Like just about everything else, the Euro 2020 soccer tournament was postponed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. But the tournament — considered the world’s second-greatest international competition behind the World Cup — finally will go off all across Europe starting Friday.
Six groups of four teams will play one another in the opening round, with the first- and second-place teams in each group advancing to the 16-team knockout round. The remaining four berths in the round of 16 will go to the four best third-place teams based on standings points. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss, with tiebreakers involving goals scored and goal differential invoked if necessary.