Euro 24: All you need to know from format to kick-off times and where to watch

The month long football extravaganza kicks off in Munich on Friday.

Scotland’s date with destiny is now just over 24 hours away as excitement for the European Championships in Germany reaches fever pitch.

The eyes of the continent will be on Munich when Steve Clarke’s men play the host nation in the tournament’s opening game on Friday night.

We take a look at everything you need to know ahead of the month-long footballing extravaganza.

Format

Twenty-four teams, including Scotland, England, hosts Germany, champions Italy and France, have qualified for the group stages.

They have been divided into six groups of four and will all play three games each before the knockout stages begin on June 29.

The top two teams in each group will be guaranteed a place in the last-16 alongside the four best third placed sides.

All of the teams that finish fourth in their group will be eliminated as will the two worst in third place.

The best and worst third placed teams will be decided firstly by points, then goal-difference and then goals scored.

Kick-off times

All of the group stage games will kick-off either 2pm, 5pm or 8pm UK time with three games every day from Saturday until June 22.

For the final round of group games all matches in each group will kick-off at the same time, with some days having two games and others having four with two kicking off at 5pm and two kicking off at 8pm.

Scotland’s final group game against Hungary will take place in Stuttgart at 8pm on Sunday, June 23.

Where to watch

All of the games will be shown live on television with UK coverage split between STV and BBC.

Scotland’s game against Germany will be shown exclusively on STV and STV Player on Friday with their other two group games, against Switzerland and Hungary, on the BBC.

Group stage schedule in full:

14 June: Germany v Scotland (8pm) – STV

15 June: Hungary v Switzerland (2pm) – STV

15 June: Spain v Croatia (5pm) – STV

15 June: Italy v Albania (8pm) – BBC

16 June: Poland v Netherlands (2pm) – BBC

16 June: Slovenia v Denmark (5pm) – STV

16 June: Serbia v England (8pm) – BBC

17 June: Romania v Ukraine (2pm) – BBC

17 June: Belgium v Slovakia (5pm) – STV

17 June: Austria v France (8pm) – STV

18 June: Turkey v Georgia (5pm) – BBC

18 June: Portugal v Czech Republic (8pm) – BBC

19 June: Croatia v Albania (2pm) – STV

19 June: Germany v Hungary (5pm) – BBC

19 June: Scotland v Switzerland (8pm) – BBC

20 June: Slovenia v Serbia (2pm) – STV

20 June: Denmark v England (5pm) – BBC

20 June: Spain v Italy (8pm) – STV

21 June: Slovakia v Ukraine (2pm) – BBC

21 June: Poland v Austria (5pm) – STV

21 June: Netherlands v France (8pm) – BBC

22 June: Georgia v Czech Republic (2pm) – BBC

22 June: Turkey v Portugal (5pm) – STV

22 June: Belgium v Romania (8pm) – STV

23 June: Switzerland v Germany (8pm) – BBC

23 June: Scotland v Hungary (8pm) – BBC

24 June: Albania v Spain (8pm) – BBC

24 June: Croatia v Italy (8pm) – BBC

25 June: Netherlands v Austria (5pm) – BBC

25 June: France v Poland (5pm) – BBC

25 June: England v Slovenia (8pm) – STV

25 June: Denmark v Serbia (8pm) – STV

26 June: Slovakia v Romania (5pm) – BBC

26 June: Ukraine v Belgium (5pm) – BBC

26 June: Georgia v Portugal (8pm) – STV

26 June: Czech Republic v Turkey (8pm) – STV

Final date and time

The final will be held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, July 14.

Previous winners

The 2024 championships will be the 17th edition of the tournament, which is played every four years.

The previous winners:

1960: Soviet Union

1964: Spain

1968: Italy

1972: Czechoslovakia

1976: West Germany

1980: West Germany

1984: France

1988: Netherlands

1992: Denmark

1996: Germany

2000: France

2004: Greece

2008: Spain

2012: Spain

2016: Portugal

2020: Italy

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