Euro 2024 draw: Latest news and updates as Gareth Southgate’s England are set to find out who they will face in the group stage

Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for all the latest news and updates from the Euro 2024 draw where England are set to find out their group stage opponents.

It may be a little too early for squad predictions…

Admittedly, it’s probably a little bit too early to start speculating as to who gets a ticket on the plane for Southgate’s side next summer.

That being said, barring injury you’d expect a fair chunk of the regular faces to be on board; your Sakas, your Kanes, your Bellinghams etc etc.

But there are a couple of younger faces that are looking to force their way into contention ahead of the summer.

Check out the link below to see which two youngsters Jamie Carragher reckons have the best chance at sneaking their way into the squad!

And welcome to tonight's venue!

But it’s not all about the teams in the pots – just look at that venue!

It’s all set to take place at the iconic Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, which is a concert hall that sits on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River.

But what else do we know about the location where England’s Euro 2024 fate will be decided? Mail Sport takes a look….

Check out the link below for more on the Elbphilharmonie!

Are England the team to avoid?

When Gareth Southgate takes his seat in Hamburg’s iconic Elbphilharmonie concert hall tonight, he’ll perch comfortably in the knowledge that England are the team everyone wants to avoid.

Group of Death? Who cares. Banana skin? So what? Home nations clash? No problem. Bring. It. On.

Because this is England’s time, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Read more about why England are the team to beat next summer at the link below!

And on the flip side…

Admittedly we’ve a tendency to focus on the negatives, so we might as well take a look at the best possible way that this could pan out for Southgate’s side.

Mail Sport’s verdict: England, Albania, Slovenia, and Winner of Path C

Albania to their credit won their group ahead of Czech Republic and Poland, while Slovenia finished second, albeit level on points with group winners Denmark.

But while both sides had a good qualifying campaign, they have both played and lost to England six times in their history.

Play-off C meanwhile looks like it would present the best draw on paper from Group D.

It would be an incredible feat for Georgia, Luxembourg or Kazakhstan to make the tournament, as not one of the three have qualified for either the World Cup or European Championship. Greece won the tournament in its biggest ever shock in 2004 but would also be a good draw for the Three Lions.

What about a Group of Death?

About now comes the point where we all fearfully work out what the ‘Group of Death’ could look like… and probably end up manifesting it!

For England, there are unfortunately quite a few teams that could pose a problem in Pots 2 and 3, with Italy also lurking ominously in Pot 4.

So, feasibly, we could end up with a group of England, Denmark, Croatia and Italy – or even Turkey and Netherlands from Pots 2 and 3 respectively.

Meanwhile the draw does at least mean the Three Lions will avoid Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain, which is always a good start!

And the play-offs?

So, this play-offs business… when do those take place and who will be in them, other than Wales?

Six semi-finals split through three different potential paths of progression are scheduled to take place on 21 March 2024 and three finals on 26 March – with the winning three teams then entering the competition.

The three play-off semi-finals is as follows:

So what do we know already?

So, what do we know?

Well we know the identities of all but three of the teams that will be playing in the competition next summer, and indeed what pots they currently sit in.

For example, England are in Pot 1, Scotland Pot 3, reigning champions Italy in Pot 4 and of course Wales havea chance of joining them in Pot 4 if they should win through the play-offs, but more on that in a bit!

The pot for the competition so far is as follows:

Good evening!

Good evening and welcome to this, Mail Sport’s LIVE coverage of the draw for Euro 2024!

We’re six months out from the start date of the tournament in Germany next summer, and tonight Hamburg is playing host to European football’s biggest and best as they await their fates for the competition.

The ceremony is slated for 5pm with the first balls coming out of pots at around 5.15pm, so stick with us over the next hour or so as we build up to what should be a fascinating occasion!

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