What do people eat at half-time in the EURO 2024 round of 16 contenders' home nations?

National specialities have been something of a theme of UEFA EURO 2024, so to celebrate, we present a guide to what Europe's football fans tend to eat at half-time.

Back in 2015, when the internet was new, we noted a divide between northern and southern Europe in half-time eating habits which seemingly still persists. But is a meat sandwich better than sunflower seeds? You decide.

Austria

Fans tend towards a dish which is also a favourite in Germany. Half-time schnitzelburgers (a flattened slice of meat fried in breadcrumbs in a bun) come out on top with cheese sausages a close second.

Belgium

Belgium is divided into French and Flemish-speaking areas, with slightly different culinary traditions, but in terms of footballing food, Flanders (the Flemish-speaking bit) and Wallonia (the French-speaking part) speak the same language: quintessentially Belgian chips served with mayonnaise, usually washed down with beer.

Did Belgium invent chips?AFP via Getty Images

Denmark

Like neighbouring Germany, Denmark is a hotbed of pork sausages, with traditional fans considering a stadionplatte (stadium dish) something of a matchday essential. In its purest form, this involves a big sausage with a bread roll on the side, mustard, ketchup and, sometimes, crispy fried and raw onions accompanied by a draught beer. Visiting fans take a keen interest in the quality of the stadionplatte at away fixtures.

England

For traditionalists, half-time (particularly during winter and night games) is the cue for a dash for a meat pie and some dangerously hot beef tea.

France

L'Hexagone encompasses a wide range of culinary traditions, with pizza increasingly common as one heads south towards the Mediterranean. Perhaps the most famous half-time food comes from Brittany: Rennes' fans sing about their fondess for the galette-saucisse (a fried pork sausage inside a buckwheat pancake) and are nicknamed Gallettes-Saucisses by local rivals Nantes.

Georgia

Increasingly, the world is catching on to the exciting world of Georgian cooking. Georgian fans once tended towards easily consumable snacks as they watched matches: sunflower seeds and roasted peanuts. However, hot dogs and popcorn are becoming increasingly popular.

When in Frankfurt...Getty Images

Germany

Visitors to supermarkets in Germany during UEFA EURO 2024 will attest the huge range of sausages available, with most regions having local specialities. When in Frankfurt, it is only polite to try a frankfurter, but a beer and a bratwurst in a bread roll are synonymous with a half-time assessment of a match in most venues (or a saucy currywurst for those unafraid of getting sticky).

Italy

The most famous terrace food in Italy is a sandwich known as a salamella (or salsiccia – depending whether you are in Milan or Rome), a grilled sausage generally served with with onions and pepper. Lupini beans and sunflower seeds are typically consumed nervously throughout the match.

Pasta > Tapas?UEFA via Getty Images

Netherlands

In addition to the standard hamburgers and hot dogs, you often get the opportunity to sample local deep-fried delights like frikandel (minced meat sausages), vlammetjes (mini spring rolls with a spicy mince filling) or bitterballen (balls of stew, covered in breadcrumbs). All are the perfect accompaniment for beer.

Portugal

The most popular and traditional food at Portuguese football matches are bifanas: a grilled pork sandwich with well-seasoned meat and, if you like, mustard or spicy dressing. Entremeadas (a sandwich with two or three pieces of grilled pork, with optional mayonnaise and/or mustard) and couratos (a grilled pork-rind sandwich) are also widespread.

Romania

Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds were once the order of the day, but things have moved on. Beer and chips are now the mainstays of half-time in Romania, with popcorn, burgers and hot-dogs not uncommon.

Slovakia

The most popular food at football games tends to be sunflower seeds, especially in the cities of Dunajska Streda, Trnava and Kosice, but Slovakian fans are also not averse to a half-time sausage sandwich or some popcorn.

Sunflower seeds are consumed widely at football games across EuropeGetty Images

Slovenia

Hamburgers, hot dogs and popcorn.

Spain

Foreign visitors to Spanish football matches will be very much struck by the constant cracking sound and resulting debris as fans slowly work their way through bags of sunflower seeds during games. Another familiar sound is the rustle of aluminium foil as supporters unwrap their half-time baguette (bocadillo), usually made at home and brought to the stadium.

Switzerland

Beer and sausage in a bun predominate, with a Swiss twist in terms of the popularity of the boiled national sausage, the cervalat. Rumours persist that in eastern Switzerland it is considered taboo to put mustard on one's sausage.

Türkiye

The köfte ekmek (a Turkish variant on the meatball sandwich) or sucuk ekmek (dry and spicy sausage sandwich) is the food of choice, accompanied by ayran (a salted yoghurt drink). Germany were visited by a doner kebab chef at their base camp during this EURO: a sure sign of Türkiye's influence on German dining.

The doner kebab: native to Türkiye, huge in GermanyAFP via Getty Images