Slovenia to play with England, Denmark and Serbia at Euro

Slovenia will play their first match in Stuttgart on 16 June against Denmark, who were also their rivals in the qualifiers for the European championship. The teams played a 1:1 draw in Ljubljana, while the Danes won 2:1 at home.

The second match for Slovenia comes four days later against Serbia in Munich, the closest venue for the Slovenian fans, while the last match of the group stage, against England, will be played against on 25 June in Cologne.

The top two national teams from each of the six groups and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the knock-out round.

Coached by Matjaž Kek, the Slovenian team qualified for the Euro for the second time ever, the first time being in 2000 under Srečko Katanec. Katanec also led the team at the 2002 World Cup, while Kek managed Slovenia at the 2010 World Cup.

"The group is certainly not easy, and Slovenia are not the favourites. We must be aware of our quality, and we have to plan the warm-up matches well," Kek said in his first statement after the draw for the national broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

"I don't know if you need a greater motive than having such opponents. We know all of them, and they know us," Slovenia's head coach said, adding that "I'm interested in being competitive, and I have a group of lads who want to compete."

Kek admitted that Slovenia are in for a lot of challenges, but added that Slovenians should not be disappointed with the rough draw, as "we've been waiting for this for 24 years!"

I'm taking to the Euro a team that will want to make a positive result. I saw that some people smiled when they got Slovenia, but maybe they will regret it. We will do everything in our power for this to happen," he concluded.

* Group stage of the UEFA Euro 2024:
- Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland;
- Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania;
- Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England;
- Group D: play-off winner A, the Netherlands, Austria, France;
- Group F: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, play-off winner B;
- Group G: Turkey, play-off winner C, Portugal, the Czech Republic.