Wales can be forgiven for a 3-0 loss to France in their first Euro 2020 warm-up match after going down to 10 men with just 25 minutes gone. Robert Page will now be determined to claim a morale-boosting victory over Albania, who are 49 places below them in the FIFA rankings.
Any debate about which nation will win the European Championship will naturally centre around the relative strengths and weaknesses of each squad and their key players. However, an often-overlooked factor is the Euro 2020 draw itself.
Italy have built up a lot of momentum heading into Euro 2020 and will no doubt want to maintain that by beating Czech Republic in Bologna. Their opponents have also qualified for this summer’s spectacular but an inconsistent run of results has tempered expectations.
France warmed up for their World Cup triumph with some professional displays and Didier Deschamps is expected to target a similar preparation for Euro 2020. Wales will also be involved in this summer’s big tournament but are rated a level below Les Bleus on all known form.
Switzerland are rated by many as dark horses to do well at Euro 2020 but USA promise to prove tricky opponents in Sunday’s warm-up match. The Americans have a couple of tournaments to prepare for themselves this summer and invariably play with plenty of energy and enthusiasm.
To celebrate the return of the European Championships this summer, our analysts have devised a fiendish Euro 2020 quiz based on the history of the competition to date. There are only 10 questions, making it the ideal challenge for a coffee break or half-time interval.
If good things come to those who wait then fans of international football are in for a treat this summer at Euro 2020. The tournament was postponed due to the continent being in lockdown last year but on June 11 it is finally set to kick off. In anticipation we have looked back at how each of the 24 Euro 2020 teams qualified for the tournament.
With the UEFA Nations League now on hold until the summer, the England national team can turn its attention to the qualifying campaign for Euro 2020. Ahead of the first matches kicking off later this week, we’ve analysed data on every qualifying campaign since Euro 96 to see what might be in store for Gareth Southgate’s young side.