The UEFA EURO 2024 finals draw took place at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany, yesterday evening, determining in which of the six final tournament groups each of the 24 qualifying teams will play.
Türkiye, which entered the draw having topped its qualifying group – a first in its history of international football – has been drawn in Group F, along with Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Play-off winners C.
Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece and Kazakhstan are all vying to be the Play-off C winners. That will be determined in two rounds of play-off games in March of next year.
Attending the draw ceremony for the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) was President Mehmet Büyükekşi, along with several of his board members: Deputy President, who is responsible for FIFA, UEFA and external relations Mustafa Eröğüt, Hamit Altıntop, who is responsible for national teams, TFF Secretary General Taner Senseven, and the Turkish national team coach Vincenzo Montella.
Several Turkish commentators remarked on the 2024 draw being similar to EURO 2008, when Türkiye was also drawn against Portugal and the Czech Republic. That turned out to be a memorable tournament, with Türkiye progressing to the semi-finals where they were knocked out 3-2 by Germany.
When Vincenzo Montella was asked by press following the EURO 2024 whether Türkiye could record its first victory over Portugal in a cup competition, he replied smiling in Turkish: “İnşallah” [Hopefully].
The Turkish coach and former Italian international said, “30 years have passed since my football and coaching career. In such tournaments, every match is difficult and the differences in strength between the teams are quite small.”
EURO 2024 finals format
Given her opponents, Türkiye will again fancy her chances of progressing through to the knockout round.
The format for progressing through the final tournament will be the same as for UEFA EURO 2020. The top two in each of the six final tournament groups will proceed to the round of 16 along with the four best third-placed finishers.
The tournament then enters into knockout football with a round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.
Group F games, dates & locations
Stadiums in ten German cities are being used for EURO 2024, with the final taking place on 14 July at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
Türkiye will play its first two Group F games in Dortmund. For its third and final group game the Turkish national team will play in Hamburg, home to the fourth biggest population of German Turks (after Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt).
18/06: Türkiye vs Play-off winner C, at BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund
22/06: Türkiye vs Portugal, at BVB Stadion Dortmund, Dortmund
26/06: Czech Republic vs Türkiye, at Volksparkstadion Hamburg, in Hamburg
Full EURO 2024 draw
Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland
Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania
Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England
Group D: Play-off winners A, Netherlands, Austria, France
Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Play-off winners B
Group F: Türkiye, Play-off winners C, Portugal, Czech Republic
Play-off draw
The first round of the play-offs will be on 21 March 2024 over a single leg. The winners of this match will play the winner of the other team in its pathway group five days later on 26 March.
Play-off winners A: Wales v Finland Wales, and Poland v Estonia
Play-off winners B: Bosnia-Herzegovina v Ukraine, and Israel v Iceland
Play-off winners C: Georgia v Luxembourg, and Greece v Kazakhstan
