Everything Australian Football Fans Need To Know About Watching the Euros and Copa America
Between World Cup news, A-League live airing updates and the excitement of the Euros and Copa América – there’s a lot to keep up with in the world of football right now.
If you’re keen to catch all the action around the EURO 2020 and Copa América 2021 from Australia, however, we’ve pulled together all the details you need to know right now.
What are the UEFA Euro 2020 and Copa América 2021 tournaments?
For the uninitiated, the UEFA Euro is a football competition featuring the men’s national teams within the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). For a competition first this year, the event will be hosted across 11 cities.
The UEFA Euro 2020 kicked off with the following group stages:
Group A: Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland
Group B: Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia
Group D: England, Croatia, Scotland, Czech Republic
Group E: Spain, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia
Group F: Hungary, Portugal, France, Germany
Similarly, CONMEBOL Copa América is a tournament featuring the men’s national teams within the South American Football Confederation.
There has been a fair bit of news about this event, with Argentina and Colombia deciding to pull out as hosts of the competition as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil has since stepped in to host the tournament despite the World Health Organisation advising against the decision. Brazil has been particularly hard hit by the virus.
The group schedule for the Copa América is:
Group A: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay (formerly Australia)
Group B: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela (formerly Qatar)
As there are only 10 members in the CONMEBOL, during each tournament two guest nations are invited to join – building the competition to 12 countries.
This time around the guest nations were Australia and the host of the FIFA World Cup for 2022, Qatar. The Socceroos and Qatar have since withdrawn from the competition, however.
When are the biggest games?
UEFA Euro games
The UEFA Euro is set to run from June 11 to July 11 2021 (June 12 to July 12 in Australia).
Upcoming matches will play out as follows:
Sunday, June 27
Wales vs Denmark – 2:00 am AEST
Italy vs Austria – 5:00 am AEST
Monday, June 28
Netherlands vs Czech Republic – 2:00 am AEST
Belgium vs Portugal – 5:00 am AEST
Tuesday, June 29
Croatia vs Spain – 2:00 am AEST
France vs Switzerland – 5:00 am AEST
Wednesday, June 30
England vs Germany – 2:00 am AEST
Sweden vs Ukraine – 5:00 am AEST
Quarter-finals
Saturday, July 3
QF1: Switzerland vs Spain – 2:00 am AEST
QF2: Belgium vs Italy – 5:00 am AEST
Sunday, July 4
QF3: Czech Republic vs Denmark – 2:00 am AEST
QF4: Ukraine vs England – 5:00 am AEST
Semi-finals
Wednesday, July 7
SF1: Italy vs Spain – 5:00 am AEST
Thursday, July 8
SF2: Ukraine/England vs Czech Republic/Denmark – 5:00 am AEST
Final
Monday, July 12
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 – 5:00 am AEST
Copa América games
The Copa América will run from June 13 to July 10 (June 14 to July 10 in Australia).
Match schedule is as follows:
Thursday, June 24
Brazil vs Colombia – 10:00 am AEST
Friday, June 25
Bolivia vs Uruguay – 7:00 am AEST
Chile vs Paraguay – 10:00 am AEST
Monday, June 28
Brazil vs Ecuador – 7:00 am AEST
Venezuela vs Peru – 10:00 am AEST
Tuesday, June 29
Bolivia vs Argentina – 7:00 am AEST
Uruguay vs Paraguay – 10:00 am AEST
Quarter-finals
Saturday, July 3
QF1: Peru vs Paraguay – 7:00 am AEST
QF2: Brazil vs Chile – 10:00 am AEST
Sunday, July 4
QF3: Uruguay vs Colombia – 7:00 am AEST
QF4 – Argentina vs Ecuador – 10:00 am AEST
Semi-finals
Tuesday, July 6
SF1: Winner QF2 vs Winner QF1 – 9:00 am AEST
Wednesday, July 7
SF1: Winner QF4 vs Winner QF3 – 11:00 am AEST
Finals
Saturday, July 10
Loser SF2 vs Loser SF1 – 10:00 am AEST
Sunday, July 11
Winner SF2 vs Winner SF1 – 10:00 am AEST
How do I watch the UEFA Euro 2020 and Copa América 2021 in Australia?
Optus Sport is the home of these football comps this year. In a statement on the news, it shared that:
“Optus Sport will exclusively broadcast 79 international matches across 31 days, and subscribers can expect a world-class standard of coverage and punditry out of live studios in Sydney and London, along with pitch-side analysis across Europe”.
UEFA EURO 2020 kicked off live on Optus Sport on June 12, with Copa América commencing on June 14.
If you’re an Optus customer, you may get access to Optus Sport included in your plan so keep an eye out for that. Non-Optus customers can subscribe for $14.99 per month, or for a limited time, grab a 3-month plan for $29.99 or an Annual Pass for $99 for 12 months (just keep in mind those deals automatically renew unless you cancel afterwards).
This article on the UEFA Euro and Copa tournaments in Australia has been updated since its original publish date. We will continue to update with additional detail.
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