Harry Kane, Ronald Koeman, Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo dominate the spotlight as the EURO 2024 qualifying campaign gets under way. Catch the action live on SuperSport.
MATCHDAY 1 FIXTURES
Thursday 23 March
Group C: Italy vs England, North Macedonia vs Malta
Group H: Kazakhstan vs Slovenia (17:00), Denmark vs
Finland, San Marino vs Northern IrelandGroup J: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iceland, Portugal vs Liechtenstein, Slovakia vs Luxembourg
Friday 24 March
Group B: France vs Netherlands, Gibraltar vs Greece
Group E: Czechia vs Poland, Moldova vs Faroe Islands
Group F: Austria vs Azerbaijan, Sweden vs Belgium
Group G: Bulgaria vs Montenegro, Serbia vs Lithuania
Saturday 25 March
Group A: Scotland vs Cyprus (16:00), Spain vs Norway
Group D: Armenia vs Türkiye (19:00), Croatia vs Wales
Group I: Belarus vs Switzerland (19:00), Andorra vs Romania, Israel vs Kosovo
All kick-off times 21:45 CAT unless stated
KEY MATCHUPS
THREE LIONS AND AZZURRI GET REACQAINTED
England fans have to go all the way back to 1977 for the Three Lions' last win over Italy in a competitive fixture – a 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory courtesy of goals from Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking. Both their triumphs in the 17 meetings since have come in friendlies, although there have been several near misses in tournament football – most notably in the EURO 2020 final at Wembley Stadium.
Holders Italy have a point to prove after missing out on the FIFA World Cup finals for the second tournament in a row this winter.
They will take confidence from their performances against England in the Nations League last year, when they ground out a 0-0 draw in Wolverhampton before a 1-0 victory at San Siro three months later. A third consecutive shutout would prolong Harry Kane's wait to become the Three Lions' outright record goalscorer.
Did you know? Phil Jagielka and Jermain Defoe got the goals in England's 2-1 triumph in August 2012 – their last win against the Azzurri.
KOEMAN'S STIFF TEST ON NETHERLANDS RETURN
In his previous spell in charge from 2018 to 2020, Ronald Koeman led the Netherlands to runners-up in the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League and a place at EURO 2020 – the Oranje's first major finals since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The former Barcelona coach could hardly have asked for a more difficult start on his return to the dugout – an away meeting with a France side determined to banish memories of December's agonising World Cup final defeat by Argentina.
Goals from Georginio Wijnaldum and Memphis Depay settled the most recent encounter in the 2018/19 Nations League, the 2-0 win in Rotterdam ending France's five-game winning run against the 1988 European champions.
However, with 19 goals in his past 17 games for Les Bleus – including three in the World Cup final – Kylian Mbappé will be eager to ensure Didier Deschamps' side return to winning ways at the first opportunity.
Did you know? Netherland's defender Daley Blind is set to win his 100th cap in Paris.
HAALAND TEST FOR LA ROJA
Not since a famous 1-0 victory at EURO 2000 have Norway managed to get the better of three-time European champions Spain. The teams have met on four occasions since, with the Scandinavians needing a stoppage-time Joshua King penalty in October 2019 to deny La Roja a fourth successive victory. These days, of course, Norway have one of the most prolific strikers in world football among their ranks.
With 21 goals in 23 international appearances, it is surely a question of when – and not if – Man City frontman Erling Haaland beats Jørgen Juve's all-time Norway record of 33. Adding to his tally against Spain will be no mean feat: after an anticlimactic end to a World Cup campaign that began with a 7-0 victory over Costa Rica, new coach Luis de la Fuente will be determined to make a winning start to his tenure.
Did you know?Part of the national coaching set-up for nearly a decade, De la Fuente guided Spain to victory in the 2019 European Under-21 Championship.
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
Two of the Group E favourites meet in Prague as Czechia and Poland aim to assume early control of their section. Beaten by finalists France in the FIFA World Cup round of 16, the White Eagles have turned to former Portugal boss Fernando Santos to succeed Czeslaw Michniewicz, who was relieved of his duties at the end of 2022. The 68-year-old led his home country to glory at EURO 2016 before winning the UEFA Nations League on home soil three years later.
In Group F, Domenico Tedesco takes charge of Belgium for the first time since being confirmed as Roberto MartÃnez's replacement. Tedesco, who was born in Italy but holds German citizenship, takes his team to Solna to face a Sweden side who have lost five of their six competitive meetings with the Red Devils. With Austria – who host Azerbaijan – certain to provide stiff competition at the group summit, both teams will be eager to get their respective campaigns off to a positive start.
Did you know? One of Tedesco's classmates at the German FA coaching school he graduated from was Julian Nagelsmann, who is currently in charge at Bayern München.
WHAT ELSE TO LOOK OUT FOR
Cristiano Ronaldo's last appearance for Portugal, against Morocco at the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals, drew him level with Bader Al-Mutawa's world record of 196 outings for Kuwait. The EURO 2016 winner is set to claim the outright record against Luxembourg.
Finland take on Denmark at Parken, a repeat of the teams' EURO 2020 group stage fixture that was overshadowed by a medical emergency involving Christian Eriksen.
After missing out on a place at the World Cup, Türkiye begin their qualifying campaign with a trip to Armenia. Stefan Kuntz's team were beaten by Portugal in the playoff semifinals last spring but having since achieved promotion from Nations League C, they are determined to challenge for top spot in Group D.
The 2024 EURO qualifying campaign marks the start of a new era for Wales, who take on World Cup semifinalists Croatia in their first outing since the retirement of Gareth Bale and Joe Allen. Two key figures of Wales' remarkable run to the EURO 2016 semifinals, the pair won 185 caps between them, cementing their status among the Dragons' all-time greats.