Italy, the defending champion, was drawn on Sunday to compete against England, the side they defeated in the 2023 European Championship final. Italy’s chance to restore some respect after missing out on the World Cup finals, which begin in Qatar in six weeks, will be in the Euro 2024 tournament, which Germany will host. Last year, the Covid-delayed Euro 2020 final at Wembley saw Italy defeat host nation England in a penalty shootout after the game finished 1-1 after extra time.
Due to Italy’s advancement to the Nations League’s final four and England’s relegation to League B, the two nations were put in Group C of the Euro 2024 qualifying matches alongside Ukraine, North Macedonia, and Malta.
Due to their relegation, England was placed in Pot 2 for the Frankfurt draw, whereas Italy was one of the top seeds to advance to the competition.
Roberto Mancini, the Italy coach, said: “I was aware that we would get either France or England, but it’s okay. It’s a respectable five-team group with no easy games, and we can try to win every match.”
When Italy plays North Macedonia, the Balkan country that eliminated them from the World Cup in the playoffs in Palermo in March, they will be on their guard.
Mancini told RAI Sport, “It’s one of those games you get now and again, and as we saw in Palermo, we have to treat every game seriously, even those that appear the simplest.”
“It’s interesting when you’ve had a fixture like we’ve had and then played them again already so recently that you seem to have these problems,” England coach Gareth Southgate told the BBC.
The phrase “A murderer in the box.”
In Group B, France will compete against the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Greece, and Gibraltar to win back the World Cup in Qatar.
The French don’t like facing the Irish because they only managed to defeat them to go to the 2010 World Cup finals based on what seemed to be a clear handball by Thierry Henry.
Didier Deschamps, the France coach, described the group as “very substantial” and “a bunch with worth.”
Scotland and Norway, led by prolific Manchester City attacker Erling Haaland, will be Spain’s opponents in Group A.
President of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, said: “He is magnificent, deadly in the box, and a footballing icon. To play against this kind of player is excellent. But Haaland is not all of Norway.”
Portugal is in Group J with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be 39 by the time the championships begin.
Group D was assigned to Croatia, the 2018 World Cup losing finalist, and Wales and Turkey as World Cup qualifiers.
Finland, Slovenia, and Northern Ireland are a few of Denmark’s opponents in Group H as they compete in Qatar.
Due to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is disqualified from the competition.
Germany, a three-time winner in Europe, automatically qualifies as the hosts.
Following the multi-country model utilized for Euro 2020, the tournament will return to a single host nation for Euro 2024, taking place in ten German cities from June 14 to July 14.
