England's route to the final has become a whole lot clearer now that the Euro 2024 group stages are complete
(Image credit: Getty Images)
England's route to the final at Euro 2024 has now been confirmed, with the dates and potential opponents of each game clear following the conclusion of the group stages.
But the Three Lions managed to top Group C, providing them with a more favourable side of the draw. Indeed, England won't have to worry about facing any of Spain, Germany, France, Portugal and Belgium until the final - if they make it there - with all five of those sides on the other side of the knockouts.
So, what could England's route to the final look like? FourFourTwo provides you with all the information you need.
VIDEO: Why You Finally Saw The REAL England Against Slovenia (For About 2 Minutes)
England's route to the final: Who the Three Lions could face on the way to Euro 2024 glory
Last 16
Bellingham will be a crucial player this summer (Image credit: Eddie Keogh - The FA via Getty Images)
Despite underwhelming in the group stages, England finished top of Group C. This ensured they set up a tie against a side finishing in third place from either Group D, E or F - and, due to the way results panned out, that meant Slovakia were confirmed as the Three Lions' first knockout opponents.
The game will be played at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, the same ground in which England beat Serbia in their opening game.
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Scheduled for 5pm BST on Sunday, June 30, England will be confident of victory against a side many tipped to finish bottom of Group E. Slovakia, however, proved difficult opponents in the group stages, picking up four points which included a win over Belgium, too.
Ukraine managed to beat them 2-1 in the second game by coming from behind, but a draw in their final match against Romania ensured they finished above Ukraine on goal difference.
Quarter-final
The England squad is stacked full of talent (Image credit: Getty Images)
If England manage to beat Slovakia in the last 16, they'll then set up a difficult quarter-final clash with either Italy or Switzerland. While a repeat of the Euro 2020 final seems most likely, Switzerland were just minutes away from finishing above Germany in Group A and certainly have the ability to overcome their neighbours in the last 16.
Both teams finished second in their respective groups, with their game the first of the last 16 to take place. England, therefore, will know their potential opponents before even kicking off against Slovakia.
The quarter-final for this tie will be played on Saturday, July 6 at 5pm BST, with the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf hosting the game.
Of the four sides fighting for a chance to play in this particular quarter-final, only Slovakia have already played in Dusseldorf so far this tournament. Their 2-1 defeat to Ukraine came in the west German city.
Semi-final
Southgate and Foden (Image credit: Getty Images)
Should England overcome Slovakia and then find a way past Switzerland or Italy, they'll reach the final four - and any side from Austria, Romania, Turkey or the Netherlands could be their opponents.
Based off the group stages, Austria seem the strongest side from the quartet, with Ralf Rangnick's side finishing top of a group that also contained France and the Netherlands. Romania, though, did also come first in Group E, ahead of Belgium, while Turkey managed second place behind Portugal.
The semi-final will be played in Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday, July 10, with the match scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off.
Final
England could reach the final (Image credit: Getty Images)
If England manage to overcome all of that, they'll have reached the final - the same stage of the tournament they managed at the previous European Championship. Only this time, there's no way they'll be facing Italy.
Instead, any side from Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Belgium, Slovenia, Georgia and Denmark could be on the cards, with Germany most desperate to get there and compete for glory on home soil.
The Euro 2024 final will be hosted at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, 14 July, with kick-off at 8pm BST.
Will England be crowned triumphant at the end of that? Who knows, but we'll sure find out.
The battle for the overall prize isn't the only competition happening in Germany this summer, either, with the race for the Golden Boot truly hotting up now that the knockout stages are upon us.
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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
