This summer’s UEFA European Championship is a unique affair as, rather than there being one or two host nations, the fixtures are being contested all across the continent.
A total of 11 cities will stage tournament matches, with nine of the host countries involved in EURO 2020 – the exceptions being Azerbaijan (Baku) and Romania (Bucharest).
That means that a minimum of 24 of the 51 fixtures in this summer’s event will see a team enjoying home advantage, and that figure will potentially rise in the knockout rounds.
WHICH COUNTRIES WILL HAVE HOME ADVANTAGE?
These are the teams that will enjoy home advantage, the number of matches they will contest on their own turf and the possible number of ‘home’ games they may be handed in the knockout rounds.
| Country | “Home” group games (maximum of 3) | Possible number of “home” knockout games (maximum 4) |
| Italy | 3 | 1 |
| Denmark | 3 | 0 |
| Russia | 2 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 0 |
| England | 3 | 3 |
| Scotland | 2 | 1 |
| Spain | 3 | 1 |
| Germany | 3 | 1 |
| Hungary | 2 | 1 |
Should they win their group and progress to the final, England will play six of their seven EURO 2020 games on home soil.
That’s because the semi-finals and final of the tournament will be staged at Wembley, with two round-of-16 ties also taking place in north-west London.
Fifteen of the 24 competing nations won’t be hosting a match, with Finland, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Portugal and France the six countries who will face two ‘away’ fixtures.
HOW MANY FANS ARE ALLOWED INTO EACH GROUND?
Of course, these matches will not be ‘home’ games in every respect, as the crowds will be made up of sections of support from both competing nations as well as the proverbial neutrals and corporates.
And most of these stadiums will not be at full capacity, either, thanks to restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
This list, taken from Wikipedia, details how full each ground will be:
| City | Venue | Standard capacity | Allowed capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Johan Cruyff Arena | 54,990 | At least 33.3% (approximately 16,000) |
| Baku | Olympic Stadium | 68,700 | 50% (approximately 34,350) |
| Bucharest | Arena Națională | 55,600 | At least 25% (approximately 13,000) |
| Budapest | Puskás Aréna | 67,215 | Full capacity |
| Copenhagen | Parken Stadium | 38,065 | 40% (approximately 15,900) |
| Glasgow | Hampden Park | 51,866 | 25% (approximately 1,000) |
| London | Wembley Stadium | 90,000 | At least 25% (approximately 22,500) |
| Munich | Allianz Arena | 70,000 | 20% (14,000) |
| Rome | Stadio Olimpico | 70,634 | At least 25% (approximately 17,659) |
| Saint Petersburg | Krestovsky Stadium | 68,134 | At least 50% (approximately 34,067) |
| Seville | La Cartuja | 60,000 | 30% (approximately 18,000) |
HOW HAVE HOST NATIONS FARED IN PREVIOUS YEARS?
Home nations have generally performed well on home soil in past European Championships, with a host nation making at least the last four from 1960-2004.
The rather limited squads of Austria, Switzerland, Poland and Ukraine failed to progress from the group stage in 2008 and 2012, however.
1960: France (fourth)
1964: Spain (winners)
1968: Italy (winners)
1972: Belgium (third)
1976: Yugoslavia (fourth)
1980: Italy (fourth)
1984: France (winners)
1988: West Germany (semi-finals)
1992: Sweden (semi-finals)
1996: England (semi-finals)
2000: Belgium (group stage), Netherlands (semi-finals)
2004: Portugal (runners-up)
2008: Austria (group stage), Switzerland (group stage)
2012: Poland (group stage), Ukraine (group stage)
2016: France (runners-up)
This excellent article from Sporting Life is highly recommended, as it details the (slightly diminishing) importance of home advantage in championships and qualifiers past.
To quote this piece:
Over the entire history of the European Championships, where there has been a home side, they have scored an average of 1.7 goals per match and their visitors have scored 1.1 goals per match.
Nearly half of all Euro games have been won by the home team and only 31% have fallen to the visitors.
However, home advantage isn’t unchanging and has been in constant decline in post-war international and domestic football. Improved travel arrangements have helped drive this narrowing of the performance differential on the road compared to at home.
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