The finest teams on the continent are preparing to do battle (Picture: Getty)
The full line-up of the 24 teams who will take part in this summer’s Euro 2024 is now complete following the dramatic play-off finals.
Three spots were still up for grabs for the tournament, which gets underway in Germany on June 14, with sides who failed to book their place at Euro 2024 given a lifeline via the play-offs.
Wales fell to an agonising penalty shootout defeat to Poland, ending their hopes of reaching their third consecutive European Championships on a cruel night in Cardiff.
Georgia were involved in their own penalty drama, beating Greece on penalties to qualify for their first-ever major tournament, whilst Ukraine mounted yet another comeback to nudge past Iceland in their play-off final.
Here is a full rundown of the 24 nations who will be eying European glory at Euro 2024, with England and Scotland amongst the countries who will be taking part later this year.
Albania
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Sylvinho
Star player: Armando Broja
Fixtures: Italy (June 15), Croatia (June 19), Spain (June 24)
Best result: Group stage (2016)
Albania, managed by former Arsenal and Manchester City player Sylvinho, topped their qualifying group ahead of the likes of Czechia and Poland to qualify for just their second-ever major tournament.
Euro 2016 saw Albania fail to advance from the group, but the Balkan country did finish the tournament on a high with a 1-0 win over Romania in their final game.
Austria
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Ralf Rangnick
Star player: David Alaba
Fixtures: France (June 17), Poland (June 21), Netherlands (June 25)
Best result: Round of 16 (2020)
Austria finished second in qualifying under former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, but they could be without their captain and Real Madrid star David Alaba, who is at serious risk of missing the tournament with a ruptured ACL.
Their Round of 16 appearance at Euro 2020 was the furthest they have ever progressed in the competition, suffering an extra-time defeat to eventual champions Italy at Wembley.
Belgium
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Domenico Tedesco
Star player: Kevin De Bruyne
Fixtures: Slovakia (June 17), Romania (June 22), Ukraine (June 26)
Best result: Runners-up (1980)
The Red Devils made light work of qualifying under their new Italian-German manager Domenico Tedesco to seal their place at their third consecutive Euros.
Quarter-finalists in the previous two editions, Belgium will be hoping for a deeper run this time around, with a squad which is perhaps lacking some of the stardust of their golden generation in recent years but one which still possesses extreme quality – as well as a number of exciting youngsters.
Croatia
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Zlatko Dalić
Star player: Luka Modrić
Fixtures: Spain (June 15), Albania (June 19), Italy (June 24)
Best result: Quarter-finals (1996, 2008)
Perennially the tournament dark horses, Croatia will be desperate to finally claim their first-ever major trophy having finished as runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and in the 2023 Nations League, as well as a third-place finish at the last World Cup in Qatar.
Captain Luka Modric will be featuring in his ninth major international tournament, with a number of his veteran teammates also likely to be playing in their swansong competition.
Czechia
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Ivan Hašek
Star player: Patrik Schick
Fixtures: Portugal (June 18), Georgia (June 22), Turkey (June 26)
Best result: Winners (1976)
Czechia (Czech Republic) booked their ticket to their eighth successive European Championship with a runners-up finish in Group E.
Their squad includes West Ham stars Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal, as well as promising Bayer Leverkusen youngster Adam Hložek.
Denmark
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Kasper Hjulmand
Star player: Rasmus Højlund
Fixtures: Slovenia (June 16), England (June 20), Serbia (June 25)
Best result: Winners (1992)
Denmark, who were beaten by England in the semi-finals of Euro 2020, qualified for this year’s edition as Group H winners.
The Danes pulled off one of the biggest shocks in football history when they won Euro 92, having only qualified after Yugoslavia was disqualified because of an outbreak of war following the break-up of the country.
England
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Gareth Southgate
Star player: Harry Kane
Fixtures: Serbia (June 16), Denmark (June 20), Slovenia (June 25)
Best result: Runners-up (2020)
Qualification was never really in doubt for England, who completed the double over Italy and picked up four points against Ukraine.
Gareth Southgate’s men have been installed as the favourites for Euro 2024, and despite an underwhelming March international break, their envious collection of talent leaves them with a strong chance of finally ending their almost 60-year wait for silverware.
France
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Didier Deschamps
Star player: Kylian Mbappé
Fixtures: Austria (June 17), Netherlands (June 21), Poland (June 25)
Best result: Winners (1984, 2000)
France and their star-studded squad start the tournament as second favourites behind England and are looking to win their first European Championship since 2000.
Les Blues were beaten finalists in their home tournament in 2016, but recovered from the disappointment to win the the World Cup two years later.
Georgia
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Willy Sagnol
Star player: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Fixtures: Turkey (June 18), Czechia (June 22), Portugal (June 26)
Best result: N/A
Georgia finished fourth in qualifying, but their performances in the Nations League saw them granted a play-off berth.
The Black Sea country secured their spot at their first ever major tournament as an independent nation with a penalty shootout win over Greece. Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will undoubtedly be one of the players to watch at Euro 2024.
Germany
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Julian Nagelsmann
Star player: Jamal Musiala
Fixtures: Scotland (June 14), Hungary (June 19), Switzerland (June 23)
Best result: Winners (1972, 1980, 1996)
Germany, who qualified automatically as hosts, parted company with former manager Hansi Flick in September 2023 after just four wins in 17 matches.
Results have still been mixed under Julian Nagelsamnn, who is in charge until the end of the tournament, but they still possess the quality to win their first European Championship for 28 years.
Hungary
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Marco Rossi
Star player: Dominik Szoboszlai
Fixtures: Switzerland (June 15), Germany (June 19), Scotland (June 23)
Best result: Third place (1964)
Having gone 44 years without qualifying for the Euros, Hungary have now made it to their third tournament in succession and boast Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai amongst their ranks.
Hungary gave a decent account of themselves at Euro 2020, registering two draws in a group consisting of France, Germany and Portugal, but that ultimately wasn’t enough to stop them finishing bottom of the pile.
Italy
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Luciano Spalletti
Star player: Nicolò Barella
Fixtures: Albania (June 15), Spain (June 20), Croatia (June 24)
Best result: Winners (1968, 2020)
Italy are the defending champions having beaten England in the final on penalties three years ago but will face a fight to qualify for the knockouts with Spain and Croatia also in Group B.
The Azzurri, who saw Roberto Mancini resign halfway through the qualifying campaign, finished as runners-up to the Three Lions, securing their spot at Euro 2024 with a draw against Ukraine on the final matchday.
Netherlands
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Ronald Koeman
Star player: Virgil van Dijk
Fixtures: Poland (June 16), France (June 21), Austria (June 25)
Best result: Winners (1988)
The Dutch finished second behind France in qualifying and they will pose a real danger in Germany, with their squad packed full of immense talent with the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong and Xavi Simons.
Ronald Koeman is in his second spell in charge, having won the tournament as a player back in 1988 – their sole major honour to date.
Poland
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Michał Probierz
Star player: Robert Lewandowksi
Fixtures: Netherlands (June 16), Austria (June 21), France (June 25)
Best result: Quarter-finals (2016)
Poland could only manage a distant third to Albania and Czechia in qualifying, and as such they had to settle for a spot in the play-offs to keep their Euro 2024 hopes alive.
Having dispatched Estonia 5-1 in the play-off semi-final, the Poles edged out Wales on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra-time to qualify for their fifth consecutive major tournament.
Portugal
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Roberto Martínez
Star player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Fixtures: Czechia (June 18), Turkey (June 22), Georgia (June 26)
Best result: Winners (2016)
Portugal were the only team to finish qualifying with a perfect record, winning all ten of their games with 36 goals scored and just two conceded in the process.
Now managed by former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez, Portugal will be hoping for a fairytale send-off for Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be playing in his 11th – and surely last – major international tournament.
Romania
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Edward Iordănescu
Star player: Radu Drăgușin
Fixtures: Ukraine (June 17), Belgium (June 22), Slovakia (June 26)
Best result: Quarter-finals (2000)
Romania topped Group I in qualifying to reach their first tournament since 2016 and their sixth in European Championship history.
Their heroics at Euro 2000 saw them make it out of a group consisting of England, Germany and Portugal before being beaten by Italy in the last eight.
Scotland
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Steve Clarke
Star player: Scott McTominay
Fixtures: Germany (June 14), Switzerland (June 29), Hungary (June 23)
Best result: Group stage (1992, 1996, 2020)
Steve Clark guided Scotland to second place in their qualifying group to make it back-to-back European Championship appearances, and their latest Euro adventure sees them kick-off against Germany in the opening fixture.
Scotland have never qualified from their group at a major tournament and their attempts to put their sorry record to bed will most likely be determined by the crunch clashes against Switzerland and Hungary.
Serbia
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Dragan Stojković
Star player: Aleksandar Mitrović
Fixtures: England (June 16), Slovenia (June 20), Denmark (June 25)
Best result: Runners-up (1960, 1968)
Remarkably, Serbia will be competing in their first European Championship since 2000, despite having participated in four World Cups in the meantime.
Serbia were runners-up in the competition in 1960 and 1968, when they competed as part of Yugoslavia, and this generation of team is packed full of talent such as Dušan Vlahović, Sergej Milinković-Savić and former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrović.
Slovakia
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Francesco Calzona
Star player: Milan Škriniar
Fixtures: Belgium (June 17), Ukraine (June 21), Romania (June 26)
Best result: Winners (1976)
Slovakia finished a distant second behind Portugal in qualifying, with manager Francesco Calzona combining his role with the national team whilst also being the manager of Napoli in his native Italy.
Slovakia claimed the trophy as part of Czechoslovakia in 1976, with their best performance since splitting with Czechia seeing them reach the Round of 16 eight years ago, where they were beaten by Germany.
Slovenia
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Matjaž Kek
Star player: Jan Oblak
Fixtures: Denmark (June 16), Serbia (June 20), England (June 25)
Best result: Group stage (2000)
Slovenia were only beaten twice in qualifying as they finished as group runners-up, with Euro 2024 the first major tournament they will contest since the 2010 World Cup.
England will have to keep a close eye on RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko when they meet in their group fixture on June 25, with the 20 year-old regarded as one of the hottest young strikers on the continent and having been linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Spain
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Luis de la Fuente
Star player: Rodri
Fixtures: Croatia (June 15), Italy (June 20), Albania (June 24)
Best result: Winners (1964, 2008, 2012)
Only Germany have taken part in more European Championships than Spain, who secured their berth at their 12th Euros having finished first in their group with seven wins from eight games in qualifying.
Luis de la Fuente, who was appointed in 2022 to replace Luis Enrique after Spain were knocked out in the World Cup Round of 16, will be hoping to guide his country to a record-breaking fourth Euros title.
Switzerland
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Murat Yakin
Star player: Granit Xhaka
Fixtures: Hungary (June 15), Scotland (June 19), Germany (June 23)
Best result: Quarter-finals (2020)
Euro 2024 will see Switzerland participate in their fifth finals in the last six editions.
The Swiss produced a timeless performance to knock France out of Euro 2020 on penalties, before succumbing to spot kicks against Spain in the quarter-finals.
Turkey
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Vincenzo Montella
Star player: Hakan Çalhanoğlu
Fixtures: Georgia (June 18), Portugal (June 22), Czechia (June 26)
Best result: Semi-finals (2008)
Vincenzo Montella’s men, featuring the likes of Inter’s Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Real Madrid wonderkid Arda Güler, finished ahead of Croatia and Wales to finish Group D as winners.
Turkey have been knocked out in the group stage in their last two tournaments but famously made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2008, only to be beaten 3-2 by Germany in one of the all-time classic Euro games.
Ukraine
(Picture: Getty)
Manager: Serhiy Rebrov
Star player: Oleksandr Zinchenko
Fixtures: Romania (June 17), Slovakia (June 21), Belgium (June 26)
Best result: Quarter-finals (2020)
Having narrowly missed out on automatic qualification on goal difference to Italy, Ukraine produced two stirring comebacks against Bosnia and Iceland in the play-offs, with Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk scoring an 84th minute winner against the latter.
Ukraine will be confident of reaching the knockout stages at Euro 2024 in what will be their first appearance at a major international tournament since the Russian invasion in 2022.