The Czech Republic Euro 2020 group gets under way at Wembley Stadium in London on June 13, but the Czechs will have to wait another day for their first outing.
As the name suggests, Euro 2020 was supposed to take place last year, but the coronavirus pandemic forced UEFA to postpone the tournament by 12 months.
The competition, which will be held in 11 different cities in the same number of countries, begins with a meeting between Italy and Turkey in Rome on June 11.
The final will take place a month later, with England, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Germany all hoping to be walking out at Wembley on July 11.
Group D
England
Czech Republic are among the nations that have benefited from UEFA’s decision to expand the European Championship to 24 teams.
The Czechs have a good pedigree in this competition, having reached the final of Euro 1996 and the semi-finals of Euro 2004.
They also managed to qualify for the 16-team Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, but the addition of eight more participants has improved their chances of reaching the knockout stage.
Indeed, a third-place finish in Group D would potentially be enough for Czech Republic to reach the last 16, with only two teams that finish third exiting in the group phase.
Jaroslav Silhavy’s side qualified for Euro 2020 by finishing second in their qualifying group.
England amassed six more points than Czech Republic in qualifying and the two teams will meet again in the tournament proper.
First up is a meeting with Scotland at Hampden Park on June 14, before Czech Republic face Croatia at the same stadium four days later.
They will conclude the group stage against England, who will have the advantage of playing in front of a Wembley crowd, on June 22.
