The Euro 2024 draw sees reigning champions Italy face England in the qualifying rounds. Italy beat England in the final last year.
Euro 2024, hosted by Germany, will be Italy’s chance to regain some footballing pride having failed to qualify for the World Cup finals which kick off in Qatar in six weeks’ time.
Italy beat hosts England in a penalty shootout at Wembley last year after the match ended 1-1 following extra time.
After the tournament draw in Frankfurt, Italy coach Roberto Mancini said: “I knew that we’d get either England or France, but that’s OK. It’s a decent five-team group, no easy matches, all ones we can have a go at.”
Italy will also play Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia. The latter country knocked them out of the World Cup in the playoffs in Palermo in March.
“It’s one of those matches that you get every now and again, and as we saw in Palermo we have to take every match seriously, even those that seem the simplest,” Mancini told RAI Sport.
Other group draws for Euro 2024
France, who will defend their world title in Qatar, face the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland in Group B. In Group A, Spain’s opponents include Scotland and Erling Haaland’s Norway.
“It’s a pretty heavy group, a group with value,” France coach Didier Deschamps said.
Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be 39 by the time the finals kick off, go into a Group J including Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland.
Croatia, the losing World Cup finalists in 2018, are in Group D with World Cup qualifiers Wales as well as Turkey.
Russia is excluded from the competition because of its invasion of Ukraine. As hosts, three-time European champions Germany qualify automatically.
The Euro 2024 finals will be played in 10 German cities from June 14 to July 14.
Full Euro 2024 Group Draw
Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus.
Group B: Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar.
Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta.
Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia.
Group E: Poland, Czech Republic, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova.
Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia.
Group G: Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania.
Group H: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino.
Group I: Switzerland, Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra.
Group J: Portugal, Bosnia, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein.
