us players, we want to do more, but we have qualified. Hopefully the performances can get better. Being honest, I think we controlled the game. We created some chances, but again, we could do better. It’s fair to say, of course we can. But the most important thing is that our objective before tournament was to qualify, and we’ve done that, and we topped the group.

“The supporters spend their well-earned money to come and watch us, full credit to them because every tournament that I’ve been involved in, they’ve been incredible, out in Russia, where it’s difficult to travel, and out in Germany again.”

Southgate said: “I don’t think we were going to go from where we were to winning three or four nil – it’s not realistic in the intensity of the game. But there were a lot of things we were very pleased with. We have to take one step at a time. Tonight was an improvement and we’ve got to improve to win in the next round clearly.”