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Xtra Time Web Desk: The 16th edition of the world's second-biggest football tournament, the UEFA European Championship, starts on June 11 with as many as 11 cities across Europe hosting 51 matches. The tournament, also known as the Euros, was originally scheduled for 2020. So the name UEFA Euro 2020. But it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled for 11 June to 11 July 2021. Between June 11 and July 11, there will be 51 games for fans to enjoy and soak up the atmosphere across the 11 host cities across Europe.

Groups:

Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Wales
Group B: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Russia
Group C: Austria, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Ukraine
Group D: Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Scotland
Group E: Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
Group F: France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal

Format:

All 24 teams at the final tournament are guaranteed to play at least three games before the top performers in the group stage move on to the knockout phase – where things get even more exciting. From that point, every game is sudden death: win and teams reach the next round, lose and they are going home.

Star players:

Fans are looking forward to some of the biggest names from across the 24 participating nations like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Paul Pogba, Luka Modric, Bruno Fernandes, Kevin Du Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Ciro Immobile, Federico Chiesa, Memphis Depay, Georginio Wijnaldum and Matthijs de Ligt.

Big games:

The opening round of matches from June 11 to June 23 will feature some thrilling encounters such as England vs Croatia, France vs Germany, Portugal vs Germany, Portugal vs France and many more.

Venues:

For the first time in the 60-year history of the tournament, 11 venues across Europe will host the event. They are Amsterdam, Baku, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Munich, London, Rome, Seville and Saint Petersburg.

Rome’s Stadio Olimpico will host the opening match on June 11, while only two teams will ultimately make it all the way to the July 11 final at London's Wembley Stadium.

How to watch:

TV Channels: SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 3 (Hindi), SONY SIX, SONY TEN 4 and their respective HD channels.
Live Stream: SonyLiv

Group stage schedule (all times in IST):

June 12

Group A: Turkey vs Italy (12:30 am, Rome)
Group A: Wales vs Switzerland (6:30 pm, Baku)
Group B: Denmark vs Finland (9:30 pm, Copenhagen)

June 13

Group B: Belgium vs Russia (12:30 am, St Petersburg)
Group D: England vs Croatia (6:30 pm, London)
Group C: Austria vs North Macedonia (9:30 pm, Bucharest)

June 14

Group C: Netherlands vs Ukraine (12:30 am, Amsterdam)
Group D: Scotland vs Czech Republic (6:30 pm, Glasgow)
Group E: Poland vs Slovakia (9:30 pm, St Petersburg)

June 15

Group E: Spain vs Sweden (12:30 am, Seville)
Group F: Hungary vs Portugal (9:30 pm, Budapest)

June 16

Group F: France vs Germany (12:30 am, Munich)
Group B: Finland vs Russia (6:30 pm, St Petersburg)
Group A: Turkey vs Wales (9:30 pm, Baku)

June 17

Group A: Italy vs Switzerland (12:30 am, Rome)
Group C: Ukraine vs North Macedonia (6:30 pm, Bucharest)
Group B: Denmark vs Belgium (9:30 pm, Copenhagen)

June 18

Group C: Netherlands vs Austria (12:30 am, Amsterdam)
Group E: Sweden vs Slovakia (6:30 pm, St Petersburg)
Group D: Croatia vs Czech Republic (9:30 pm, Glasgow)

June 19

Group D: England vs Scotland (12:30 am, London)
Group F: Hungary vs France (6:30 am, Budapest)
Group F: Portugal vs Germany (9:30 am, Munich)

June 20

Group E: Spain vs Poland (12:30 am, Seville)
Group A: Italy vs Wales (6:30 pm, Rome)
Group A: Switzerland vs Turkey (9:30 pm, Baku)

June 21

Group C: North Macedonia vs Netherlands (9:30 pm, Amsterdam)
Group C: Ukraine vs Austria (9:30 pm, Bucharest)

June 22

Group B: Russia vs Denmark (12:30 am, Copenhagen)
Group B: Finland vs Belgium (12:30 am, St Petersburg)

June 23

Group D: Czech Republic vs England (12:30 am, London)
Group D: Croatia vs Scotland (12:30 am, Glasgow)
Group E: Slovakia vs Spain (9:30 pm, Seville)
Group E: Sweden vs Poland (9:30 pm, St Petersburg)

June 24

Group F: Germany vs Hungary (12:30 am, Munich)
Group F: Portugal v France (12:30 am, Budapest)