This time England will try to perform one better at the European Championship than they did three years ago on home soil, when they were defeated by Italy in the final. This time, Gareth Southgate has a much-changed squad and much-changed expectations from the team as the Three Lions look to win the 2024 European Championship.
But before thoughts turn to the knockouts, they must navigate a solid-looking group stage. Joining them will be Denmark, Slovenia and Iceland, each with a real hope of qualifying through the pools and each offering different and difficult challenges to solve in 90-minute encounters.
Here’s everything you need to know about Group C and who England are playing against.
Selection for Euro 2024
Slovenia
Goalkeepers: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Vid Belec (Apoel), Igor Vekic (Vejle)
Defenders: Zan Karnicnik (Celje), Jure Balkovec (Alanyaspor), David Brekalo (Orlando City), Jaka Bijol (Udinese), Erik Janza (Gornik Zabrze), Petar Stojanovic (Sampdoria), Vanja Drkusic (Sochi), Miha Blazic (Lech Poznan )
Midfielders: Jon Stankovic (Sturm Graz), Benjamin Verbic (Panathinaikos), Sandi Lovric (Udinese), Timi Max Elsnik (Olimpija Ljubljana), Jasmin Kurtic (Sudtirol), Tomi Horvat (Sturm Graz), Adam Gnezda Cerin (Panathinaikos), Adrian Zeljkovic (Spartak Trnava), Nino Zugelj (Bodo/Glimt)
Forward: Andraz Sporar (Panathinaikos), Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig), Jan Mlakar (Pisa), Zan Vipotnik (Bordeaux), Josip Ilicic (Maribor), Zan Celar (Lugano)
Denmark
Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Anderlecht), Mads Hermansen (Leicester), Frederik Ronnow (Union Berlin)
Defenders: Joachim Anderson (Crystal Palace), Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester), Simon Kjaer (AC Milan), Joakim Maehle (Wolfsburg), Andreas Christensen (Barcelona), Mathias Jorgensen (Brentford), Victor Kristiansen (Leicester), Alexander Bah (Benfica) , Rasmus Kristensen (Roma)
Midfielders: Mathias Jensen (Brentford), Thomas Delaney (Anderlecht), Christian Eriksen (Manchester United), Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford), Christian Norgaard (Brentford), Morten Hjulmund (Sporting CP), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham)
Forward: Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United), Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Brugge), Kasper Dolberg (Anderlecht), Jonas Wind (Wolfsburg), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig), Anders Dreyer (Anderlecht), Jacob Bruun Larsen (Burnley)
Serbia
Goalkeepers: Predrag Rajkovic (Mallorca), Djordje Petrovic (Chelsea), Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (Torino)
Defenders: Strahinja Pavlovic (Red Bull Salzburg), Nemanja Stojic (Red Star Belgrade), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Nemanja Gudelj (Seville), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Srdan Babic (Spartak Moscow), Uros Spajic (Red Star Belgrade) , Filip Mladenovic (Panathinaikos)
Midfielders: Nemanja Maksimovic (Panathinaikos), Dusan Tadic (Fenerbahce), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK), Srdan Mijailovic (Red Star Belgrade), Ivan Ilic (Torino), Lazar Samardzic (Udinese), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic ( Al Hilal), Mijat Gacinovic (AEK Athens), Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Veljko Birmancevic (Sparta Prague)
Forward: Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Luka Jovic (AC Milan), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham), Petar Ratkov (Red Bull Salzburg)
England
Goalkeepers: Jordan Henderson (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Lewis Dunk (Brighton and Hove Albion), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
Midfielders: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forward: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Ivan Toney (Brentford)
Fixtures
June 16
Slovenia vs Denmark (Stuttgart)
Serbia vs England (Gelsenkirchen)
June 20
Slovenia vs Serbia (Munich)
Denmark vs England (Frankfurt)
25 June
England vs Slovenia (Koln)
Denmark vs Serbia (Munich)
Four players to watch
Slovenia: Benjamin Sesko
The in-form and in-demand man from Leipzig will shoulder the biggest burden of finding a route to goal to give his country the chance to earn their first-ever win at a European Championship. He finished last season scoring in seven consecutive Bundesliga games and struck 14 times in 17 starts across the campaign. If Jan Oblak saves them at the other end, Sesko could be the difference maker to give Slovenia a real chance.
Denmark: Rasmus Hojlund
Another striker, but also one who could finally be a missing link for his country. Hojlund has seven goals in 13 senior caps; in a team that is solid, well-organized and has depth in central areas, but has been without a real goalscorer for a long time, and that ingredient could be transformative. There is no indication that his form could be the difference between a group stage exit and a shock knockout victory on the way to the last eight.
Serbia: Strahinja Pavlovic
They have loads of talent in the forward areas and enough strength and technical ability to go far. Whether they have the mentality and purpose is a bigger question, and part of that is maintaining a defensive line that doesn’t collapse. That makes Pavlovic a cornerstone: able to go far in the game, an absolute giant, strong in the air and likes to move forward in possession. Could summarize Serbia as rock solid… or as a disaster. Has tendencies towards both.
England: Trent Alexander-Arnold
It will be the first major international tournament in which he finally plays a significant role and how well he performs could go a long way in determining how England play and how far they can go. From midfield he can be a creative force and a nice counterpart to Declan Rice, but is the organization sufficient? Are they a good enough pair defensively for the biggest games? Will he end up at right back?! There’s still a lot to sort out and he has the talent to be a match-winner anywhere as long as he gets picked.
Chances to win Group C
England 2/5
Denmark 5/1
Serbia 8/1
Slovenia 20/1
Prediction
England top the group – does that count?! Anything less would be indicative of a huge disappointment. Denmark should also have enough to make progress and then it will be a matter of whether Serbia actually comes to this tournament. They have enough strength and quality to win matches, but their mentality and playing speed will determine whether they do so… or flop again, as they did at the 2022 World Cup. We supported them last time, but not this time.