Why Euro 2024 has no 2pm or 5pm kick-offs today – but two games starting at 8pm

Euro 2024 has reached the all-important final round of the group stage.

All 24 teams have played their opening two matches and soon they will be whittled down to just 16, with the top two from Groups A-F automatically progressing to the knockouts and the four best third-placed teams joining them. The third set of matches are set to kick-off today.

However, unlike the 2pm or 5pm fixtures that football fans have become used to since the tournament began on June 14, both Switzerland vs Germany and Scotland vs Hungary will commence at 8pm UK time.

It's now standard practice for all teams in a group to play their last match simultaneously. But the reason behind this dates back over four decades, reports the Mirror.

The infamous 'Disgrace of Gijon' took place at the 1982 World Cup in Spain and saw a highly controversial match played out between West Germany and Austria. Algeria and Chile, the other countries in their group, had finished their campaign the day before.

Consequently, the neighbouring nations knew that a victory for West Germany by one or two goals would allow them both to advance at the expense of Algeria due to goal difference. The only goal was scored after just 10 minutes.

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West Germany triumphed 1-0 in a game which almost came to a halt in the second half, causing outrage from the Algerians - who lodged a formal complaint. FIFA ruled that neither team had violated the rules.

However, that incident - and another similar one in the same World Cup between Spain and Northern Ireland - led FIFA to revise the group system for future tournaments. This has been the standard since the 1986 World Cup.

UEFA also adopted this system for the European Championships and the Champions League. It is now the widely accepted practice across world football to prevent potential match fixing.

There's still plenty at stake in Germany. The hosts were the first team to secure their place in the round of 16, but they need a draw against Switzerland to top the group.

Both Scotland and Hungary must win tonight to have any hope of progressing. From the other groups, only Spain and Portugal are assured of a place in the knockouts.

Poland are the only team completely out of contention after successive losses to the Netherlands and Austria. Group B will conclude on Monday evening before the 5pm kick-offs return on Tuesday for the conclusion of Group D.

England will aim to top Group C in the 8pm slot, with Groups E and F wrapping up on Wednesday. This means there'll be no more 2pm kick-offs.