Battle of heavyweights

Euro 2024 kicks off tonight in Germany as the continent's heavyweights footballing| prepare to fight it out over the next month with the aim of taking the crown away from reigning champions Italy.

Germany play Scotland in the opening game in Munich and the host nation are hoping their journey will continue all the way to the final in Berlin on14 July.

It is the first time the country has hosted a major men's international tournament since the 2006 World Cup, and it is a mouth-watering setting after the underwhelming nature of the last European Championship.

Euro 2020 was delayed by a year because of the pandemic, flnally taking place in 2021 in front of limited crowds.

It was also staged in cities all across the continent, from Seville to Baku, and those factors. stripped away much of what makes these tournaments so special.

This time all supporters will descend on Germany, where matches will be played in 10 stadiums, from Hamburg in the north to Munich in the south.

Germans are hoping for a repeat of 2006, when many fell in love with their national team again after a period in the doldrums similar to what they have experienced in the years leading up to this competition.

Philipp Lahm, the captain of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning team and now Euro 2024 tournament director, also hopes the competition will bring people together at a time of division and disunity across the continent.