Euro 2024 LIVE: Latest England news and Germany vs Scotland buildup

World Cup finalists France have been drawn in Euro 2024 Group D, alongside the Netherlands for the tournament in Germany.

France will undoubtedly be among the favourites to lift the trophy in July, while the Netherlands have not gone further than the quarter-finals since 2004 and will be looking to progress deep into the tournament.

Poland and Austria complete the group, and the latter lost just one match in qualifying, while Poland had to qualify via the play-offs, putting an end to Wales’ hopes with a penalty shoot-out victory after a goalless 120 minutes in Cardiff.

Before thoughts turn to the knockouts, though, they must navigate a solid-looking group stage. Alongside them will be Denmark, Slovenia and Iceland, each having real hopes of qualifying through the groups and each presenting different and difficult challenges to break them down in 90-minute encounters.

Here’s everything you need to know about Group C and what England are up against:

One of the most intriguing initial quarters at Euro 2024 comes in Group B, containing two former winners – including at the most recent European Championship – plus a nation which has reached the semi-final stage of the last two World Cups.

Spain will be many peoples’ favourites to progress, given some of their star names, while Italy are still working towards a new identity after a period of struggle since their triumph at Wembley three years ago. Croatia, meanwhile, have yet to really star at a Euros but have shown their ability to get results on the world stage, including in Qatar two years ago.

Don’t laugh but when the draw for the Euro 2024 finals was made, there was a faint sense of optimism among the Scotland contingent that Steve Clarke’s side were ready to spoil the party when facing hosts Germany in the tournament opener on Friday 14 June. Frankly, December 2023 feels a long time ago now. Back then, Germany were in a funk and could have been susceptible to a well-organised, cohesive unit. Now depleted and out-of-form, Scotland do not look like the same team that roared to automatic qualification last year. The odds of an upset are stacked against them.

Still, the Tartan Army will be out in force as Scotland head to just a second men’s major international tournament in 25 years, determined to put on a better show after falling a little flat at Hampden at Euro 2020. As it was three years ago, Scotland’s goal will simply be getting out of their group and reaching the last-16. Given the tournament format, securing even just one Group A victory against Germany, Switzerland or Hungary could be enough. There are harder groups, sure, but Scotland’s form suggests they could still be fourth-favourites to progress.

There has been a clamour for Southgate to accommodate as many of his world-class offensive talents as possible in his starting line-up for the tournament in Germany, with attack-minded players starring at club level both at home and abroad.

But former England and Liverpool winger Barnes insists the side’s balance is all-important as the Three Lions bid for their first major trophy since 1966.

Three years on from the agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy in the Covid-delayed Euro 2020 final, they head to Germany among the favourites to go one better this time around.

It is little wonder when you look at a rich, talented pool of players underpinned by leadership, experience and a drive to make up for going so close at the last three tournaments.

Boss Gareth Southgate has had to deal with several absentees and fitness concerns in the build-up to Euro 2024.

All 26 players were able to train on Tuesday – their first session after arriving in Germany – including Stones, who went off with an injury in Friday’s friendly against Iceland.

The parallels felt uncanny. A Germany team at its lowest ebb for years, having been dispatched ignominiously from the group stages of two of the three previous tournaments, having ditched one manager and parachuting in another, were the hosts with the low expectations.

If the 2006 World Cup came to symbolise a national footballing rebirth for Germany, surprise semi-finalists who played endearingly attacking football with a likeable bunch of players, it seemed as though the best-case scenario was a repeat of sorts in Euro 2024. Further embarrassment started to look more probable.

Because the 2022 World Cup brought as an early an exit as in 2018, the ultimate Turniermannschaft discovering the tournament would go on without them. And arguably 2023 was still worse; only partly because of the release of the Amazon documentary of the World Cup campaign in which Hansi Flick tried to motivate his players by comparing them to geese. It wasn’t the major reason why Flick became the first Germany manager to be sacked but it did contribute to rendering him a lame duck.

Gelsenkirchen police said this week: “It is just the England game which will have the low-strength beer.

“Fans are not allowed to drink alcohol in the city’s main square, Heinrich-Konig-Platz. An England fan with a can or bottle of beer in the square will be asked to put it away, or it will be taken away. They will not immediately be arrested.

“The square will be a fan zone for other games in the city, but not for England. Fans can however drink alcohol in the city’s bars and in a fan zone for England fans at the racecourse.”

England fans will only be allowed to buy low-alcohol beer at their opening Euro 2024 match with Serbia on Sunday after the fixture was identified as “high risk” by German authorities.

The full-strength Bitburger Premium lager (4.8%) usually served inside the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen has been replaced by a 2.5% alternative in a bid to keep a lid on potential disturbances at the game, and fans will only be allowed to buy two pints at a time.

More than 1,000 police officers will be deployed in a major security operation amid fears of trouble between supporters.