Now the football predictor game fun really starts!

If you’re one of our football predictor game players, you may have already been thinking about who might win Euro24 outright. And now, following the main tournament draw on Saturday 2nd December, you can start thinking about individual matches in the group stage, and the potential match-ups once it gets to the knock-out stage of the competition.

The draw for Euro24

The draw for Euro24 took place with all the usual pomp and ceremony in Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. The set was more Eurovision than Euro football, complete with an orchestra adding to the atmosphere. The teams had been divided into four pots, depending on their performance in qualifying, and a team from each pot was drawn for six groups, A-F.

The six groups drawn for your football predictor game selections were:

Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland

Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania

Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England

Group D: Netherlands, Austria, France (plus Poland, Wales, Finland or Estonia)

Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania (plus Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine or Iceland)

Group F: Turkey, Portugal, Czech Republic (plus Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg)

Home nations avoid each other

With joint tournament favourites, England, plus Scotland and potentially Wales (if they get through the play-offs) all in the draw, there was always the chance that two would be drawn in the same group, but this didn’t happen. England probably have the easiest draw with Slovenia (25th June) and Serbia (16th June) unlikely to offer much resistance, and Denmark (20th June) their defeated opponents from the semi-final at Euro20.

Scotland have a much harder task, with the honour of playing the opening games against Germany on the 14th June, followed by Switzerland on the 19th and Hungary on the 23rd. If they make it, Wales have an even tougher task, with both the Netherlands and joint favourites, France to get past if they want to progress beyond Group D.

How the groups work

Part of the fun of football predictor games is guessing who might face who in the crucial knockout stages. The first and second place teams in each group will go through to the round of 16, along with the four best third place teams. This means that it’s possible to lose at least one game in the group stage and still progress.

Progress beyond the group stage will not be easy for either of the qualified home nations. If England win Group C, they will play one of the third-place qualifiers, from Groups D, E or F. However, if they are runners up in their group, then they will face the winner of Group A, most likely the hosts, Germany (or Scotland if they have the run of their lives to win the group). If Scotland finish second, which is rather more likely, then they will face the second-place team in Group B, which could mean Spain or Italy await them.

Football predictor game is game on

With 36 group games already announced, taking place between 14th and 26th June, there’s plenty to get you started on your Euro24 football predictor game.

Who will spring a surprise, and who will trounce their opposition with an embarrassing score line? Will Scotland take advantage of the expectation pressure on Germany and start the tournament with a shock? Will England finally fulfil their potential, or will they be leaving by the South Gate after another heart-breaking penalty shout-out? Perhaps we’ll even have a surprise winner, like Greece in 2004.

It’s never too early to start thinking about your selections, and it’s never too early to talk to the team at Noise about how your company can join in the fun of our football predictor game. It’s a great way to bring your own teams together in some friendly rivalry and football fun – and you don’t need to know a thing about the beautiful game to take part.

To kick off your Euro24 fun, get in touch today by calling 01524 68446 or complete our contact form online.