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Euro 2020 Advisory

To help with your planning, here is a look at some of what AP is planning for the upcoming European Championship soccer tournament. For questions, please email the London Sports editing desk at lonsports@ap.org. For up-to-the-minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org.

This advisory will be updated and is subject to change. All times GMT.

MONDAY, May 24

SOC--EURO 2020-PANDEMIC CHALLENGES

GENEVA - UEFA set itself a challenge deciding nine years ago to let a dozen cities around Europe host its marquee European Championship in 2020. Now, staging the postponed 24-team tournament in a pandemic has added stress. It's also helped fans. The multi-country project means more fans can see their own team in a stadium than if Euro 2020 was being traditionally hosted by a single nation amid international travel restrictions. By Graham Dunbar. SENT: 750 words, photos.

TUESDAY, May 25

SOC--EURO 2020-VIRUS

LONDON - A tournament intended to be a celebration of Europe will instead reflect many of the uncertainties that have beset soccer during the pandemic. Just completing Euro 2020 in 11 cities around Europe will be a triumph, and with fully healthy squads. For players, the pandemic has meant a congested season that poses fitness challenges, let alone trying to avoid coronavirus infections. Financially playing the delayed tournament is essential for UEFA. For fans, the 24-team event should be the first chance for the widespread return of fans to stadiums across Europe since March 2020, assuming new restrictions aren't imposed. By Rob Harris. SENT: 520 words, photos.

SOC--EURO 2020-VENUES

With coronavirus restrictions eased to allow fans back into stadiums, there at least will be some atmosphere at the tournament after months of games being played without any. Budapest wants all fans to come, while Saint Petersburg and Baku hope to use 50% of stadium capacity. Other major cities like Amsterdam, Bucharest and London are being more cautious with numbers. By Jerome Pugmire. SENT: 860 words, photos.

WEDNESDAY, May 26

SOC--EURO 2020-THE FANS

With games scattered across 11 cities from London to Baku, this year's European Championship is going to be hard on the fans. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, it remains to be seen how many supporters will be able to attend matches or if any can follow their teams across borders into different countries. By Andrew Dampf. SENT: 650 words, photos.

SOC--EURO 2020-CHANGING FORMAT

GENEVA - In modern international soccer, tournament and competition formats are always changing. Euro 2020 will be the third straight variation of a European Championship format and hosting plan. From 16 teams with all hosts qualifying directly, to 24 and one host, and now 11 host cities around Europe and all 24 teams qualifying on merit. How could future tournaments look? By Graham Dunbar. SENT: 640 words, photos.

THURSDAY, May 27

SOC--EURO 2020-TOP PLAYERS

MADRID - With a chance to become the all-time top scorer with a national team, Cristiano Ronaldo will highlight the list of top players at this year's European Championship. Others who could make an impact include Kylian Mbappé, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne and Harry Kane. By Tales Azzoni. SENT: 610 words, photos.

SOC--EURO 2020-TOP COACHES

ROME - The last two World Cup winners (Joachim Löw of Germany and Didier Deschamps of France). The defending European champion (Fernando Santos of Portugal). And a World Cup finalist (Zlatko Dalić of Croatia). Not to mention a Champions League winner (Luis Enrique of Spain) and a Premier League champion (Roberto Mancini of Italy). There is no shortage of accomplished coaches at the European Championship. By Andrew Dampf. SENT: 630 words, photos.

SOC-EURO 2020-EXTRA YEAR

Delaying the European Championship by a year has helped out some teams and hurt others. England had more time to integrate talented young players and deepen its squad. Croatia's squad from its run to the World Cup final in 2018 is nearing the end and Ivan Rakitic has retired from international soccer. By James Ellingworth. SENT: 720 words, photos.

MONDAY, May 31

Previews on each of the four teams in Group A (Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland) and Group B (Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia).

SOC--EURO 2020-HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE

England's only major tournament victory came when it won the 1966 World Cup at home. So could this finally be the year the team stops that seemingly endless barren spell? If they get that far, England will have home advantage for the semifinals and the final after playing its three group matches at Wembley Stadium. But the Netherlands and Germany have all their group games at home as well, and the Germans could also potentially play a quarterfinal match in Munich. By Jerome Pugmire. SENT: 440 words, photos.

TUESDAY, June 1

Previews on each of the four teams in Group C (Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia) and Group D (England, Croatia, Scotland, Czech Republic).

SOC--EURO 2020-WHO'S MISSING

One of this season's best players, Norway forward Erling Haaland, will not be at Euro 2020 because his country failed to qualify for the tournament. Other players, including Zlatan Ibrahimović of Sweden and Pedro Neto of defending champion Portugal, will miss the tournament because of injury. By Daniella Matar. SENT: 505 words, photos.

WEDNESDAY, June 2

Previews on each of the four teams in Group E (Spain, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia) and Group F (Hungary, Portugal, France, Germany).

SOC--EURO 2020-YOUNG PLAYERS

Exciting talents like Phil Foden, Joao Felix and Ferran Torres are among a host of young players set to play their first major international tournaments at Euro 2020. UEFA has expanded squads from 23 players to 26 and that could encourage coaches to take a chance on more up-and-comers. By James Ellingworth. SENT: 630 words, photos.

THURSDAY, June 3

SOC--EURO 2020-SCOTLAND-SECTARIANISM

Scotland's squad will include several Celtic players but not all their club's fans will be supporting the national team. Many Celtic fans in Scotland traditionally follow Ireland. It's a legacy of the religious divide that persists in Glasgow and a sectarianism between Rangers and Celtic that Scotland coach Steve Clarke has spoken out against. By Graham Dunbar. SENT: 690 words, photos.

FRIDAY, June 4

SOC-EURO 2020-TACTICS

France won the last major international soccer tournament - the World Cup in 2018 - by defending compactly, hitting teams on the break with clinical finishing, and being effective at set pieces. What will the winning approach be at the European Championship? A look at the tactical trends and playing styles likely to be seen at the tournament. By Steve Douglas. SENT: 740 words, photos.

SOC-EURO 2020-SOUTH AMERICA

Euro 2020 matches will be broadcast in Brazil exclusively on TV Globo for the first time, with the network hoping the tournament will boost its ratings after it missed out on the rights for the Copa America. Most European Championship matches will be on the SporTV cable channel, as in previous years. But this time the best matches will be on its open channel, which reaches 99% of Brazil's continental territory. Only pay channel subscribers will be able to watch Euro 2020 in other South American countries. By Mauricio Savarese. SENT: 830 words, photos.

FRIDAY, June 11

The tournament opens in Rome with in-depth coverage beginning.

AP Sports

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