St George's cross flag raised above Sunderland Civic Centre ahead of England's first Euro 2020 match

The Cross of St George has been raised at Sunderland Civic Centre as England head into the Euro Championships.
Leader of City Council raises the Cross of St GeorgeLeader of City Council raises the Cross of St George
Leader of City Council raises the Cross of St George

It was raised by the Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Graeme Miller ahead of the Euros.The flag is used by the City Council to celebrate St George’s Day every year and to mark other national events.

Local lads Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford will be representing their country in the tournament.Cllr Miller said: "I think we all know that excitement is building as the tournament begins and as England have their first game on Sunday afternoon. Our city has strong connections to the team with Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson, and so we have even more reasons to cheer England on."Let's do this responsibly and safely over the coming weeks and all wish our home teams of England, Scotland and Wales all the very best in the Euros."

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England supporters will be hoping the Three Lions can build on their run to the semi finals at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the final of Euro 2020 set to be held at Wembley Stadium.

The cross of St George flies above Sunderland Civic CentreThe cross of St George flies above Sunderland Civic Centre
The cross of St George flies above Sunderland Civic Centre

Gareth Southgate and his squad will have to get past Europe’s elite, however, with defending champions Portugal among the favourites alongside France, Belgium, Germany and Spain.

What are the Euro 2020 groups?

All 24 nations that qualified for Euro 2020 will begin the tournament in the group stages.

The six groups from A-F consist of four teams in each, and are as follows:

Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Wales

Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland

Group C: Ukraine, Netherlands, Austria, North Macedonia

Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic, Scotland

Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia

Group F: Germany, France, Portugal, Hungary

When does Euro 2020 start?

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The rearranged Euro 2020 tournament will begin on 11 June 2021.

The championships were pushed back a year due to the Covid outbreak, though it has maintained its initial name Euro 2020 to honour the 60th anniversary of the tournament.

Summer international sporting events have a way of bringing people together in what is hoped to be a festival of football across the continent, with 11 European cities hosting fixtures.

What are England’s Euro 2020 fixtures?

England have two warm-up matches against Austria on Wednesday 2 June (8pm) and Romania on Sunday 6 June (5pm) before the tournament begins.

Sunday 13 June: ENGLAND v Croatia (2pm)

Friday 18 June: ENGLAND v Scotland (8pm)

Tuesday 22 June: Czech Republic v ENGLAND (8pm)

When do the Euro 2020 knockout rounds start?

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Following the conclusion of the group stages (11-23 June), which will see each nation play three fixtures against the other teams in their selected pool, the knockout rounds begin.

The Round of 16 will be played over four dates towards the end of June:

Saturday 26 June: 1A v 2C, London – 2A v 2B, Amsterdam

Sunday 27 June: 1B v 3A/D/E/F, Bilbao – 1C v 3D/E/F, Budapest

Monday 28 June: 2D v 2E, Copenhagen – 1F v 3A/B/C, Bucharest

Tuesday 29 June: 1E v 3A/B/C/D, Glasgow – 1D v 2F, London

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The winners of these fixtures will advance to the quarter finals:

Friday 2 July: Saint Petersburg and Munich

Saturday 3 July: Baku and Rome

Both semi finals will be held at Wembley Stadium, in London:

Tuesday 6 July: London

Wednesday 7 July: London

When is the Euro 2020 final?

The final of Euro 2020 will take place on Sunday 11 July 2021 at Wembley.

How can I watch Euro 2020?

All Euro 2020 games will be shown live on terrestrial TV, with BBC and ITV sharing the rights.

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England’s first match against Croatia (13 June) will be screened on the BBC.

England’s other two group matches, against Scotland (18 June) and Czech Republic (22 June), will be shown live on ITV. Both channels will show the Euro 2020 final on 11 July.

There will be three games shown per day in the group stages at 2pm, 5pm and 8pm (BST).