UEFA Euro 2020 is starting in two weeks. All 51 matches of the tournament will be broadcast live and in HD on StarTimes. Among the 24 teams competing, England, France, and Belgium are the favourites to lift the trophy.
The last time England won a major international football tournament was in 1966, when they lifted the World Cup at home.
55 years later, Gareth Southgate will be attempting to coach England to success.
Since taking over England in 2016, Southgate has taken the Three Lions to a fourth place at the 2018 World Cup and third place at the inaugural UEFA Nations League a year later.
England are the favourites to win the Euro 2020 competition that finally get under way on June 11 with the game between Turkey and hosts Italy in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The coach has called up a mix of experience players like Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, as well as youngsters like Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho into the provisional 33-man squad.
The one area that has fans slightly worried is the goalkeeping department, where Everton’s Jordan Pickford is the only one with any real international experience. The other three goalkeepers (Dean Henderson, Sam Johnstone and Aaron Ramsdale) have just one cap between them.
England have been drawn into Group D, where they will be facing Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic.
Behind England, 2018 World Cup winners France are the second favourites, but Les Bleus face a tricky road into the next round as they are in the so-called Group of Death with Portugal, Germany and Hungary.
French coach Didier Deschamps has recalled striker Karim Benzema into the squad – after a near-six year absence.
The 33-year-old, who scored 27 goals in 81 games for France, has been in outstanding form for his La Liga club this season and his inclusion in the squad leaves Deschamps with an embarrassment of possibilities upfront.
Amongst the other strikers he has called up are top-class players Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé.
The third favourite are Belgium, who are facing Denmark, Finland and Russia in Group B.
Les Diables Rouges coach Roberto Martínez will have one of the most experienced squads at the finals, with 17 of the players having played 30 games or more for the team.
The flip-side is that the team will also be one of the oldest as Youri Tielemans and 19-year-old Jérémy Doku are the only players under 25 in the squad.
With the finals comprising of 51 games, football fans are bound to be glued to their television sets during the month-long tournament.
And Ghanaian fans need not miss out as the matches will be shown live and in HD on the StarTimes football channels as Africa’s leading digital-TV operator has secured the rights to the exciting competition.
Startimes
