Some of the world's best soccer players are coming together for Europe's grandest international tournament.
The UEFA Euro 2024 is next up on the calendar following the conclusion of the 2023-24 club regular season. It's Europe's version to the Copa America tournament that will be played by South American and North American teams in the United States.
So, stars like Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr., Christian Pulisic and more will not be involved in the Euro tournament. However, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Kevin De Bruyne will be.
From how to watch to teams and players to watch for, here's everything to know for the Euro 2024:
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
What is the Euro 2024 tournament?
The Euro tournament is similar to the World Cup except it only involves teams in Europe. Teams compete in four-nation groups and play each other round-robin style.
The top two sides from each group along with the best four third-placed teams will advance to the knockout stages. From there, each game is single elimination until a winner is crowned in the final.
Soccer
When is the Euro 2024 tournament?
The tournament begins on Friday, June 14 and ends with the final on Sunday, July 14.
Where is the Euro 2024 tournament?
Germany is the host venue for the entire tournament. The Olympiastadion in Berlin is the venue for the final.
How to watch, stream the Euro 2024 tournament
Euro 2024 group-stage games will be available to watch and stream on FOX and FS1. Knockout games will only air on FOX.
What are the Euro 2024 groups?
The "Group of Death" in the Euro 2024 could very well be Group B, which features Spain, Italy (defending champions), Croatia and Albania. But Group D could contend with that status. Here's a look at all six groups:
Group A
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Scotland
- Hungary
Group B
- Spain
- Italy
- Croatia
- Albania
Group C
- England
- Denmark
- Serbia
- Slovenia
Group D
- France
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Austria
Group E
- Belgium
- Ukraine
- Romania
- Slovakia
Group F
- Portugal
- Turkey
- Czech Republic
- Georgia
Who are the favorites to win the Euro 2024?
Based on strength of rosters, France, Portugal, England, Germany, Italy and Spain should definitely be in the conversation.
France's squad is quite similar to its 2022 World Cup team that finished second. Mbappe is accompanied by fellow stars Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Antoine Griezmann, among others.
Portugal is led by Ronaldo, but it also boasts a deeper squad than perhaps ever before. Rafael Leao, Antonio Silva, Goncalo Inacio and Joao Neves are among the names who could break out on the big stage.
England has all the attacking talent in the world with Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and more, but it has a history of struggling under manager Gareth Southgate. The Three Lions finished as runner-ups last time and will hope to go one step further.
Germany is led by rising young manager Julian Nagelsmann, who crafted the team to profiles of his liking rather than just names. Kai Havertz is expected to be the main man up top while Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Toni Kroos, Antonio Rudiger and Manuel Neuer are expected to play vital roles.
Italy won the last Euro tournament but still struggle to qualify for World Cups. With Luciano Spalletti now the manager, some names like Gianluca Scamacca, Alessandro Buongiorno and Riccardo Calafiori could make noise.
Spain has also underwhelmed in recent times, but new faces like Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Martin Zubimendi and David Raya, among others, will hope to make a big impact to lift the nation higher.
Who are the underdog teams in the Euro 2024?
If none of the six aforementioned teams win the tournament, then the Netherlands, Belgium and Croatia could be right behind.
The Netherlands possess mainstays in Virgil Van Dijk and Memphis Depay, but new faces like Jeremie Frimpong, Micky van de Ven, Tijjani Reijnders, Xavi Simons and Brian Brobbey are coming off exciting club seasons who could provide a spark.
Belgium won't have Thibaut Courtois between the sticks, but Kevin De Bruyne and Leandro Trossard will hope youngsters like Johan Bakayoko, Jeremy Doku, Lois Openda and Zeno Debast can help go far.
Croatia has always been an underdog in major international tournaments for essentially the last decade. Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic form the three-man midfield with Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo and Josip Stanisic among the key defenders, but a lack of clinical forwards may be a hindrance.
