The European Championships are finally upon us, a year later than planned. The excitement is building, particularly for Home Nations fans, with plenty of hope from Three Lions fans to Wales and Scotland natives.
It’s going to be a fun and vibrant atmosphere across our bingo site, with our chat rooms always fun and competitive when it comes to major tournaments. The Euros always offers a jam-packed calendar, so to help you out we’ve pulled out some of the key dates you should be putting in your diary…
11 June: It all kicks off
11 June is the main date for your diary, as the tournament gets underway on a Friday night in Rome. In the opener Italy will face Turkey, both of whom are being considered dark horses going into the tournament. Both teams have plenty of talent and it should get the tournament off to a flying start.
12 June: Wales get underway
Wales are the first Home Nation to get their campaign underway and meet Switzerland in Group A. The Welsh, who will be looking to repeat the success they enjoyed back in 2016, have had a rocky build-up to the tournament, with manager Ryan Giggs suspended by the Welsh FA, while there have been a number of injury problems.
13 June: England host Croatia
England’s first game is against the nation that knocked them out in Russia, with Croatia posing tricky opposition once again on a Sunday afternoon. Gareth Southgate’s team are among the favourites to win the tournament though, and will be keen to get off to a bright start in this one.
14 June: Scotland welcome tournament football back
Scottish fans will get to enjoy their nation in a major tournament for the first time since 1998 when they take on Czech Republic in the second game of Group D. Taking place at Hampden Park, Glasgow is going to be buzzing on the Monday afternoon and they’ll want to claim the win ahead of their game against England later in the week.
18 June: England welcome Scotland across the border
Wales take on Turkey in their second match-up on 16 June, but it’s the England v Scotland fixture a few days later which really gets the juices flowing. It’s a Friday evening, 8pm kick off game and will be one of the games of the tournament.
20 June: Wales travel to Italy
The final game of Wales’ Group Stage is the trickiest as they meet Italy. It could be a key evening for the nation if they wish to progress, but in Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey they have players who are well acquainted with pressure. But can they qualify?
22 June: Scotland and England finish their group
Scotland are not favoured to qualify for the knockout stages, but they could provide an upset in their final game of the group as they take on Croatia. England, who will be hoping to have progression wrapped up by game three take on the Czech Republic with both games an 8pm kick off.
