UEFA EURO 2024: Last 16 go to battle for glory

The group stage is wrapped up and we now know the 16 teams through to the knockout phase at EURO 2024.

The top two teams in all six groups qualified automatically, joined by the four best third-placed teams.

After two rest days, the last 16 games will start tomorrow with matches every day until Tuesday.

Showmax takes a look at the games taking place this weekend, kicking off with a tasty encounter between Switzerland and Italy from the Olympiastadion Berlin.

All UEFA EURO games will be shown live on Showmax Premier League.

Switzerland v Italy: Olympiastadion Berlin, Saturday, 19 June at 18:00 – Live on Showmax Premier League

Italy will aim to continue their dominance over neighbours Switzerland as the teams meet at the Olympiastadion in Berlin in the first round of 16 tie at UEFA EURO 2024.

Both teams finished second in their section, Switzerland behind Group A winners Germany on five points – denied first place only by an added-time equaliser from the hosts on Matchday 3 – and Italy to Spain in Group B. The holders looked set to finish third as they trailed Croatia deep into added time in their final fixture, but Mattia Zaccagni’s first international goal in the 98th minute salvaged a 1-1 draw and snatched second place.

The Swiss are unbeaten at EURO 2024, following a 3-1 opening win against Hungary with 1-1 draws against Scotland and Germany. Italy recovered from conceding the fastest goal in EURO history, after 23 seconds, to beat Albania 2-1 on Matchday 1 before a 1-0 loss to Spain and the draw with Croatia.

The Azzurri are unbeaten against Switzerland in just over 31 years and have won 29 of the 61 matches between the countries, losing only eight.

The winners of this tie play England or Slovakia in the quarterfinals in Düsseldorf on 6 July.

Previous meetings

• Matches: 61
• Switzerland wins: 8
• Italy wins: 29
• Draws: 24
• Switzerland goals: 68
• Italy goals: 111

The teams met on Matchday 2 at EURO 2020, Italy booking their place in the round of 16 with a 3-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome as a goal in each half from Manuel Locatelli (26, 52) was added to by Ciro Immobile’s strike in the 89th minute.

Switzerland and Italy were also paired together in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying competition, sharing a 0-0 draw in Basel on 5 September 2021 and a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico on 12 November the same year, Silvan Widmer’s 11th-minute opener for the visitors cancelled out by Giovanni Di Lorenzo nine minutes before half-time.

That draw, in the teams’ penultimate qualifier, helped Switzerland finish top of Group C and advance to the finals; Italy, runners-up two points behind, subsequently lost to North Macedonia in the play-off semi-final.

That stretched Italy’s unbeaten run against Switzerland to 11 matches (W5 D6), since a 1-0 loss in Berne in 1994 World Cup qualifying in May 1993.

The Azzurri have dominated fixtures against their neighbours, winning 29 of their 61 matches and losing only eight – although five of the last six have been drawn. Their last fixture prior to EURO 2020 was a 1-1 friendly draw in Geneva on 5 June 2010, Gökhan Inler’s 10th-minute opener for the home side cancelled out four minutes later by Fabio Quagliarella. Substitute Xherdan Shaqiri played for Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Switzerland.

The Azzurri’s previous win against the Swiss before 2021 came in a Geneva friendly in April 2003, Nicola Legrottaglie and Cristiano Zanetti scoring in either half to secure a 2-1 success.

The sides’ previous competitive matches before EURO 2020 came in qualifying for EURO 2000, Italy winning the first game 2-0 in Udine – Alessandro Del Piero scoring in each half – before a goalless draw in Lausanne. Italy went on to win the group with 15 points to reach the final tournament, finishing one point and two places above the eliminated Swiss.

Those results continued the pattern of Italy recording a home win and an away draw when the teams have been paired together in EURO qualifying, following on from the preliminaries for the final tournaments of 1968 (2-2 a, 4-0 h) and 1988 (3-2 h, 0-0 a). In both those instances, the Azzurri went on to reach the finals.

Italy also recorded a 3-0 victory against the Swiss in the group stage of the 1962 World Cup. Eight years earlier, World Cup hosts Switzerland had beaten Italy 2-1 and 4-1 in the space of seven days, the second of the wins in a play-off.

Switzerland v Italy latest odds

• Switzerland 12/5
• Draw (normal time): 19/10
• Italy: 7/5

Germany v Denmark: Signal Iduna Park, Saturday, 29 June at 21:00 – Live on Showmax Premier League

Memories will be stirred of Denmark’s finest footballing hour as they take on hosts Germany in the round of 16 of UEFA EURO 2024 at the BVB Stadion Dortmund.

Germany won the sides’ last competitive meeting, in the EURO 2012 group stage, but Denmark will look back to the final of EURO ’92, a famous 2-0 victory in Sweden giving them their only major silverware.

Hosts Germany finished top of Group A to reach the EURO 2024 knockout stages, although – having beaten Scotland 5-1 and Hungary 2-0 – they needed a 92nd-minute equaliser from substitute Niclas Füllkrug to rescue a 1-1 draw against Switzerland on Matchday 3 to claim first place in the section ahead of the Swiss.

Denmark were second behind England in Group C, sealing progress with a goalless draw against Serbia in their final fixture after their games against both Slovenia and England had finished 1-1.

The winners of this tie play Spain or Georgia in the quarter-final in Stuttgart on 5 July.

Previous meetings

• Matches: 28
• Germany wins: 15
• Denmark wins: 8
• Draws: 5
• Germany goals: 55
• Denmark goals: 38

The sides’ last competitive meeting came on Matchday 3 of EURO 2012, an 80th-minute Lars Bender goal giving Joachim Löw’s Germany a 2-1 win at the Lviv Arena and a place in the quarterfinals at the expense of Morten Olsen’s Danes. Michael Krohn-Dehli had cancelled out a 19th-minute opener from Germany’s Lukas Podolski, making his 100th international appearance.

Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller both started for Germany with Toni Kroos a late substitute; Christian Eriksen and Simon Kjær were in the Denmark line-up.

The teams have since shared two 1-1 friendly draws, most recently in Innsbruck on 2 June 2021. Yussuf Poulsen’s 71st-minute equaliser earned a draw for a Denmark team coached, as now, by Kasper Hjulmand; Florian Neuhaus had given Löw’s Germany side the lead early in the second half.

A Joshua Kimmich goal two minutes from time had given Germany a 1-1 draw at the Brøndby Stadion on 6 June 2017; Eriksen had given Denmark, coached by Åge Hareide, an 18th-minute lead.

Germany may hold the upper hand against Denmark overall with 15 wins and only eight defeats, but it is more even in competitive encounters, with two wins each in their four matches.

Indeed, that 2012 loss is Denmark’s only reverse in their last six games against Germany (W2 D3).

The nations’ competitive ties have all come at final tournaments, Denmark winning 2-0 against West Germany in the 1986 FIFA World Cup group stage thanks to a first-half penalty from Jesper Olsen and John Eriksen’s second-half strike.

West Germany turned the tables as hosts of the European Championship two years later, Jürgen Klinsmann giving them a 10th-minute lead at the Parkstadion in Gelsenkirchen before Olaf Thon wrapped up the win five minutes from time. Franz Beckenbauer’s side reached the semi-finals as group winners, with Sepp Piontek’s Danes ending the group stage with no points.

Denmark’s finest hour came against Germany four years later in the final of EURO ’92 as Richard Møller Nielsen’s men beat Berti Vogts’ Germany to win their only major title in a tournament they had only entered as late replacements for Yugoslavia. Goals from John Jensen (18) and Kim Vilfort (78) earned a 2-0 triumph at Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadion.

The countries first met in a Copenhagen friendly on 6 October 1912, which Denmark won 3-1. The Danes won their first three games against Germany, who finally prevailed 2-1 in Nuremberg in 1928.

Germany handed Denmark their heaviest defeat in a friendly on 16 May 1937, winning 8-0 in Breslau – now the Polish city of Wroclaw – with Otto Siffling hitting five of those goals.

Germany v Denmark latest odds

• Germany 8/13
• Draw 14/5
• Denmark 5/1

England v Slovakia: Veltins-Arena, Sunday, 30 June at 18:00 – Live on Showmax Premier League

England’s bid to go one better than their last campaign continues with a return to the Arena AufSchalke to take on a Slovakia side making their second UEFA European Championship knockout appearance in the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16.

Runners-up at EURO 2020, Gareth Southgate’s side qualified for this tie as Group C winners, while Slovakia progressed as one of the four best third-placed sides having finished behind Romania and Belgium in Group E.

While England, who have never lost to Slovakia, are still unbeaten at EURO 2024, following their opening 1-0 win against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen with draws against Denmark (1-1) and Slovenia (0-0), Slovakia started with an unexpected 1-0 triumph against Belgium but took a single point from their next two fixtures, against Ukraine (1-2) and Romania (1-1).

The winners of this tie will play holders Italy – who beat England on penalties in the final three years ago – or Switzerland in the quarter-final in Düsseldorf on 6 July.

Previous meetings

• Matches: 6
• England wins: 5
• Slovakia wins: 0
• Draws: 1
• England goals: 11
• Slovakia goals: 3

This is the sides’ sixth meeting – all since October 2002.

Current England head coach Southgate was in the team for the first two games between the countries in EURO 2004 qualifying, England winning 2-1 in both Bratislava and Middlesbrough. Sven-Göran Eriksson’s England had to come from behind on each occasion, however, falling behind to a 23rd-minute strike from Szilárd Németh – then a Middlesbrough club-mate of Southgate – in Slovakia on 12 October 2002 before second-half-goals from David Beckham (64) and Michael Owen (82).

Owen also scored twice at the Riverside Stadium on 11 June 2003, in the 61st and 72nd minutes – the first a penalty – after Vladimír Janočko (31) had given the visitors the lead.

The next meeting took place at Wembley in March 2009, when England cruised to a 4-0 friendly win. Wayne Rooney scored twice, with Emile Heskey and Frank Lampard also on target and Beckham winning his 109th cap, setting a new national record for an outfield player by overtaking Bobby Moore’s mark.

The teams were paired together in the group stage at EURO 2016, sharing a 0-0 draw in Saint-Étienne on Matchday 3 as both progressed to the round of 16, England as Group B runners-up and Slovakia in third place.

Harry Kane was a late England substitute in that game, while Peter Pekarík, Juraj Kucka, Norbert Gyömbér, Ondrej Duda and substitutes Milan Škriniar and Norbert Gyömbér featured for Slovakia.

The sides’ last fixtures came in qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Adam Lallana scoring a 95th-minute winner to give England a 1-0 victory in Trnava on 4 September 2016.

That proved to be Sam Allardyce’s only game as England manager; he had been replaced by Southgate by the time of the return at Wembley exactly 12 months later. Stanislav Lobotka gave Ján Kozák’s Slovakia a third-minute lead but goals either side of half-time from Eric Dier (37) and Marcus Rashford (59) turned the match in England’s favour.

England won eight of their 13 games against Czechoslovakia, losing only two. The wins include victories at the World Cup finals in 1970 (1-0) and 1982 (2-0) although the teams each recorded a home success in their only EURO meetings, in qualifying for the 1976 tournament. England won 3-0 at Wembley before a 2-1 triumph for Czechoslovakia in Bratislava that helped them qualify at England’s expense for a finals they would go on and win.

England v Slovakia latest odds

• England 21/50
• Draw 10/3
• Slovakia 15/2

Spain v Georgia: RheinEnergieStadion, Sunday, 30 June at 21:00 – Live on Showmax Premier League

Three-time European champions Spain take on UEFA EURO 2024 debutants Georgia in the round of 16 at the Cologne Stadium.

Whereas Spain – who have lifted the trophy twice in the last four editions – are in the knockout rounds for a fifth successive tournament, and seventh time in the last eight, Georgia have enjoyed a memorable first finals appearance to date, sealing their place in the round of 16 with a stunning win against 2016 champions Portugal.

Spain – who beat Georgia twice in qualifying, scoring 10 goals – reached the round of 16 as Group B winners, beating Croatia 3-0 and Italy and Albania both 1-0 to become the only side to progress with maximum points. Georgia’s first EURO game ended in a 3-1 defeat by Türkiye but they subsequently drew 1-1 against Czechia before goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze earned a 2-0 win against Portugal and third place in Group F.

The winners of this tie play Germany or Denmark in the quarterfinals in Stuttgart on 5 July.

Previous meetings

• Matches: 7
• Spain wins: 6
• Georgia wins: 1
• Draws: 0
• Spain goals: 19
• Georgia goals: 4

The teams were paired in qualifying, Spain winning 7-1 in Tbilisi and 3-1 in Valladolid on their way to finishing first in Group A.

Álvaro Morata hit a hat-trick (22, 40, 66) at the Boris Paichadze National Stadium on 8 September 2023, a Solomon Kvirkvelia own goal (27) and Dani Olmo (38) putting Spain four up at the break. Although Giorgi Chakvetadze pulled one back for the home side four minutes into the second period, Morata’s hat-trick strike restored the three-goal cushion before strikes from substitutes Nico Williams (68) and Lamine Yamal (74) wrapped up an emphatic win – Yamal becoming, aged 16 years 50 days, both Spain’s youngest player and scorer.

Spain concluded their EURO 2024 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 home win against Georgia at the Estadio José Zorrilla on 19 November 2023. Robin Le Normand’s fourth-minute opener – his first goal for Spain – was cancelled out within six minutes by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but Ferran Torres restored the home side’s lead 10 minutes into the second period and a 72nd-minute own goal from Luka Lochoshvili sealed the result.

That made it four successive victories against Georgia for Spain, who had won 2-1 in Tbilisi and 4-0 in Badajoz in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Second-half goals from Torres (56) and Olmo (90+2) overturned Kvaratskhelia’s 44th-minute opener in Georgia on 28 March 2021; José Gaya (14), Carlos Soler (25), Torres again (41) and Pablo Sarabia (63) all found the net in Spain on 5 September 2021.

Kvaratskhelia has scored in two of his three appearances against Spain.

Georgia’s sole success against Spain came in the teams’ only non-competitive match, a friendly at Getafe’s Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on 7 June 2016 in which Tornike Okriashvili scored the only goal for the visitors five minutes before half-time.

Spain beat Georgia 1-0 away and 2-0 at home in 2014 World Cup qualifying, Roberto Soldado getting the only goal of the first game and Álvaro Negredo and Juan Mata on target in the second.

Spain v Georgia latest odds

• Spain1/5
• Draw 6/1
• Georgia 12/1

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