The European Cup or Euro 2020 will start from June 11 to July 11, 2021. A total of 24 teams will compete to be the best on the Blue Continent. Euro 2020 was actually scheduled to take place in the summer of last year. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced European countries to postpone the tournament to this year.
Even though it will be held in 2021, the name used for this edition of the European Cup will still be “Euro 2020”. Different from previous editions, this time the European Cup tournament will be held in various cities in the continent. Initially, there were 12 cities that would host. However, Dublin and Bilbao were later removed from the list of host cities for Euro 2020. UEFA then chose Sevilla as Bilbao’s replacement city. As a result, Euro 2020 will be held in 11 cities.
The 11 host cities for Euro 2020 are London (England), Baku (Azerbaijan), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Copenhagen (Denmark), Glasgow (Scotland) and Seville (Spain). Besides being held in 11 different cities, there are a number of other interesting facts from Euro 2020. Here are the summary of five interesting facts of Euro 2020:
1. The 16th edition of the European Cup
Euro 2020 will be the 16th edition of the European Cup tournament. This edition is even more special because it coincides with the 60th anniversary of the European countries tournament. The first European Cup was held in France in 1960. The first country to win the inaugural edition of the European Cup was the Soviet Union. Until now, Germany and Spain are the rulers of the European Cup by collecting three titles each.
2. The 11 hosts
For the first time in history, the European Cup will be held in more than two countries, namely 11 cities in 11 different countries. Previously, the European Cup had been held three times in two countries, namely Euro 2000 (Netherlands and Belgium), Euro 2008 (Austria and Switzerland), and Euro 2012 (Poland and Ukraine). Of the 11 countries that will host Euro 2020 matches, five of them namely Azerbaijan, Denmark, Hungary, Romania and Scotland will host a major international tournament for the first time.
3. The 2 debuting teams
Euro 2020 will be followed by the two debutant teams namely Finland and North Macedonia. This year’s European Cup will also be the first appearance of the two countries in a major tournament. Finland, which is in Group B, will compete with Denmark, Belgium and Russia. Meanwhile, North Macedonia will face Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria in Group C.
4. Venue for the final Euro 2020
Final match will be held at Wembley Stadium, London, England. For the second time, Wembley Stadium will be the venue for the highlight of the European Cup after Euro 1996 where Germany successfully beat the Czech Republic through Oliver Bierhoff’s golden goal.
5. Portugal special mission
The defending champion Portugal has a special mission at Euro 2020. The Selecao das Quinas will try to become the second team after Spain (2008 and 2012) to retain the Henri Delaunay trophy. However, Cristiano Ronaldo et al are predicted to go through an extra hard struggle in the mission to defend the title. Because, Portugal is in Group F which is considered a hell group with France, Germany, and Hungary.
