Euro 2024 qualifiers today – your guide to Thursday’s matches

The road to Euro 2024 begins on Thursday as teams from the continent begin to do battle to reach the group stage in just over a year’s time.

There are ten groups with sides ready to fight it out to see who will head straight to the tournament and who will need to go through the playoffs.

England have been drawn in Group C along with Italy, Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia and they are one of the teams in action on Thursday night. There is also an opportunity to see whether Cristiano Ronaldo will become the most-capped international player ever as Portugal get their campaign underway.

Here is everything you need to know about Thursday’s games which will set the tone for the whole campaign for many teams.

Italy vs England

This is certainly the biggest game of the night in Europe as the two finalists of the Euro 2020 final square off once again. This time, both sets of fans are perhaps more pessimistic about the quality of their sides.

Since that final, Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar and England were knocked out at the quarter-final stage which, while respectable, was at least one round earlier than many fans felt the squad could go.

At Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, there will be no shortage of motivation for both teams. For England, they want revenge, and for Italy, they want redemption. The Azzurri need a strong qualification campaign otherwise Roberto Mancini is in trouble.

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North Macedonia vs Malta

These two sides are the real outside bets to progress from Group C but as Italy showed, North Macedonia are not a side to be underestimated.

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Kazakhstan vs Slovenia

Group H is one of the six-team groups and the major boost for Kazakhstan is that because they won their UEFA Nations League C group, they are assured of at least a spot in the playoffs already.

The group also contains Denmark, Finland, Northern Ireland and San Marino, meaning there are a handful of sides with a similar level of ability.

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Denmark vs Finland

These two Nordic sides will expect to be finishing at the top of Group H given they were both at the last Euros. Denmark in particular will be annoyed if they do not top the group.

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San Marino vs Northern Ireland

Anything less than a win here for the Northern Irish will lead to immediate pessimism about their chances of getting to the tournament in Germany. They will be aiming to try and oust Finland from the top two places.

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Portugal vs Lichtenstein

This is the only other game featuring a side that could be considered as one of the favourites to win the tournament in 2024. Here, Portugal get underway against minnows Lichtenstein.

This will be Roberto Martinez’s first match in charge of Portugal and should he give Cristiano Ronaldo any minutes, the Al Nassr forward will become the most capped international men’s player in history.

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Slovakia vs Luxembourg

Considering Bosnia and Herzegovina are already guaranteed a place in the play-offs, Slovakia will think they have a great shot at grabbing second in the group behind Portugal, or even taking advantage of any teething problems under Martinez.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iceland

As two contenders fighting with Slovakia for second spot in the group, both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland have got talented players in their squads. A win for either side here could prove crucial, even so early in the campaign.

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