Hungary
Hungary secured their place at Euro 2024 in style – they went unbeaten with five victories and three draws in their eight games and finished top of their group for the first time in qualifying history.
Italy
Off the back of a rollercoaster period for the Azzurri which saw the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the Italians return to the European Championships as holders – a title dulled by the Azzurri’s absence at the 2022 World Cup after failing to qualify.
Netherlands
It was hardly plain sailing for the Dutch. A 4-0 defeat against France left the Netherlands chasing qualification for the rest of the campaign and in a two-horse race with Greece, they claimed a pivotal 1-0 victory in Athens to secure a ticket in the next game against the Republic of Ireland.
Poland
Poland left it late to secure qualification to this summer’s European Championships, progressing by way of penalty shootout versus 10-man Wales back in March.
Portugal
Portugal breezed through the qualifiers to win every single match of their campaign for the first time.
Romania
After failing to qualify last time round, Romania’s participation was impressively achieved with an unbeaten run of six wins and four draws.
Aston Villa owner Naseef Sawiris threatens Premier league with legal action over ‘nonsensical’ financial rules
June 12 – The Premier League is potentially facing legal action from one of its club owners over its profit and sustainability rules.
Data driven ranking makes Spain and Germany favourites for Euro 2024
June 11 – England may be the bookies’ favourites for Euro 2024 but an analysis by the CIES Football Observatory has Germany and Spain as the teams most likely to win.
Man Utd to keep faith with Ten Hag after Tuchel talks fizzle out
June 12 – If numerous reports were anything to go by, it was one of football’s open secrets. Yet the secret has suddenly been turned on its head.
Swiss complain training pitch is poor quality and that spies could infiltrate in the TV tower
June 12 – In the first official spat with UEFA among those competing in the upcoming Euros, Switzerland have filed a formal complaint regarding the quality of the playing surface at their training camp.
India crash out of 2026 World Cup qualifying
June 12 – In an indictment of Igor Stimac’s management, India crashed out of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers after a 2-1 defeat against Qatar ended their hopes of making the third round group stages.
Bulgarians invest in more cameras to improve VAR decision making
June 12 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) is to invest an additional BGN 200,000 (€100,000) per season to improve the VAR system in the Bulgarian first division – the efbet League. Currently, the BFU pays BGN 1 million (€500,000) per season for VAR.
Klose takes manager role at Nuremberg
June 12 – Miroslav Klose has become the new manager of German club Nuremberg in a two-year deal.
England expects. Southgate says it is time to deliver a trophy
June 11 – England manager Gareth Southgate has admitted that the upcoming European Championships in Germany could be his final swansong in charge of the national team.
Lewandowski to miss Poland’s opener against Dutch
June 12 – Poland have been rocked by the news that their talisman and captain Robert Lewandowski will miss his side’s opening Euro 2024 game against the Netherlands on Sunday because of a thigh injury.