Who will England play in the last 16? Euro 2020 tables, knockout permutations and likely opponents explained
England got their Euro 2020 campaign off to the perfect start by beating Croatia 1-0 at Wembley and in doing so, exacted some revenge for their semi-final defeat against the same opponents at the last World Cup.
Raheem Sterling was England’s match-winner on the day, clinically finishing beyond Dominik Livakovic after being played through by the game’s best player Kalvin Phillips.
Due to the format of the tournament, with four third-placed teams out of six progressing to the knockout stage, England’s win in the opening game has put them in a commanding position to reach the next phase of the competition.
At Euro 2016 – the first tournament to feature 24 teams after Uefa expanded the number from 16 – two of the four third-placed teams progressed with only three points, including eventual champions Portugal, who drew all three of their group games.
Having already dispatched the next best-ranked team in their group, England will expect to go through from Group D in first place, which in normal circumstances would be a beneficial position to be in as they would play a runner up from another group.
Euro 2020 tables
Correct before matches on Friday 18 June
That isn’t necessarily the case this time around, though, given how the groups have been drawn…
Here are the potential opponents England could face in the last 16.
If England win the group
Should England progress as group winners they will be drawn against the runners-up from Group F.
As it stands, that would pit them against France, the 2018 World Cup champions and favourites to win Euro 2020 after they defeated Germany in their first game.
That is likely to change by the end of matchday two when France play Hungary the weakest team in Group F, but the remaining teams are certainly no pushovers.
Current group leaders Portugal won the European Championship for the first time in the country’s history five years ago and have a squad that is jam-packed full of talent, many of whom star in the Premier League.
And then there are the 2014 World Cup winners, Germany, who are currently third. Jogi Low’s squad might not be as formidable as they once were, but they still possess plenty of quality from back to front.
If England finish second
The Czech Republic could rival England for top spot after beating Scotland (Photo: PA)
After matchday one, the Czech Republic look as though they could rival England for top spot, after beating Scotland 2-0 in their opener thanks to a brilliant double from Patrik Schick.
Should the Czechs, or even Croatia or Scotland, for that matter, bump England down into second place, they would then face the runners-up from Group E.
At present, that is 2008 and 2012 European champions, Spain, who endured a frustrating first game against Sweden by drawing 0-0 despite having a remarkable 85 per cent of the ball.
Should Spain bounce back from that setback and qualify as group winners, England would face one of Poland, Slovakia or Sweden.
If England finish third
The most unlikely scenario would see England finish third and progress as one of the best runners-up.
For that to happen, England would have to fail to win either of their final two fixtures against Scotland and the Czech Republic at Wembley.
England could face three different opponents if that situation were to occur, depending on which other best third-placed teams progressed from other groups.
They could play the winner of Group C or the winner of Group B on Sunday 27 June, which would likely mean one of the Netherlands or Belgium given they have both won their opening two matches.
Alternatively, they could play the winner of Group E, likely to be Spain on Tuesday 29 June.
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