TheEuro2020isthe 16thUEFA European Championship.It takes place every four yearsand isorganized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Thesoccercompetition was originally scheduled forJune 12toJuly 12, 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournamentwas delayed for a wholeyear and is now rescheduled to start onJune 11and end onJuly 11, 2021.
Of the 24teams, 19 will be returning from the 2016 edition. Belgium and Italy have been among them, each recording faultless qualification campaigns (10 victories in 10 matches). The defending champions Euro championsPortugal, the defendingWorld ChampionsFrance, and the 2014 World Champions,Germanyhave qualifiedfor the 13th consecutive time.
National teams were entitled to take 26 players in place of the regular 23 after the suggestion of ateam enlargement by the National Team Committee of UEFA due to the impacts of the coronavirus.Thus, a large number of 622 players have been called up by their respective national teams, and the majority of them will fight for a chance to play at the Euro 2020.
Euro 2020: How many brothers will feature at UEFA European Championship?
There are two sets of brothers at the Euro 2020. After missing out on a call by Belgium boss for the Euro 2016, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Thorgan Hazard has finally made the list, alongside his brother Eden Hazard.Eden, who had an injury-plagued season with Real Madrid, came in as a 71st-minute replacement in Belgium’s 3-0 victory against Russia on Saturday. Because of the fact that the younger brother was included in the starting lineup, the Hazard brothers spent30 minutes on the pitch together.
On Sunday, when Austria faced debutants Macedonia, we saw another pair of brothers, who just like Thorgan and Eden Hazard, stayed on the field together for some time during the game. Former Sporting and currentDinamo Zagreb defender Stefan Ristovski started Macedonia’s debut game at theUEFA European Championship, while his younger brother Milan Ristovski, entered the pitch in the 85th minute. The forward can even boast of netting one goal in his two senior caps so far.
Euro 2020 could have broken a record of the largest number of brothers playing, but for example, Romelu Lukaku’s younger brother,Jordan, wasn’t called up by Belgium this time, despite featuring at the previousUEFA European Championship in 2016. In addition, France decided not to takeTheo Hernandez, who is Lucas Hernandez’s younger brother, despite having an incredible season with Milan. Eventually, there is Anton Miranchuk who plays forLokomotiv Moscowbut he failed to join his brother Aleksey in the Russia team.