From the editor

History, they say, doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes. And football is no different.

Three years ago, in our preview of Euro 2020, we admired France’s extraordinary strength in depth, and doubted whether anyone could stop their wily manager Didier Deschamps from leading Kylian Mbappe and co. to victory; we questioned if Gareth Southgate was the right man to lead such a talented England squad to silverware; we wondered if Germany could rebuild their reputation after a disastrous World Cup group-stage exit, and if Italy’s new manager could revive the team after failing to qualify for the previous global finals; we looked at whether Scotland could win their first major tournament match since Euro ’96, and how Ukraine might fare under the coaching of one of their best-ever players; we asked how Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Luka Modric would fare in what would surely be their last-ever European Championship, and pondered how their coaches could get the best out of them.

Now, as we look at to Euro 2024 in another World Soccer special issue, we are asking many of the same questions once again.

We’ve tapped into our network of experts from across the continent to bring you everything you need to know about this summer’s finals, including the tactics, expectations, facts, stats and stories behind every team, profiles on a grand total of 624 players, plus Q&As and insights from all 24 head coaches. Enjoy.