Road to UEFA Euro 2024 Begins as 53 Nations Compete for 24 Spots

The path to the UEFA European Championship in 2024 has officially started, with 53 national teams competing for a coveted spot in the tournament.

As the excitement builds, football fans across Europe are gearing up for a thrilling qualification process, which will determine which teams will join the host nation, Germany, in the final 24.

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 With a range of formidable contenders, surprises, and upsets likely to occur, the journey to the UEFA Euro 2024 promises to be a fascinating and exhilarating ride.

Teams have been placed into ten groups of five (including those containing the four UEFA Nations League Finals participants) and they include as follows.

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, Türkiye, Latvia

Group E: Poland, Czechia, 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 and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein

Today Thursday England faces Italy in Naples for the first of their Euro 2024 qualifiers in their first Group C match.

Italy vs England. This is certainly the biggest game of the night in Europe as the two finalists of the Euro 2020 final square off once again. This time, both sets of fans are perhaps more pessimistic about the quality of their sides.

Since that final, Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar and England were knocked out at the quarter-final stage which, while respectable, was at least one round earlier than many fans felt the squad could go.

At Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, there will be no shortage of motivation for both teams. For England, they want revenge, and for Italy, they want redemption. The Azzurri need a strong qualification campaign otherwise Roberto Mancini is in trouble.

North Macedonia vs Malta. These two sides are the real outside bets to progress from Group C but as Italy showed, North Macedonia are not a side to be underestimated.

Denmark vs Finland in their first match on Thursday 23/03/2023 and San Marino vs Northern Ireland.

Portugal vs Lichtenstein and Slovakia vs Luxembourg and This will be Roberto Martinez's first match in charge of Portugal and should he give Cristiano Ronaldo any minutes, the Al Nassr forward will become the most capped international men's player in history.

Scotland finds themselves in a difficult group with Spain and Norway as they hope to reach just their second major tournament this century.