England route to Euro 2024 final - fixture, dates and potential path to Berlin

The 2024 European Championships are fast approaching, and the nation's anticipation is building as we edge closer to the first whistle.

England are tipped by the bookmakers to clinch the tournament and bring football home, but Gareth Southgate's team will be mindful of several formidable opponents. France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and host nation Germany all present significant challenges to England's ambition of ending their 58-year wait for a major tournament trophy.

After a semi-final departure in the 2018 World Cup, a defeat at Wembley in the final of the 2020 Euros and a quarter-final exit at the hands of France in Qatar 2022, the Three Lions manager is likely heading into his last major tournament and announced his final 26-man squad on Thursday afternoon.

Jack Grealish and James Maddison were both left out, while Manchester United defender Harry Maguire was omitted from the squad due to a calf injury. This opened up opportunities for Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton and Lewis Dunk to make their debut appearances at a major international tournament with England.

With that in mind, here's everything you need to know about England's fixtures, potential knockout stage opponents (assuming they qualify) and when each match could potentially take place.

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Group stage

The top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-placed teams, will progress to the Round of 16. England has been drawn into Group C and will face Serbia in their first match, followed by a Euro 2020 semi-final rematch against Denmark.

Their final group game will be against Slovenia.

UEFA rules state that if two or more teams in the same group have the same number of points, the following criteria are applied in this order:

- Higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question.

- Superior goal difference from matches played among the teams in question.

- Higher number of goals scored in matches played among the teams in question.

England has managed to advance from the group stage in either first or second place at every European Championships since 2004, except for the 2008 Euros, which they did not qualify for. They have topped their group in two of the last four editions of the competition.

Here are the full details:

Sunday, June 16 - Group C: Serbia vs England (Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen - kick-off 8pm UK time).

Thursday, June 20 - Group C: Denmark vs England (Waldstadion, Frankfurt - kick-off 5pm UK time).

Tuesday, June 25 - Group C: England vs Slovenia (RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne - kick-off 8pm UK time).

Round of 16

The potential outcomes for England in the upcoming tournament are a bit complex. If they top Group C, they're set to face one of the 'best' third-placed teams from either Group D, E or F on Sunday, June 30 at the Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen.

The most likely opponents could be Austria, Romania or Turkey.

If England finish second in Group C, they'll play against the winner of Group A on Saturday, June 29 at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund. Possible opponents include Germany, Hungary, Scotland and Switzerland, with Germany being the most probable.

Should England end up as one of the four best third-place teams, there are two possible scenarios. If three of the four best third-place teams are from Groups A, B, and C, they would face the winner of Group F - Portugal, Turkey, Georgia or Czech Republic on Monday, July 1 at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt.

However, if the four best third-place teams come from Groups A, B, C and D, they'd compete against the winners of Group E, which could be Belgium, Slovakia, Romania or Ukraine on Tuesday, July 2 at the Allianz Arena, Munich. The determination of the 'four best third-placed teams' is crucial in these potential matches.

According to UEFA regulations, the following criteria are applied, in the order given:

- Higher number of points.

- Superior goal difference.

- Higher number of goals scored.

- Higher number of wins.

- Lower disciplinary points total based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points).

- Position in the overall European Qualifiers rankings or, if hosts Germany involved, drawing of lots.

Quarter-finals

If England finish first in Group C and win their round of 16 game, then they'll face the winner of the round of 16 clash between the runners-up of Group A and Group B at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, Dusseldorf on Saturday, July 6 with kick-off at 5pm UK time. Possible opponents at this stage could be Spain, Italy, Scotland or Hungary.

However, if they're to finish second in Group C and then go on to win their round of 16 clash, they'll have to face the winner of the game between the winner of Group B and one of the third-place teams in the MHPArena, Stuttgart on Friday, July 5 with kick-off at 5pm UK time. Once again, Spain could be a likely opponent here, as well as Austria or the Netherlands.

In the event that England ranks among the top four third-place teams and secures a victory in their round of 16 game, they could potentially face the winner of the round of 16 match between the runners-up of Group D and Group E. This is assuming that three of the four best third-place teams originate from Groups A, B, and C.

The match would be scheduled for Friday, July 5 at the Volksparkstadion, Hamburg at 8pm UK time.

If the four best third-place teams are all from Groups A, B, C and D, England's opponent will either be the winner of Group D or the runner-up of Group F. The match will take place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday, July 6 with kick-off at 8pm UK time.

Semi-finals

England has reached the semi-final stage twice in the three major tournaments under Gareth Southgate. If they manage to repeat this achievement for a third time by finishing first in Group C, winning their round of 16 game and their quarter-final, they'll face either the winner of Group E, one of the third best teams from Groups A, B, C, D, the winner of Group D or the runner-up Group F.

This match is set to take place on Wednesday, July 10 at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund with kick-off at 8pm UK time. However, if England finish second in Group C, but win their round of 16 game and the quarter-final, they'll play at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Tuesday, July 9 against one of the winners of Group F, one of the third-best teams from Groups A, B or C, or the runners-up of Groups D and E. This game will also kick off at 8pm UK time.

Alternatively, if England finishes third in Group C as one of the four best third-place teams and subsequently wins in the round of 16 and quarter-final, they could face either the same opponents as listed in the example above where they finish second in Group C or one of the winners of Group C, one of the third best teams from Groups D, E or F, or the runners-up of Groups A and B. This match would also kick off at 8pm UK time, this time in Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion.

If England makes it to back-to-back Euros finals, they'll face off against the other winner of the semi-final on Sunday July 14 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, with kick-off at 8pm UK time.

While the Three Lions may be favourites with the bookies, the supporters here at home and many other statistician 'supercomputers' around the internet, there will not be an easy path for them to reach the final.

In the past, they've had to overcome many of the national sides around them at the top of the FIFA world rankings, and taking those into account and barring any major upsets, Southgate's men are in for a tough draw.

If they do win Group C, England's first opponents on their way to the final would likely be either Austria/Romania/Turkey at the Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, June 30 before facing off against Italy in a rematch of the 2020 Euros final at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, Dusseldorf on Saturday, July 6.

The semi-final opponents for England could potentially be France, who previously eliminated them from the 2022 World Cup, only to lose to Argentina in the final due to penalties. This match would be scheduled for Wednesday, July 10 at Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, followed by a final against Spain in Berlin on Sunday, July 14.

However, if the Three Lions were to advance to the knockout stages as the second-place team in Group C, they would likely face host nation Germany in the Round of 16. This would then lead to a quarter-final against Spain, a semi-final against the Netherlands, and a final showdown with Kylian Mbappe's France.