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          LIVE: Euro 2020 group stage draw

          • ESPN
          Nov 30, 2019, 04:00 PM

          The draw for the Euro 2020 group stages was held on Saturday, Nov. 30 in Bucharest, Romania.

          All matches will be available on ESPN networks next summer.

          GROUP A: Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Wales

          GROUP B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland

          GROUP C: Ukraine, Netherlands, Austria, Play-off Winner D (Georgia, Belarus, North Macedonia or Kosovo)

          GROUP D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic, Play-off Winner C (Norway, Serbia, Scotland or Israel)

          GROUP E: Spain, Poland, Sweden, Play-off Winner B (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Slovakia or Republic of Ireland)

          GROUP F: Germany, France, Portugal, Play-off Winner A (Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland or Romania)

          LIVE BLOG

          13:38 ET: That's it for our live coverage of events in Bucharest.

          Thanks very much for your company. Don't forget if you're in the US that ESPN will be the ONLY place to catch all of next summer's action in [deep breath] London, Munich, Rome, Baku, Saint Petersburg, Budapest, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Bilbao, Glasgow, Dublin and Copenhagen. Keep your eyes on ESPN FC for further reaction and analysis on the draw.

          13:31 ET: And there they are, the lads.

          13:29 ET: Spain head coach Luis Enrique, meanwhile, says he is "happy and satisfied" after his side were drawn alongside Poland, Sweden and the Path B play-off winners In Group E. "You never know what can happen," he adds.

          13:22 ET: England manager Gareth Southgate reacts with characteristic diplomacy to his side's draw. He's wary of Croatia's talent-packed midfield and says that the Czech Republic, who beat England 2-1 in qualifying, are "much improved".

          13:16 ET: Terrifying/tantalising though the prospect of France, Portugal and Germany being in the same group is, it's worth remembering that all three teams could still go through to the knockout phase. The top two teams will qualify from each group, along with the four best third-place teams.

          13:09 ET: [Crocodile Dundee voice] You call that a group? This is a group.

          13:05 ET:

          13:01 ET: Thus concludes the Euro 2020 draw. As a reminder, we won't know the final, final line-up until March 31, when the play-offs have taken place.

          Some juicy match-ups there, but the clear stand-out group is Group F: reigning world champions France, reigning European champions Portugal and three-time European champions Germany, plus one of Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland or Romania. Phwoar.

          12:54 ET: Finland discover their first ever group-stage opponents at a major tournament. They're in Group B with Belgium, Russia and Denmark.

          12:51 ET: Now for the Pot 4 teams, which includes the four play-off paths. Wales complete Group A along with Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.

          12:49 ET: WELL THEN.

          12:47 ET: Sweden go into Group E, so that means Portugal go into Group F with Germany and France. There's your Group of Death folks.

          12:46 ET: Group C for Austria, Group D for Czech Republic.

          12:44 ET: Turkey join Italy and Switzerland in Group A.

          12:42 ET: Poland to face Spain in Group E. And world champions France go into Group F with Germany! Did someone say groupe de la mort?

          12:40 ET: Croatia go into Group D alongside England.

          12:38 ET: The first moment of note in the draw as Switzerland are drawn in Group A alongside Italy.

          12:35 ET: I'll level with you, the first part of the draw is quite boring. The teams in Pot 1 already know which groups they're in, so this first bit will only determine which slots in their groups they will occupy (which has a bearing on their fixtures). C2 for Ukraine, E1 for Spain and D1 for England, in case you're interested.

          12:30 ET: OK, here we go.

          12:28 ET: Iker Casillas, Philipp Lahm, Ruud Gullit, Francesco Totti, Karel Poborsky, Andrey Arshavin, John Sivebaek, Marcel Desailly and Theo Zagorakis are now also on stage. Some line-up.

          Nice to see the goalkeepers and defenders - very much the nerds of top-level football - getting a moment in the spotlight as well.

          12:25 ET: Portugal midfielder Joao Mario is on stage in Bucharest, reminiscing about how it felt to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy in Paris in 2016. Former Portugal centre-back Ricardo Carvalho is helping out with the draw, so there is a strong Portuguese flavour to the evening's events.

          12:19 ET: Spain coach Luis Enrique has taken his seat at ROMEXPO, the exhibition centre that is staging the draw. As he prepares to discover which countries will join his side in Group E, the row about the manner in which he took his job back from interim coach Robert Moreno rumbles on.

          12:12 ET: "Please, tell us about the official tournament ball!" I hear you cry. That would be the Adidas Uniforia.

          Whilst it may sound like a new brand of anti-bacterial kitchen cleaner, 'Uniforia' is in fact a portmanteau of the words 'unity' and 'euphoria'.

          12:07 ET: Reminder that if you're in the US, you can watch the draw live on ESPNEWS and ESPN3. ESPN's networks will be the only place to catch all the action next summer.

          12:03 ET: You'd get a decent five-a-side team from the national team coaches who are currently sashaying along the red carpet in the Romanian capital: Ronald Koeman, Luis Enrique, Roberto Mancini, Ryan Giggs...

          And there's Gareth Southgate, who could hand the oranges out at half-time or something.

          11:58 ET: With the draw nearly upon us, allow ESPN FC's Nick Miller to guide you through the runners and riders.

          11:53 ET: No country's supporters will be anticipating the draw quite as keenly as Finland's, who saw their team qualify for their first ever major tournament earlier this month. The Finns, led by Teemu Pukki, will be in either Group A or Group B.

          11:48 ET: If you're not yet familiar with the official Euro 2020 mascot, allow me to introduce you to 'Skillzy'.

          Skillzy is a freestyle footballer, it says here, and as you can see for yourselves, he is absolutely terrifying.

          11:43 ET: There's no shortage of stars in Bucharest for the draw. The UEFA pageantry will be getting under way in a little under 20 minutes.

          11:39 ET: AND THERE'S MORE. With the play-offs that will decide the final four places at the tournament not taking place until March next year, we won't know the final, final line-up until March 31.

          There are four play-off paths (one for each tier of the UEFA Nations League), each of which will feature two semi-finals and a final. The new structure means that one of the four Path D minnows - Georgia, Belarus, North Macedonia and Kosovo - will definitely make it to Euro 2020.

          Spare a thought for Northern Ireland, who have to play both Bosnia AND Herzegovina in their Path B semi-final, which seems a little unfair.

          11:35 ET: Group of Death, anyone? The seedings for the draw are based purely on performances in qualifying, which means that world champions France find themselves in Pot 2 and reigning European champions Portugal are lurking in Pot 3.

          It means that one of Italy, England, Spain or Germany could end up in a group with both France AND Portugal. So much for the group phase being a foregone conclusion. You can read more about the seedings here.

          11:29 ET: Cristiano Ronaldo will head into next year's tournament looking to help Portugal defend the title they won in France in 2016.

          But as ever, he will have personal objectives in his sights as well. Here's ESPN FC's Mark Ogden on CR7's quest to become the greatest goal-scorer in international football history.

          11:23 ET: The quirks of the draw mean that the identities of three of the four teams that will make up Group B are already known. Belgium, Russia and Denmark are all guaranteed to face each other, with the fourth and final slot in the group going to either Wales or major tournament newcomers Finland. Games in that group will be played in Copenhagen and Saint Petersburg.

          Ukraine and the Netherlands, meanwhile, are already assured to be in Group C, which is the Amsterdam/Bucharest group.

          11:18 ET: If you're in the United States, don't forget that ESPN will be the ONLY place to catch the action when Euro 2020 kicks off.

          You can watch today's draw on ESPNEWS and ESPN3 and the tournament itself will be shown live in the US across ESPN networks next summer.

          11:14 ET: Czechs ready? Check.

          11:10 ET: That's right, there isn't just one host country for the 2020 edition - instead there will be TWELVE host nations, who will be drawn into groups in accordance with the host city pairings.

          So which stadiums will host games?

          Group A: Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Italy) and Olympic Stadium, Baku (Azerbaijan)

          Group B: Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg (Russia) and Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (Denmark)

          Group C: Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Arena Naționala, Bucharest (Romania)

          Group D: Wembley Stadium, London (England) and Hampden Park, Glasgow (Scotland)

          Group E: San Mames, Bilbao (Spain) and Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Republic of Ireland)

          Group F: Allianz Arena, Munich (Germany) and Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest (Hungary)

          Round of 16: Wembley Stadium, London (England), Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (Denmark), Arena Naționala, Bucharest (Romania), Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Republic of Ireland), San Mames, Bilbao (Spain), Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest (Hungary), Hampden Park, Glasgow (Scotland)

          Quarter-finals: Allianz Arena, Munich (Germany), Olympic Stadium, Baku (Azerbaijan), Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Italy)

          Semi-finals and final: Wembley Stadium, London (England)

          11:05 ET: The first thing to say about today's draw is that it is sensationally confusing, chiefly because the qualified countries of the tournament's 12 host cities all have to be drawn to play at home in the group phase and because we still only know the names of 20 of the 24 finalists.

          If you've been scratching your head over the various permutations, allow ESPN FC's resident human super-computer, Dale Johnson, to make sense of everything with his handy guide.

          11:00 ET: Hello, hello and WELCOME to ESPN FC's live coverage of the Euro 2020 draw, which gets under way in an hour in Bucharest.

          I'm Tom Williams and I'll be your guide for the next few hours to see how Europe's top national tournament shapes up.