The European Championship is revamped for the 2020 edition. We are sure that you might have already planned your entertainment for the whole Euro 2020 month but are you aware of the changes that have taken place this season?
Currently, Euro 2020 is delayed by a year to 2021 due to the outbreak of Coronavirus. Watch all soccer live scores and the latest soccer highlights with high quality at 55goal!
Here we are going to explain what all changes are made to the European Championship for 2020.
The changed participant limit
For Euro Cup 2020, instead of 20 participants, 24 teams clashed through the qualifying process from March to November 2019 to reach the competition. For the first time in its history, Finland has qualified for the tournament.
The final four spots
The final four sports of the UEFA European Championship will be taken by the teams who stay atop the League playoffs. The 16 teams will be divided into four groups (A to D). The winner of each group will be playing the in plays off, progressing to the one-legged semifinal matches and the winners battling in the final.
The semifinal matchups of the national league are as follows:
Group A: Iceland vs. Romania, Bulgaria vs. Hungary,
Group B: Slovakia vs. Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Northern Ireland
Group C: Scotland vs. Israel, Norway vs. Serbia
Group D: North Macedonia vs. Kosovo, Georgia vs. Belarus
What are the ‘forbidden matches’?
Due to the ongoing political tensions between some participating nations, UEFA has ruled out clashes between these teams. For instance, Ukraine and Russia are at war, which is why chances are these teams might not have to face each other. Same goes to Kosovo that is in political conflicts with Serbia, Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
That being said, these forbidden matches are only banned at the group stage. In knockout, if the nations in conflict come to face each other, the UEFA Emergency Panel, headed by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin can make last-minute changes.
Where the matches will be hosted?
Euro 2020 is going to be the first pan-European championship. It is slate to be played at 12 venues across 12 European countries. While the semifinals and finals will be hosted at Wembley Stadium in London, group stage matches will be at Rome and Baku (Group A), St Petersburg and Copenhagen (Group B), Amsterdam and Bucharest (Group C), London and Glasgow (Group D), Bilbao and Dublin (Group E) and Munich and Budapest (Group F).
The plan to host a pan-Europe championship is the brainchild of former UEFA President Michel Platini who wanted to make the 60th anniversary of the tournament “Euro for Europe” event.
It was not an easy decision to make as many nations were interested in hosting Euro 2020 as usual. Turkey submitted the bid, and so did Ireland, Scotland & Wales and Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Is it a good idea to spread tournament across the continent?
If some critics are to be believed, spreading Euro 2020 over 12 locations will hamper the atmosphere European Championship is known to generate when hosted by a single nation. The distance between the venues is also a problem that will divide the fan base.
We hope now you have all the information about the uniqueness of European Championship 2020.