The Euros started last night in Germany, in the group stages they’ll be 3 games each day which to any football aficionado is heaven. So here’s my definitive rundown of the winners and losers and who might surprise a few people.
Firstly, the partisan bookies have England surprisingly as favourites even after that friendly defeat to Iceland. They’re closely followed by France, Germany and then come Portugal, Spain and Italy. I’ll let you know my pick at the end, and I promise that all this was written before last night’s game.
Group A: Germany, Hungary, Scotland, Switzerland
Germany as the hosts are one to look out for. But are they the team of years gone by and are they undercooked as they haven’t played a competitive game in quite a while? For me, they have enough to get through the group and if the crowd gets behind them, they should be one to watch. The Hungarians are the dark horses, remember they gubbed England 4-0 in the Nations League not long ago. Scotland have done extremely well just to qualify and will have great support from the Tartan Army. However, injuries to key players may have ruined their chances of qualifying. Switzerland are an ageing team, which could work for or against them.
Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania
This is the so-called group of death. Spain has a good mix of young and old, normally slow starters, they may grow into the tournament. The Italians are the holders, of course, after beating England in the final. Since then, though, they’ve had managerial turmoil and only just scraped through qualifying. Croatia are another team mixed with young and old and were the 2018 World Cup finalists. Albanian are competing in only their second ever Euros. They won their qualifying group and could cause a surprise.
Group C: England, Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia
What team wouldn’t want Kane, Bellingham, Rice, Foden and Saka in their starting eleven? England’s problem though will be in defence, it may be a case of you score four, we’ll score five. Serbia’s goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic plays for my local club Real Mallorca, and they could be a surprise in this group. Denmark, of course, were surprise winners back in 1992, but not sure if they have enough this time round. Slovenia are definitely the outsiders in this group, and It will be their first major tournament in 14 years, following the 2010 World Cup.
Group D: France, Poland, Netherlands, Austria
France are in most people’s eyes the favourites, and any team that contains Kylian Mbappé will have a chance. Poland, who have not missed a European championship since making their debut in 2008, will look to get through the group stage for a second time after reaching the quarter-finals in 2016. The Netherlands are the team with the most third place finishes in the Euros, another team that could go deep into the competition. Austria, have played only10 games at the European Championships, having featured in three previous editions of the tournament, reaching the last 16 once at Euro 2020.
Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine
Not much has been said about Belgium as they’ve disappointed with such a good team in so many previous tournaments. If I was a betting man (which I’m not) then I would have a wager on them. I’m sure many people would love to see Ukraine do well because of their current situation, but I think they’ll do well to get out of the group. Romania, who will play in their sixth European Championship, were a surprise package in the qualifiers, remaining unbeaten and topping their group, above Switzerland. Slovakia will play at their third consecutive European Championship and may struggle to reach the knockout stages after failing to do so at the last tournament.
Group F: Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, Georgia
It’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s last ever tournament, so will they send him out on a high? They are playing in their eighth consecutive Euros after securing qualification with a 100 percent winning record in their group. The Czech Republic will hope to find some form after an uninspiring qualifying campaign in which they finished second in their group behind Albania. Turkey, who are taking part in their sixth Euros, last reached the semi-finals in 2008. Georgia are the rank outsiders. They will participate in their first major finals as an independent nation, after they secured their spot in the tournament by defeating Luxembourg and then Greece in the play-offs.
It’s great that this tournament is on terrestrial television and therefore everyone can watch the matches. My outsiders are Belgium, my heart says England, but my head says the host nation Germany.
Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com
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