When is the Euro 2024 group stage draw? Date, start time and how to watch

The European Championship trophy is on the line in Germany next summer (Getty Images for DFB)
The European Championship trophy is on the line in Germany next summer (Getty Images for DFB)

Euro 2024 kicks off next June as the men’s European Championship is hosted solely by Germany for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Matches will take place across 10 venues from Hamburg in the north down to Munich (where four matches were staged during the pan-continental Euro 2020) in the south, with Berlin’s Olympiastadion hosting the final.

Italy are the reigning champions after overcoming England at Wembley in a penalty shootout in the summer of 2021, after the tournament was delayed by 12 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The competition will once again see 24 nations split into six groups of four, with the top two from each group qualifying automatically for the last 16 and the top four third-placed teams also progressing.

Germany has automatically qualified for the group stage as hosts, while Russia was excluded from the qualification process following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Here is everything you need to know about the Euro 2024 group stage draw.

When is the draw?

The draw for the Euro 2024 group stage takes place on Saturday 2 December at 6pm local time (5pm GMT) in Hamburg.

How to watch

The draw will be streamed live online on Uefa’s official website, YouTube channel and app.

How does the draw work?

The 24 teams will be split into four pots based on their performance during qualification.

Who has already qualified?

Qualification is still ongoing and so far Germany are the only team qualified for the group stage, as the hosts of the tournament. They will be in Group A.

A further 20 nations will qualify by finishing in the top positions in their qualification group.

That leaves three more spots at Euro 2024, which will be taken by the winners of a play-off round in March. Who enters the play-offs is dependent on standings from the 2022/23 Nations League.

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