Are England playing today?
Sports Mole answers whether England are playing today as the Three Lions go for Euro 2024 glory.
Preparations for Euro 2024 have now concluded for Gareth Southgate’s England, who are now settled in Germany for the latest edition of the continental championships after a mixed warm-up period in front of the home crowd.
Runners-up to Italy under the Wembley arch in 2021, the Three Lions have been heralded as one of the tournament favourites, although the likes of the Azzurri, France, Portugal and hosts Germany will have a thing or two to say about that.
Not since conquering the globe at the 1966 World Cup have England’s men’s team come up trumps in a major tournament, and the Three Lions now bid to emulate their female colleagues, who won Euro 2022 at the home of English football.
Placed in Group C alongside Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia, England commence their latest quest for European stardom against the latter on June 16, before facing the Scandinavians on June 20 and Slovenia five days later.
As is the case with their Euro 2024 opponents, Southgate’s squad pitted their wits in a couple of friendly contests in early June, giving the England boss a chance to assess both his regular starters and some fringe players both before and after announcing the final 26-man selection.
Are England in action today?
© Reuters
The eagerly-awaited day is finally upon ardent England supporters, as the Three Lions are playing their opening Euro 2024 fixture on Sunday night, clashing with Serbia in Group C at the Veltins-Arena, the home of Schalke 04.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8pm UK time (9pm local time) and will mark the first-ever meeting between England and Serbia with the latter as an independent nation; the Three Lions succeeded 2-1 in 2003 against Serbia and Montenegro during their most recent contest.
How can I watch England? TV, streaming options
England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia will be shown live on BBC One, while there will also be streaming options on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. Coverage begins at 7pm UK time and will run until 10.30pm.
How is England’s Euro 2024 squad shaping up?
© Reuters
One day before England’s defeat to Iceland on June 7, Southgate announced his final 26-man selection for the European Championships, dropping seven players from his initial 33-strong preliminary setup.
Among the big names cut was Harry Maguire, who failed to recover from a calf injury in time for the Euros, and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, who paid the price for a poor domestic campaign.
Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison was also axed, as were Jarrad Branthwaite, James Trafford, Curtis Jones and Jarell Quansah, although the latter is still on standby should any more injuries occur.
The Liverpool man may have had a glint in his eyes after John Stones and Marc Guehi went off injured in a recent friendly loss to Iceland, but both changes were precautionary from Southgate, whose players are now being put through their paces as their German training camp.
There was a minor scare over Stones after England’s arrival, though, as the Manchester City man came down with an illness and had to be confined to his bedroom to avoid the spread, but he made a rapid recovery and is now training fully once more.
More importantly, England’s quarantine measures appear to have been effective, as all of Stones’s teammates appear to have avoided catching his bug, and Southgate has therefore had all of his players available to him in practice.
The list includes Luke Shaw, although the Manchester United man should not be involved against Serbia as he slowly works his way back from the muscular issue that he sustained in February, but Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham are among those primed to return to England’s starting lineup.
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