The European Under-21 Championship begins on Wednesday, with England bidding to win the tournament for the first time since 1984.

The championship runs through to Saturday, 8 July with the final at Georgia's Batumi Arena.

Who is in it and how does it work?

Group A: Georgia, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands

Group B: Romania, Spain, Ukraine, Croatia

Group C: Czech Republic, England, Germany, Israel

Group D: Norway, Switzerland, France, Italy

There are four groups of four teams, with the top two from each group progressing to the quarter-finals.

Lee Carsley's England are in Group C along with defending champions Germany, the Czech Republic and Israel.

England, who won the tournament in 1982 and 1984, have qualified for nine championships in a row but went out in the group stage two years ago.

They will have to cope without their six-goal top scorer from qualifying, Folarin Balogun. The Arsenal striker, who played for Reims on loan in 2022-23, has since switched international allegiance to the United States and made his senior debut.

But Cameron Archer managed four goals in qualifying, at a rate of one every 35 minutes, netting with all four shots on target.

England's opener is against 2002 champions the Czech Republic on Thursday, 22 June (17:00 BST).

Germany have reached three finals in a row, winning in 2017 and 2021, while Israel have never made it past the group stage.

All the Group C games will be held in Batumi and Kutaisi in Georgia. The other host cities, with two stadiums each, are Georgian capital Tbilisi and Romanian cities Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca.

Five-time winners Spain are favourites to win the tournament again, with Germany and France the other two countries with shorter odds than England.

Venues

Georgia

Batumi, Batumi Arena: Three Group C games, semi-final, final

Kutaisi, Shengelia Arena: Three Group C games, quarter-final

Tbilisi, Meskhi Stadium: Three Group A games, quarter-final

Tbilisi, Paichadze Stadium: Three Group A games

Romania

Bucharest, Giulesti Stadium: Three Group B games, quarter-final

Bucharest, Steaua Stadium: Three Group B games, semi-final

Cluj-Napoca, CFR Cluj Stadium: Three Group D games

Cluj-Napoca, Cluj Arena: Three Group D games, quarter-final

Who is in England's squad?

Four of England's 23-man squad play for Manchester City, more than any other club.

There is plenty of experience in the squad, with Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey, Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White and Liverpool's Harvey Elliott among players who are Premier League regulars.

Lille midfielder Angel Gomes is the only player based outside England, although Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite was on loan at PSV Eindhoven in 2022-23.

Goalkeepers: Josh Griffiths (West Brom), Carl Rushworth (Brighton), James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders: Max Aarons (Norwich), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Charlie Cresswell (Leeds), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City), Ben Johnson (West Ham), Luke Thomas (Leicester)

Midfielders: Tommy Doyle (Manchester City), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool), James Garner (Everton), Angel Gomes (Lille), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa), Oliver Skipp (Tottenham)

Forwards: Cameron Archer (Aston Villa), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Cole Palmer (Manchester City), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal)

Other things you need to know

The Euro U21s also act as qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games men's football tournament.

The top three teams in Georgia and Romania - excluding France and England - will book their place at next year's showpiece in Paris.

England cannot qualify because Great Britain are the country's Olympics team, while France automatically qualify as hosts.