Euro 2020 Final Bracket for Round of 16

The third and final set of matchdays for Euro 2020's group stage began on Sunday and determined the tournament's structure for the following knockout rounds.

There were a host of different scenarios and circumstances that dictated which countries play each other going forward.

These moving parts were made especially complicated by a stipulation introduced in the 2016 tournament that four of the six third-place finishers will qualify for the Round of 16. Previously, only the top two in each group qualified for the knockout stages.

Below is the final Round of 16 bracket.

Final Knockout Round Bracket

The Action Network staff had myriad questions about how each game might have affected the overall knockout bracket.

This story originally laid out what each team needed to advance, which external results a given country's fans should have been rooting for, betting odds for each game, futures odds for each group (as available) and more.

Now, it contains the final group results, notes on each team's Round of 16 matchup or lack thereof and other miscellaneous details about what happened during the group stages.

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The Round of 16 is scheduled to begin on Saturday, June 26.

Group A

• Italy have steamrolled their way through the tournament with wins over Wales, Switzerland and Turkey. They have not conceded a goal throughout. The Italians will face off against Austria in the Round of 16. Italy last won this competition in 1968 and finished as runners-up in 2000 and 2012. After a rough few years of international competition — which saw Italy fail to qualify for the 2018 World Cup — the former juggernauts will hope an auspicious start to the 2020 Euros might spell the end of a half-decade backslide.
• Wales snuck through and automatically qualified for knockouts based on goal difference. They will play Denmark in Amsterdam on Saturday in the Round of 16. Gareth Bale, Ben Davies, Aaron Ramsey and company finished as runners-up in the competition in 2016 — the only other time Wales has ever qualified for Euros.
• Switzerland have now officially qualified for the Round of 16 after Belgium's win over Finland on Monday. They will play France in the first knockout round. The Swiss saved themselves from elimination with a dominant 2-0 win over Turkey on Sunday. The only other time Switzerland has advanced beyond the Euro group stages was in 2016, when they lost to Poland in penalties in the first knockout round.
• Turkey scored just one goal the entire tournament — a garbage time banger from outside of the box by Irfan Kahveci to half their deficit against Switzerland 2-1. They conceded a goal six minutes later. The Turks have only advanced beyond the Euro group stages twice, the last being in 2008 when they advanced all the way to the semifinals.

Group B

(Denmark finishes second on account of goal difference. Finland finishes third ahead of Russia on goal difference, too.)

• Belgium sealed the group after cruising to a 2-0 victory over Finland on Monday. The No. 1-ranked team in the world by FIFA will face a tough test in Portugal in the Round of 16. The Belgians advanced to the quarterfinals in 2016 before losing to Wales 3-1. With this current golden generation of talent, this tournament and the 2022 World Cup might be the only opportunities remaining for Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and company to stamp their names into world football history.
• Denmark needed to win by at least two goals and have Finland lose to Belgium on Monday in order to automatically qualify for the Round of 16. That's exactly what went down. The Danes pulverized Russian hopes for qualification with an emotional 4-1 victory in the same Copenhagen stadium where talisman Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest and needed resuscitation just nine days prior. Denmark will travel to Amsterdam to face off against Wales on Saturday. It is the fourth time the Danes have advanced beyond the group stage. Denmark won the European Championships in 1992 — having qualified for that tournament only days prior to its start due to the breakup of Yugoslavia.
• Finland has been eliminated from this tournament on goal difference. This was their first ever appearance in the Euros.
• A brutal Monday result for Russia sends them packing. They played for the draw for the first 40 minutes and even resorted to time-wasting maneuvers with more than half the game remaining. A draw would have sent them through in second place. After Denmark's Mikkel Damsgaard scored to make it 1-0, Russia sent more bodies forward, but failed desperately at developing any fluid offense. They notched just 0.3 expected goals for the game and scored only through a controversial penalty call that halved their deficit to 2-1. Denmark scored twice more to seal the game. Russia has failed to advance beyond the group stages in the last three Euros.

Group C

• The Dutch plowed their way to three straight wins after a concerning eight months of international play in the lead-up to this tournament. Those concerns have been tabled for the time being, though questions remain about the Netherlands' ability to continue this form against elite competition. They will face off against the Czech Republic in the Round of 16, with the winners of Wales-Denmark awaiting them should they advance. It's the first time since 2008 that the Netherlands have progressed beyond the group stage. They won this tournament in 1988 and have finished in third place four different times.
• Austria looked dominant in their 1-0 victory over Ukraine to lock down second place and automatic qualification for the Round of 16. They will play a very tough Italy team in the first round. This is the furthest Austria has ever progressed in this competition.
• Ukraine limped into the Round of 16 on account of goal difference, beating out Finland by just one goal. They will face the weakest group winners in Sweden. Ukraine, like Austria, has progressed further in this tournament than they have in their history.
• North Macedonia, the worst team in the tournament, fought valiantly and put up two goals over three games. They were already eliminated from the tournament heading into Matchday 3, which they lost 3-0 against the Netherlands. This was the first time the country had qualified for the Euros.

Group D

(Croatia finishes second by virtue of having scored one more goal than the Czech Republic have during the group stages.)

• England have not conceded a goal this tournament but have looked relatively lackluster offensively, with their main scoring threat Harry Kane looking fatigued after a grueling season at Tottenham. Still, the English got the results they needed, including a rather dominant 1-0 victory over the Czechs that will push them through as Group D winners. England will face off Germany in a titanic Round of 16 matchup that should be the highlight of the first knockout round. The two teams have faced each other three times since 2016, with the record 1-1-1 between them. Germany and England have an extensive soccer rivalry, perhaps capped by the 1966 World Cup Final, which gave the English their first and only World Cup win to date. Since then, however, Germany has dominated the matchup, going 6-3-2 against the English in major international competitions. They last faced off in a major tournament in the 2010 World Cup, which Germany won 4-1. In that game, Frank Lampard scored a goal that was ruled out that would have made the score 2-2 heading into halftime. While the ball crossed the line, in an era before instant replay, the goal was disallowed under the referee's instruction. The two teams will face off on Tuesday, June 29.
• As I laid out before this update, Croatia needed to score at least three goals in a victory over Scotland and required a Czech loss to England in order to finish second in Group D. The Croatians had +360 odds of pulling it off. With a Luka Modric screamer and a late goal by Ivan Perisic, the 2018 World Cup runners-up secured a 3-1 victory and vaulted into second place in their group. They will now play Spain in the Round of 16. Croatia made the Round of 16 in Euro 2016 before falling to Portugal after extra time.
• The Czech Republic played a rather uninspired game against England in which they seemed all too willing to hold onto a 1-0 loss in the hopes that Croatia wasn't able to notch three goals and jump them in the standings on goals scored. For reference, there were zero-point-zero expected goals registered in the entire second half between the two sides. Both teams buckled down, passed laterally and refused to send more bodies forward. For England, it was a sound strategy. For the Czechs, it was perplexing. The Czechs had one real chance in the 83rd minute that was pulled wide, but even that was a long-range effort with plenty of defenders around. Regardless, because of their lack of initiative, the Czech Republic have fallen to third place and will play the Netherlands in the Round of 16.
• Scotland had an admirable tournament and have a bright future ahead of them, but it was clear how much they were missing midfielder Billy Gilmour against Croatia on Tuesday. Gilmour was ruled out of the game after testing positive for the coronavirus on Monday. Gilmour's presence as a creative distributor and ball controller was sorely missed in the middle — especially in a game against the team with the tournament's best midfielding trio. Scotland's third-ever Euros, like their last two, will result in an exit after the group stages.

Group E

• Spain completely pummeled their way to a 5-0 victory against Slovakia to solidify their place in the knockout rounds. After an unlucky first two games of the tournament—in which they overwhelmed their opponents with shots and possession but only had two points to show for it—Spain earned their rightful spot in the Round of 16 with their dismantling of a hapless Slovakia team. The Spanish will face Croatia in the first round. They could have played Ukraine by finishing first in group had Sweden not scored in stoppage-time to beat Poland and keep their spot. Spain would play the winner of France-Switzerland if they are able to prevail against the 2018 World Cup runners-up.
• Sweden held onto their poll position with a shaky 3-2 win against Poland, solidified only after Poland sent waves of men forward in an attempt to notch the victory they needed to advance in this tournament. That left them vulnerable to the counterattack, and while Sweden was unable to capitalize throughout much of the last half hour, a stoppage-time goal by Viktor Claesson calcified first place for the Swedes. They will have perhaps the easiest test in the Round of 16 with a matchup against Ukraine before they would face the winner of England-Germany.
• Slovakia fell apart against Spain, gave up their second place spot and are now going home. Every Slovakian player underperformed and their 5-0 drudging will leave a black eye on an otherwise respectable tournament for the country. Slovakia had made the Round of 16 in their only other Euro appearance in 2016. They lost that match 3-0 to Germany.
• Robert Lewandowski scored three of the four goals Poland netted this tournament, but his presence alone wasn't nearly enough to push the country through to the knockout stages. After an upset loss to Slovakia, Poland played valiantly, coming from behind to level games against both Spain and Sweden. Unfortunately, sending nine men forward almost every possession took its toll against Sweden. Next year's World Cup might be the last ever major international tournament Lewandowski plays, should Poland qualify. Poland had beaten Switzerland in penalties in the Round of 16 in 2016 before succumbing to champions Portugal in penalties in the quarterfinals.

Group F

(Germany tops Portugal in the table by virtue of their 4-2 victory over the Portuguese on June 19.)

• France held onto the group only after -550 favorites Germany inexplicably drew Hungary. The French, too, drew Hungary in the group stages to give themselves a scare before Matchday 3, but they will advance despite their underwhelming performances. They will face Switzerland in the Round of 16. With a win, they'll play the winners of Croatia-Spain. The French have never lost in the Round of 16 of the Euros after advancing from group stages.
• Germany played horribly against Hungary. Plain and simple. After their utter failure in the 2018 World Cup, this tournament was supposed to serve as some form of revitalization for a young, but incredibly talented team that has sorely disappointed over the last few years. They've shown pangs of brilliance this tournament—namely in their 4-2 drubbing of Portugal on Saturday—but their performances against both France and Hungary left a lot to be desired. With Joachim Low on his way out after this tournament, perhaps a change in the structure of German football will be much appreciated. They have a tough test against England in the Round of 16 in what should be the highlight of the first knockout round. The two teams have faced each other three times since 2016, with the record 1-1-1 between them. Germany and England have an extensive soccer rivalry, perhaps capped by the 1966 World Cup Final, which gave the English their first and only World Cup win to date. Since then, however, Germany has dominated the matchup, going 6-3-2 against the English in major international competitions. They last faced off in a major tournament in the 2010 World Cup, which Germany won 4-1. In that game, Frank Lampard scored a goal that was ruled out that would have made the score 2-2 heading into halftime. While the ball crossed the line, in an era before instant replay, the goal was disallowed under the referee's instruction. The two teams will face off on Tuesday, June 29.
• Portugal snuck through with two soft penalty calls against France, though they would have qualified even with a one- or two-goal loss. Cristiano Ronaldo is leading the golden boot race with five goals on the tournament, and he will look to extend that run in their matchup with FIFA No. 1 ranked Belgium on Sunday. Portugal are the defending champions of this tournament and have never lost in the Round of 16.
• Hungary was perhaps the surprise of the tournament, but even their positive showings against France and Germany won't be enough to advance in this group of death. Thanks to Leon Goretzka's 84th minute goal, Hungary will be sent packing. The Hungarians had made the Round of 16 in 2016 before losing 4-0 to Belgium.

Final Ranking of Third Place Teams

This story has been updated.