After a year of postponement due to the pandemic, European football’s flagship tournament gets underway this evening, and will play right through to 11 July.
24 countries will be battling it out for the trophy, including three UK home nations – England, Scotland, and Wales.
Turkey will face Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome for the first match of the highly-anticipated tournament tonight, with Gareth Southgate’s England squad up against World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia in their first match at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 13 June.
Unlike previous tournaments, Euro 2020 will be the first European Championship to be played across the entire breadth of the continent, using 11 different venues.
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England has been placed in Group D, alongside Scotland, Croatia, at the Czech Republic.
Every tournament’s group stage tends to have a so-called ‘group of death’, with Euro 2020’s coming in the form of Group F – which features the 2014 World Cup winners Germany, the reigning world champions France, and the reigning European champions Portugal, with Hungary being the somewhat unlucky nation rounding out the group and therefore needing to produce a moment of magic to come out the other side.
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But how will England fare in this year’s tournament? How far are they expected to go? Do they stand a strong chance of making it to the final? Which countries will stand in their way?
Here’s everything you need to know about Euro 2020.
24 countries will be battling it out for the trophy / Credit: Flickr
When is Euro 2020?
The tournament officially kicks off on Friday 11 June in Rome, and ends with the final at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday 11 July.
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What are the groups?
Group A: Italy, Turkey, Switzerland, and Wales.
Group B: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Russia.
Group C: Austria, Netherlands, North Macedonia, and Ukraine.
Group D: Croatia, Czech Republic, England, and Scotland.
Group E: Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden.
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Group F: France, Germany, Hungary, and Portugal.
Where are the venues?
Amsterdam (Johan Cruijff Arena)
Baku (Olympic Stadium)
Bucharest (National Arena)
Budapest (Puskás Aréna)
Copenhagen (Parken Stadium)
Glasgow (Hampden Park)
London (Wembley Stadium)
Munich (Fußball Arena München)
Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
Seville (La Cartuja Stadium)
St Petersburg (St Petersburg Stadium)
What is the fixture schedule?
The Group Stage will take place between Friday 11 June – Wednesday 23 June, the Knockout Phase will then take place between Saturday 26 June – Tuesday 29 June, the Quarter Finals will happen on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 July, the Semi Finals on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 July, and it’ll all culminate with the Final on Sunday 11 July.
You can check out the fixture schedule in full on the official UEFA Euro 2020 website here.
What’s England’s route to the final?
It’s easy to get carried away with ourselves when it comes to sporting tournaments such as Euro 2020, and it’s only natural for England fans to be looking ahead at the best way for the squad to make it to the final.
They’ve got to make it to the Knockout Phase first though – but how will they do that?
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There’s a number of ways the Group Stage could pan out for England that will determine who they face in the knockouts.
This chart that’s been doing the rounds online might make things a little clearer.
England has been placed in Group D, alongside Scotland, Croatia, at the Czech Republic / Credit: Google
Who is predicted to win?
Predictions will always be predictions, but the bookies over at Paddy Power have set the odds for six countries expected to perform well:
England 9/2
France 11/2
Belgium 6/1
Spain 13/2
Germany 15/2
Portugal 15/2
Where can I watch Euro 2020 in Manchester?
Manchester is a city that’s obsessed with football, so understandably, there’s plenty of venues going all out for the Euros this year.
We’ve been inundated with messages over the past few weeks from our loyal audience keen to find out the best places to catch a match this summer, so we’ve knuckled down and done the leg work for you.
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If you’re looking for recommendations, you can find 20 of the best spots to watch Euro 2020 in Manchester city centre this summer here.
Featured Image – Flickr
Sport
Tributes paid to loyal Curzon Ashton FC fan and beloved volunteer Barry Thickett
Danny Jones
Tributes are being paid to a much-loved local football fan and loyal volunteer at Curzon Ashton Football Club, Barry Thickett, who sadly died last week at the age of 82.
Known to the majority around the Tameside Stadium and more throughout Greater Manchester’s non-league pyramid, Thickett was a long-serving supporter and assisted the club for many years.
Unfortunately, following a short period of illness which remains undisclosed, the die-hard fan passed away while most were wrapped up in the action from the FA Cup third-round ties this weekend.
Confirming the heartbreaking news with their fan base on Monday, 13 January, Curzon Ashton shared a single black-and-white image of Barry, which was met with an outpouring of heartfelt condolences.
As you can see, countless followers of ‘The Nash’ hopped on social media to pay their respects to a fan favourite figure who has been remembered, above all else, “a wonderful man” – overwhelmingly so.
Fellow fan Dr Andy Hershon commented, “I knew him via the Friday walking football. He always came to watch. Lovely bloke who loved to chat about the game. Will be sadly missed. RIP Barry”.
Multiple fans mentioned loving their “chats” with the local legend, who used to work as an area manager at the old Wilson’s Brewery in Newton Heath.
Perhaps most notably, Barry’s loved ones expressed their thanks to the club and all those posting touching tributes; his daughter Sara replied, “Thank you for such a lovely tribute. Dad would have been touched”, and son Gaz added: “Thank you for the lovely message, means a lot to the family.”
Player-manager Craig Mahon went on to write “Barry was a true gentleman and respected by all the team. Always there with his words of wisdom at half-time and full-time.
He will be sorely missed by everyone at Curzon Ashton FC. RIP Baz thanks for all you [have] done.”
Curzon Ashton are yet to announce any official plans for a Barry Thickett memorial service via the club, but he will no doubt receive an emotional observance when the National League North outfit travels to nearby Stalybridge on Tuesday, 14 Jan.
Their next home game takes place this weekend (Saturday) and we’re sure he’ll be given a proper send-off by all those who knew and loved him up on the terraces. Our thoughts go out to Barry’s family, friends and everyone at the club. Rest in peace.
Tyson Fury has announced his ‘retirement’ from boxing (again) along with a cryptic message
Danny Jones
Manchester boxer Tyson Fury has seemingly confirmed he is retiring from boxing once again for the third time?… We’re not even sure at this point.
The Wythenshawe-born juggernaut of the heavyweight division lost consecutive fights for the first time in his career following the defeat in a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk back in December 2024 and, for all intents and purposes, it looks like they may have been his final professional fight.
Having first argued that the judges favoured Usyk in the first fight due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine; Fury once again believed the decision was unfair in the second bout but, either way, he claims that the Riyadh Season showdown was his last appearance in the ring.
Taking to social media on Monday, 13 January, the 36-year-old said he wanted to keep the announcement “short and sweet”, proceeding to announce his retirement from boxing to nearly seven million followers on Instagram along with a somewhat cryptic message for them to take away with them.
If all is to be believed at this point, he seemed pretty positive and nonchalant about the whole thing. He proceeded to state that he’s “loved every single minute” of his career, adding “God bless, everybody and I’ll see you on the other side.”
There wasn’t too much to read into with his caption either, which simply read: “Thanks, it’s been a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way! Happy New Year. Jesus is king now and forever”.
However, it was the penultimate line with which he signed off that has raised an eyebrow among a lot of those reacting to the news online, as he referenced infamous highwayman and thief, Dick Turpin, who famously wore a mask to conceal his crimes during the 18th century. Interesting indeed.
People online have been speculating plenty around exactly what he might have meant with this mysterious remark but many that it could just be another nod towards the belief that he was ‘robbed’ of a victory in Fury vs Usyk 2, having claimed the latter was given an “early Christmas gift.”
Regardless, plenty are expecting it won’t be long before Fury comes back out of retirement to lace his gloves back the very second the right offer comes in for him to finally fight Anthony Joshua, even if both of them aren’t quite the dominant name they once were when the face-off was first floated.
Most crucially, the general consensus is that Tyson Fury isn’t really retiring because this, of course, isn’t the first time he’s claimed he was calling it a day.
‘The Gypsy King’ famously ‘retired’ for the first first time over a decade ago after the plans for his fight against David Haye fell apart for the second time back in 2013, making the announcement with nothing more than a few dismissive words on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Then, in 2017, we did the dance all over again after a string of teases and ‘pranks’ towards the end of 2016 which culminated in him writing in a since-deleted post: “Been very blessed in my life & career achieve the utmost in boxing, was a epic journey along the way.
“Thanks to all the fans that supported & believed in me along the way. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. THE END.” But it obviously wasn’t the end…
He was back in the ring by 2018 and Fury went on to declare that his 2022 win over Dillian Whyte was his farewell fight before going on to fight Derek Chisora just six months later.
You can see how people have trouble believing that it’s for real, right?
Whether or not he is being serious this time, only time will tell but one thing is for sure is that fans would still love to see him and AJ come up against each other if a fight contract were to materialise after all this time – especially as they both have a point to prove given their recent respective records.
As for Fury, one clip that came back to haunt him in the wake of the rematch against Usyk will remain a lasting memory for many of those who have followed his career from the start to now:
The Manc -
11th June 2021 
