The results are in, and the 24-nation roster for the Euro 2024 has finally been completed, making Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia the final three teams joining the Group stage. Though the competition is still months away, each team played two more international friendlies in March, which should be enough to hold us over until the competition resumes in June.
These matchups gave us something to look forward to, and some additional insight toward what to expect from each team in the upcoming group stage. We saw how some individual players are playing, how teams have performed as of late, and how well they’ve prepared for the ‘anything-can-happen’ nature of these competitions.
With all that in mind, here are the first THREE groups and the teams that will, and won’t, make it through to the round of 16.
Group A
1st – Germany
After crashing out in the group stage at the last World Cup without winning a match, Julian Nagelsmann seems to have Germany headed in the right direction at the moment. Recent friendly wins over France (2-0) and The Netherlands (2-1), have re-established the identity of the German national team: technical and tactical ability combined with a variety of speed, size, and power.
Question marks remain over the final makeup of this roster, with experienced vets like Kroos, Rudiger, Gundogan, and Havertz meshing with young, talented stars like Musiala, Wirtz, and Beier who are all looking to make a case for what they bring to the table. Expect Germany to possess the ball a lot against teams that simply can’t keep pace with Germany for 90 minutes and will look to exploit space on the counter (eg, both Japan and Costa Rica in Qatar). When it comes to Euro 2024, Germany appears to be figuring things out at the right time.
2nd – Scotland
Scotland hasn’t looked this good since the ‘98 World Cup, a competition it hasn’t appeared in since. They’ll aim for a better result this year after falling to the bottom of group D in the last European Championship, ending with only a single point from their draw against England. The heart and soul of the team is its midfield with players like Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, Manchester United’s Scott McTominay, and Aston Villa’s John McGinn. However, a strong midfield is the team’s silver lining.
In reality, the team’s finishing leaves a lot to be desired, which became especially apparent in a loss against the Netherlands (0-4). The number of crosses from the wing and long-balls from inside midfield gives the team a handful of goal-scoring opportunities, yet the ball never finds the back of the net. With the best team the nation has seen in some years, Scotland is certainly a team worthy of seeing the next round of competition.
3rd – Switzerland
Switzerland will no doubt make it through to the next round and they’ll be looking to mimic the same run of form they had in the last Euros, before being knocked out by Spain in a quarter-final penalty shoot-out.
They have a strong, experienced CDM like Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka who can lead the team on the pitch and help control the midfield, while Man. City’s Manuel Akanji and Newcastle’s Fabian Schar anchor the team on defense. The team has some quality on offense, but they lack a standout, first-rate scorer, so expect most of the goal contributions to come from the midfield.
4th – Hungary
Hungary has support from quality players like midfielder Szoboszlai from Liverpool and Bournemouth defender Kerkez, but the team has historically underperformed in international competition. In their last two appearances in the European Championship, Hungary has only won a single game: a 2-0 victory over Austria in 2016. The team needs to find a better way to control possession and find capable scorers, like Szoboszlai, otherwise Hungary won’t see past this year’s group stage.
Group B – The Group of Death
1st – Spain
At the top of this year’s ‘group of death’ will be Spain, for a laundry list of reasons. The team has played extremely well despite their recent loss to Columbia (1-0) and draw against Brazil (3-3). Their technical quality on the ball is phenomenal and consistent, take Dani Olmo’s first goal against Brazil, for example, finding the back of the net after navigating through two defenders inside the 18-yard box.
The team has really come together again under head coach Luis de la Fuente, playing an offense-focused system that uses short crosses in the box to capitalize on the team’s attacking talents. If there was ever a player to watch, it’d be Barcelona’s young winger, Lamine Yamal, who will be competing in his first-ever International Competition at only 16 years old.
2nd – Italy
The current European Champions also find themselves in the group of death, and under new management for this year’s competition. After the sudden and unexpected retirement of Roberto Mancini, Luciano Spalletti will be looking to reproduce his predecessor’s success as the team’s new head coach. At its core, the team is still playing the same football it was four years ago. Veterans like Jorginho control the central midfield while Darmian keeps the defensive third tight, Federico Dimarco continues to bring speed and quality to the wing as one of the best left-backs in the world, and on the attack, Italy can rely on Serie A stars Raspadori and Pellegrini.
It will be interesting to see what sort of formation Spalletti chooses against teams like Spain and Croatia this year, and whether the team will take the 3-4-2-1 formation they played in recent friendly matches against Venezuela and Ecuador or the 4-3-3 type they played during their qualifying matches with Mancini.
3rd – Croatia
Over the last 10 years, Croatia’s international performance has been great, especially in more recent competitions. They’ve reached the elimination stages in the last two European Championships and placed 2nd and 3rd in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. The team is not lacking talent per se, especially with Luka Modric still kicking, but overall they’re not quite at the same level as Spain or Italy.
To put it bluntly, the team is getting old. Modric is 38, and the squad’s average age is 29 with four players in the starting rotation over 30. While Croatia shouldn’t have too much trouble this year, it begs the question: When will the team run out of older and more experienced players? Will they have to opt for young and potential stars to replace players like Modric when they retire, and will these young players be able to perform at the same level as their seniors?
4th – Albania
Albania unfortunately drew the short straw for this group stage, playing against three countries with strong football cultures and even stronger teams. They have failed to consistently compete against some of the better teams it’s played against like Qatar, Italy, and Poland, and they’ll need to utilize the months before June to find a way to gain an edge in this group of three world-class teams. On a lighter note, Inter Milan’s Kristjan Asllani is due for a good Euro, at only 22 years old, he’s played well for his club and country and has been a key player for Albania in the midfield.
Group C
1st – England
The 2020 Euro runners-up are the most promising team for this year’s competition. From generational talents like Jude Bellingham to vetted players like Declan Rice and John Stones, the sheer talent of England’s roster should not be overlooked. However, if anything is going to stop this team before the quarter-finals, it’s going to be injuries.
Both Harry Kane (ankle) and Bukayo Saka (unknown muscle) missed the team’s matches against Brazil and Belgium, and while they should definitely be clear to play by the summer, the list doesn’t stop there. On top of that, England currently has five injured defenders and counting, as both John Stones (hip adductor) and Kyle Walker (hamstring) left the pitch during their friendly against Brazil.
There’s always something with England in these competitions, from unexpected player departures to injuries plaguing the starting lineup, so will England change the narrative this season and bring home the silverware, or is Harry Kane doomed to another trophyless season?
2nd – Slovenia
Call it a hunch, but Slovenia’s performance this year is going to shock people. Why? Well, in their recent match against Portugal, they showed that they can compete against one of the competition’s bigger and better teams. It was a close game until Slovenia found two goals in the 72’ and 80’ minutes to pull ahead and win 2-0. The team’s ability to take advantage of the space given by defenders and thread passes outside of the opponent’s box could lead to great results, especially if they can maintain composure on defense against teams like England and Denmark.
On top of that, having Real Madrid’s Jan Oblak in the net guarantees some quality goalkeeping when shots are put on target, and having RB Leipzig’s 20-year-old forward Benjamin Sesko in the attack gives the team another quality touch to rely on in the box.
3rd – Denmark
Denmark’s success in these matches hinges on whether opponents will be high and aggressive on defense, shutting down the offensive buildup early and contesting the central midfield. Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund will be the primary offensive force on this team, especially if he performs like he did in the Champions League, scoring 5 goals in 6 matches. It’ll also be exciting to see Christian Erikson in the country’s lineup since Manchester United has opted to play Casemiro in the position instead, leaving Erikson to ride the bench for a majority of the club’s recent matches.
However, if they are unable to work their way into the box and create chances for their goal-scorers, they’ll struggle against more than just England’s squad at this stage.
4th – Serbia
Serbia’s chances aren’t great, even though they have managed to qualify for the past two World Cups, they haven’t made it past the group stage in over 26 years. They do have some notable talents like Filip Kostic, starting left-winger for Juventus, but because of an overall lack of squad depth, it’ll be difficult for them to find points against the competition.
