Will England play Netherlands in round of 16 at Euro 2024?

6 months ago 22

Dale Johnson, General Editor, ESPN FCJun 26, 2024, 06:51 PM

England are through to the knockout stages at Euro 2024, but as the winners of Group C, they won't know their round-of-16 opponents until Group F is completed on Wednesday.

The top teams in Groups B, C, E and F will take on one of the four teams that go through as best third-placed finishers. And that's all going to depend on who qualifies.

How do they decide the fixtures?

UEFA created a grid before the tournament began that set out where each third-placed team would go depending on which four groups provided the qualifiers.

It does not matter if a country was the best third-placed team or the fourth best -- allocation is purely based upon the grid.

Which options are still open?

As we know that Group C (Slovenia), Group D (Netherlands) and Group E (Slovakia) have provided teams, and that Group B (Croatia) cannot, only two combinations are now possible: ACDE or CDEF. This refers to the letters of the groups that provide the qualifiers.

The team joining Slovakia, Slovenia and Netherlands will be: Hungary or third place in Group F.

What does this mean for England?

England have two possible round-of-16 opponents: Netherlands or Slovakia.

What needs to happen for England to play Netherlands?

If Hungary qualify in third from Group A, England will play Netherlands.

If third in Group F qualifies, England will play Slovakia.

What are the scenarios in Group F?

There are only a handful of scenarios whereby the team in Group F would qualify. If any of these happen, England will play Slovakia.