Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

EURO 2024

Where to watch the Euro 2024 games in Germany this weekend

Euro 2024 is in full swing with three games on Friday and five more at the weekend. Here's how you can watch them in Germany.

Published: 21 June 2024 17:22 CEST
watching the euros 2024
Football fans watch the German team play a Euros 2024 preliminary round match at the fan festival in Leipzig. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Hendrik Schmidt

Three matches are scheduled for Friday, including: Slovakia vs. Ukraine took place at 3 pm, Poland vs. Austria starts at 6 pm and Netherlands vs. France is scheduled to to kick off at 9 pm in Leipzig despite the bad weather.

Three matches are set for Saturday the 22nd as well: Georgia vs. Czechia at 3 pm in Hamburg, Turkey vs. Portugal at 6 pm in Dortmund and Belgium vs. Romania at 9 pm in Cologne.

Finally on Sunday the 23rd there will be two games on simultaneously. Scotland will take on Hungary in Stuttgart, kicking off at 9 pm. But most of the attention in Germany will be focused on Die Mannschaft (the German team) who will battle against Switzerland in Frankfurt at the same time.

How to watch the games

If you want to watch any of the games at home in Germany, you can stream games with one of the four licensed broadcasters.

Tournament matches are broadcast by Telekom Deutschland (Magenta TV), ARD, RTL Germany, and ZDF.  Of these, the ARD, ZDF and RTL channels all stream the games live for free.

Turkey fans celebrate

Fans of the Turkish national soccer team celebrate a victory at Breitscheidplatz. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

Friday’s evening games are both able to be streamed freely on ARD. 

On Saturday Georgia vs. Czechia will stream on RTL, and both Turkey vs. Portugal and Belgium vs. Romania will stream on ZDF.

On Sunday, Germany vs. Switzerland will be hosted on ARD.

Unfortunately, for Scottland and Hungary fans, that match will only be available via Magenta. So you’ll need to have a paid subscription or find another way to watch the game.

READ ALSO: How you can watch the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany

For those in, or near, the cities where matches are taking place, you can take part in the revelry by heading to one of the official fan zones to watch the game.

But note that some fan zones, such as those in Leipzig, are closed on Friday as a precaution due to severe weather. Weather conditions are expected to improve in much of Germany on Saturday.

Outside of the arenas and the fan zones, loads of bars, restaurants, and even corner shops are all taking part in the Euro 2024 frenzy by playing games inside and on patios to attract customers. So it’s worth taking a walk around your neighbourhood, if you want to take in some of the comradery that makes football one of Germany’s favourite pastimes.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

TRAVEL NEWS

Germany wants to extend tighter border controls with France during Olympics

Germany's ramped-up border checks aimed at boosting security for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament are coming to an end this week - but temporary controls at the French crossings are likely to continue, according to the Interior Minister.

Published: 15 July 2024 12:16 CEST
Germany wants to extend tighter border controls with France during Olympics

Police stepped up checks at all German borders on June 7th, including launching temporary controls at the crossings with Denmark, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg where there were previously no checks.

Existing checkpoints at Germany’s borders with Poland, Czech Republic and Switzerland were extended, while travellers entering Germany from other Schengen countries have had to undergo more random checks when arriving by sea or air. 

But from July 19th, ramped-up checks from the German side with Denmark and the Benelux countries will fall away. Controls are likely to remain in place at the Franco-German border, however, before and during the Olympic Games in Paris. 

German Interior Ministry Nancy Faeser, of the Social Democrats (SPD), said the EU Commission would be notified about these temporary checks “shortly”.

The Olympic Games begin on July 26th and end on August 11th. It is understood the checks would be in place during this time, but not extended for the Paralympic Games, taking place in Paris from August 28th to September 8th. 

According to Faeser, checks will also continue to be carried out at the national borders with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, as they have for some time. The aim is to limit so-called irregular migration and combat smuggling offences. These checks are limited until December 15th for Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, and until November 11th for Austria.

READ ALSO: What to know about Germany’s extra border checks for Euro 2024

During Euro 2024, thousands of unauthorised entries were stopped, smugglers were provisionally arrested and hundreds of outstanding arrest warrants were executed. The Interior Ministry said Monday it was compiling the figures. 

Calls for all border checks to be extended

Some German politicians have been calling for tightened controls at all borders in Germany to be continued.

“Minister Faeser should quickly present a security concept on how border controls can be extended after the European Championships,” FDP Secretary General Djir-Sarai told German news magazine Spiegel recently.

Permanent stepped-up controls are “a necessity in order to limit irregular migration to Germany”, said the FDP MP.

“As long as European external border protection does not function seamlessly, this is an instrument of central importance.”

FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr said the police checks meant that “we are very effective in apprehending those who want to enter the country illegally”.

Opposition politicians took a similar view. CSU leader Markus Söder said loosening border controls would be “a breach of the Federal Chancellor’s promise to advance the protection of Germany”.

According to the Interior Ministry, 22,000 federal police officers have been on duty every day since the start of the Euro 2024 in mid-June. Unions have said that this would not be sustainable in the long-term due to staffing problems. 

Meanwhile, Faeser praised Germany as a host of Euro 2024 on Monday and thanked the emergency and security services. 

“We have experienced the fantastic football festival in the heart of Europe that we all wanted,” Faeser said. “Our country has presented itself as a good host. Many images of this summer in our cities will remain unforgettable.”

Faeser added that football could “of course not solve the problems of our time, but it has created a sense of community during these weeks that has done us good as a society”.

READ ALSO: Superb fans to delayed trains – the highs and lows of Euro 2024 in Germany 

SHOW COMMENTS