Preview

Germany face Switzerland in what is likely to be the battle for first and second place in group A. Julian Nagelsmann’s side are guaranteed to advance into the next round after picking up six points since the tournament got under way, but a flawless group stage campaign will be the plan in front of their home crowd.

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By Matthew Smith

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The mixture of experience and youth in the middle of the park has created a successful cocktail in the tournament so far for the Germans. Toni Kroos and İlkay Gündoğan provide a base in the midfield, with Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala given the freedom to make things happen in attack.

The Germans have shown immense control since the start of the tournament and have produced plenty of goals to back up their possession-based style.  One of the favourites heading into Euro 2024, Nagelsmann’s men have produced the goods, scoring an average of 3.5 goals per game so far. The toughest game of their group-stage campaign awaits against the Swiss, but they’ll have to beat stronger sides if they want to lift the trophy in July.

With 71.2 per cent possession in their first two games of the tournament, Nagelsmann has been able to implement a controlling style and Germany are now reaping the rewards at Euro 2024.

Although the Swiss stand a good chance of qualifying for the next round of the competition, finishing in first place will be in their sights at the Frankfurt Arena on Sunday. With four points in the bag already, Murat Yakin’s side will be hoping to end the group-stage fixtures on a high.

Granit Xhaka, who has averaged a 7.58 match rating so far, will be crucial for Switzerland if they want to finish on top. His experience and comfortability on the ball have made him a standout star in their first two fixtures, and he’ll have a point to prove in the country where he now plies his trade domestically. 

We’re likely to see Switzerland allow the Germans to dominate the ball, hitting them on the break after sitting deep. The Swiss only had 50 per cent of the possession against Hungary, but still managed to create 2.33 expected goals (xG) with 35 touches inside the opposition box. 

A draw between the two sides would guarantee they both cement their place in the next round of the competition. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

One year after their Gold Cup semi-final contest, Mexico and Jamaica meet again, this time opening their Copa América campaigns with a Group B match in Houston’s NRG Stadium.

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By Jon Arnold

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Mexico took that match 3-0 with Henry Martín scoring an early goal, Luis Chávez adding a second at the half hour mark and Roberto Alvarado finishing things off with a tally in stoppage time. But only two of the players are part of Mexico’s Copa América roster, with América forward Martín left off of Jaime Lozano’s roster as the Mexico manager looks to bring younger players into the fold.

Martín is hardly the only casualty of the push for fresh blood. Mexico’s goalkeeping situation heading into Saturday’s match is uncertain because veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was left out – as was winger Hirving Lozano. But Ochoa’s replacement Luis Malagon suffered an injury, meaning Lozano now will pick between late addition Carlos Acevedo or two goalkeepers who went into the summer without any international minutes.

Jamaica, too, will be without its stalwart shot-stopper, though not because they don’t wish Andre Blake were there. Blake suffered a knee injury and underwent meniscus surgery in late May. While he’s named in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s 26-man squad, he’s unlikely to be able to play.

Another player present on the squad list but not in person is Aston Villa star Leon Bailey, who Hallgrímsson named to the roster but who continues to decline to play for the Reggae Boyz amidst frustration with the coaching staff and the Jamaica Football Federation.

Still, Jamaica will not be without an attacking threat. West Ham United forward Michail Antonio will lead the line and, after missing out on June’s World Cup qualification matches with an injury, winger Demarai Gray is fit and ready for Copa América.

El Tri’s attacking situation will be closely watched during the tournament, with no Lozano but with several players coming in off red-hot seasons in Liga MX. Uriel Antuna, who led the league in scoring with Cruz Azul, and Julián Quiñoes are options out wide, as is energetic Pumas playmaker Cesar Huerta, while expectations are heavy on Santi Giménez, who has starred with Feyenoord but is yet to find a huge return in international play.

In a Group B that looks like the most open in the competition, points will be at a premium. Both teams will hope to secure all three in the opener before games with Ecuador and Venezuela.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Game two of Group E is do-or-die for one of these nations, but not the one expected at the start of the tournament.

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By Karl Matchett

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Romania’s magnificent performance against Ukraine earned them admirers, three points and half a foot in the last 16 of Euro 2024, but another step up again will be required against a team who will surely amount a response of some kind, following Belgium’s dismal showing and narrow defeat to Slovakia.

No doubt plenty will point to two disallowed goals for Belgium. Valid, but irrelevant: they created too little, looked ill-suited to the system with the chosen personnel, were too tame and hesitant in their buildup play, didn’t get Kevin De Bruyne into particularly threatening areas often enough and have real concerns over their defensive partnerships.

Wout Faes individually was poor; he was too impetuous, lacked consistency and wasted possession far too often. Faes is six years older than Zeno Debast but played like the rookie: he won just one of three tackles, played eight long balls but found his mark only twice, lost four of his ten ground duels and three of five in the air.

That said, he was far from the only reason for defeat for Belgium, with the likes of Johan Bakayoko and Youri Tielemans perhaps set for inclusion after trying to inject guile and pace from the bench last time out. Improvements are needed all over the park, else they face a second straight humiliation in group stage exits at major tournaments.

Romania must remain wary, all the same. There’s obviously enough technical ability in that Belgium side to simply step up, create a dozen chances and sweep them aside, particularly if any of the effort, off-the-ball running and team unity from that first win over Ukraine is absent in their second game.

Wondergoals made the match and result even more fantastic for their fans, but it was that far greater endeavour and much better gameplan which really saw Romania topple their opponents throughout.

Dennis Man was a standout from the right wing, creating three chances, assisting two goals, very nearly scoring one of his own with a curling shot just wide. But to highlight individuals is to ignore the essence of their success. Man’s partnership with right-back Andrei Ratiu was crucial, in both directions. Radu Drăgușin was astonishingly good at centre-back, celebrating blocks and covering for teammates wherever needed. Denis Drăguș lead the line well in attack, but covered in for his midfielders too when required. This is what they need once more against Belgium, where they’ll likely have less possession, fewer chances to sustain pressure…and more expectation on them now, too.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

The two top teams in Group F after the first round of games, but Türkiye and Portugal attained their victories in very different manners. The Turks were well-organised, had a good buildup game plan and scored some absolute crackers; Portugal were totally dominant and filled with star names, but needed patience, fortune and one of the deepest benches at the whole of Euro 2024 to come from behind late on.

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By Karl Matchett

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It’s now quickly become impossible to talk Türkiye without mentioning Arda Güler, though, so we may as well start there. His spectacular, inch-perfect goal was the highlight but he was busy throughout, taking up clever positions, showing that tremendous first touch of his and making sure he was free as an out-ball on counters. Playing both in the channel and more centrally, his crucial impact was seen not just in the number of times he tried to take on his man, but in his willingness to go beyond Türkiye’s roving striker, Barış Alper Yılmaz. Güler had four touches in the box – no teammate managed more – and created three shooting chances for his side.

Between him, Yılmaz and Kenan Yıldız there’s a real functionality and cohesion in the attack, but behind them the midfield showed both faces during that opening game, good and bad. Kaan Ayhan was a ferocious workhorse, almost scored and showed moments of great quality, but Türkiye were also overrun at times, pegged back by Georgia’s system as much as their on-the-ball quality, and Portugal are nominally in a similar shape with their wing-backs.

Roberto Martínez’s side did utilise them very differently, though, which is perhaps to say…oddly. The use of João Cancelo from wide coming inside is by now a norm, but in a back four rather than from wing-back. It gave Nuno Mendes a huge volume of ground to cover and certainly didn’t get the best out of him on the overlap.

The midfield balance wasn’t quite there either, Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes sometimes stuck passing the ball between themselves without really progressing it, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see João Palhinha or a similar option come into the side to add some balance against a team who will attack them far more than Czechia did.

It’s the inverse of an all-or-nothing game in some respects, with both nations already having claimed a win, but if top spot is the aim and a potentially easier last-16 tie, then this is the game to go all-out in, safe in the knowledge that game three can be the safety net if an attacking nature backfires and a a point or more is still needed.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

One of the most exhilarating and watchable games from the first round of Euro 2024 matches was that involving Georgia, the debutant nation who gave it everything and came within a whisker of taking a point from Türkiye – before a late breakaway goal left the match going 3-1 against them. It means two things: One, they know they can compete with the teams in their group and two, it probably all rests on this next encounter, as Portugal will naturally be a stronger opponent in attacking terms, if nothing else.

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By Karl Matchett

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Despite their eventual defeat, Georgia will be hugely heartened by the fact they played to their strengths and created no fewer than five big chances in the game – Georges Mikautadze was a threat throughout, Giorgi Kochorashvili was a non-stop dynamo in midfield, and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili showed his qualities too. All this, and their top player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia not having his best day at the office suggests there’s more to come. They’ll need to sharpen up in terms of passing through midfield perhaps, unless they plan to make it another basketball, end-to-end, whoever shoots best wins type of encounter.

The Czechs have reason for hope themselves too, though, after very nearly keeping Portugal at bay for a positive result. They were a little reductive and spent large spells of the match in a defensive shape behind the ball, but perhaps needs-must was the thinking after they took the lead in that game.

Their goal was a spectacular one, but it underlines their lack of creativity and attacking intent otherwise: just 0.43 xG from their opening game, no corners, no big chances created. Ultimately that was costly and there’s no margin for error of the type they made against Portugal, an own goal which was really the goalkeeper, Jindřich Staněk’s, fault, before another error in the final seconds.

Despite a backs-to-the-wall showing the Czechs couldn’t even argue they came out on top defensively, with only David Douděra (71%) winning more than half his ground duels and right-back Vladimír Coufal dribbled past twice. Given that’s the flank Kvaratskhelia is likely to start from, he’ll need to improve in particular.

All this combines to make this fixture a definite must-win for both nations, if they hope to reach the last 16, which should make for a fascinating encounter – and it’s Georgia, at their first-ever major tournament, who probably enter the match in better confidence and with a gameplan which looks capable of working.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Two sides who enjoyed winning starts to their respective Euro 2024 campaigns clash on matchday two in Group D, as the Netherlands face a potentially Kyian Mbappé-less France.

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By Nathan Evans

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Out of the two, it was arguably Ronald Koeman’s side who produced the stronger performance in the opening round of fixtures, as they fought back from a goal down to beat Poland 2-1 in Hamburg. 

Adam Buksa gave their matchday one opposition the lead against the run of play from a corner, but Cody Gakpo responded before half time before Wout Weghorst came off the bench to once again score a huge goal and in this case, winner, for the Dutch. 

That leaves the 1988 European Championship victors in a strong position to reach the knockout rounds of this competition for the ninth time in 12 attempts, even if obtaining another win here seems a tough ask on the face of it. 

That’s partly due to their opposition’s phenomenally deep squad in terms of talent, but also because France have come out on top in seven of the last eight meetings between these two great footballing nations, across all competitions. 

That being said, Didier Deschamps’ side were far from their best against plucky Austria on matchday one, but in the end, they still found a way to win 1-0 via a Max Wöber own goal in the first half. From there, the French looked unusually flat, and most who watched would argue that Ralk Rangnick’s outfit were deserving of at least a point. 

As expected, all eyes were on Mbappé, who spurned a huge chance midweek through the first half, but he was later forced to leave the field with a broken nose – an injury that has dominated the headlines ever since. Thankfully for him, surgery was not required, according to the French FA, and he should be able to continue to play a part in the tournament t, though this match could come too soon for him in terms of his recovery – something which would be a huge blow for his side. 

Undoubtedly in their opener however, it was midfielder N’Golo Kanté who stole the show as he looked back to his very best in the centre of the park. He claimed the FotMob player-of-the-match award with his 7.9 rated performance which comprised of 73 touches, seven defensive actions, six ball recoveries and two chances created and, in the process, he just about covered every blade of grass at Merkur Spiel-Arena.

He’ll be the focal point again in this clash, as Deschamp continues his own charge towards becoming the first ever person to win both the World Cup and European Championships as both a player and manager. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

The second round of fixtures in Group D pits together the two losing sides from matchday one, as Poland and Austria do battle at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

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By Nathan Evans

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As such, the onus will be on both nations to respond here and go in search of a much-needed victory to boost their qualifying chances. That should mean that the neutrals can expect another entertaining Euro 2024 match, not least because star striker Robert Lewandowski is likely to return here after missing his side’s opening game. 

He proved to be a huge omission for Poland as they were downed 2-1 by the Netherlands despite producing a spirited performance, albeit one which lacked in real quality in attack. Lewandowski’s stand-in, Adam Buksa, did get his name on the scoresheet, but after a season where he scored 26 goals in 49 games for Barcelona this season, the return of the record national goalscorer could be the difference maker for them.

Alongside the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich forward, expect Piotr Zielinski to feature heavily again as he played well against the Netherlands. No Polish player garnered a higher FotMob rating (7.4) than the Napoli midfielder in their opening fixture, a display which saw him record 50 touches – the second-most amongst his teammates – as well as pick up the assist on Buksa’s goal.

Poland will be expecting an almighty battle in the German capital in what will be there second European Championship meeting with Austria, after the pair drew 1-1 during the 2008 group stages. 

In truth during their opening fixture against World Cup finalists France, Ralf Rangnick’s side deserved at least a draw after an unfortunate own goal from Max Wöber proved the difference in the end. Throughout a tense affair in Düsseldorf, Austria performed strongly across the park and looked well deserving of their tag as ‘dark horses’ as coined by many football fans pre-tournament – including us.  

They headed into this summer’s competition having put together a run of seven internationals without defeat and their structure on Sunday evening was evident from the off set. Not only did their 4-2-3-1 set up provide plenty of counterattacking opportunity but it additionally produced defensive solidity which helped them to control much of the game. 

In the face of superior quality from their French counterparts, Austria still managed to record more possession than their opponents and although they struggled to create too much in the way of goalscoring opportunities, that could very much change here as they look to claim just a third ever win at the European Championships.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

It would be safe to say that with the 1-0 win over Belgium in their opening game, Slovakia pulled off the biggest shock of the tournament so far.

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By Nathan Evans

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After taking the lead in just the seventh minute, through Ivan Schranz, Francesco Calzona’s side then produced a defensive masterclass to keep Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and co. at bay, albeit with the help of some luck, and favourable VAR calls on the day. 

Not only did that victory give them a winning start to the tournament, but it also acted as their tenth victory across their last 14 internationals in total, a run of results which has promoted them into 48^th spot in FIFA’s current rankings. 

Their recent success has been built on the foundations of a solid backline, who have kept three clean sheets in succession and will now go in search of keeping a fourth in a row for the first time since way back in 2000. In their opening fixture, centre-back pairing Milan Škriniar and Denis Vavro impressed in particular, combining to record 15 defensive actions and a total of eight clearances to keep Belgium out. 

Goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka also performed mightily in between the sticks during his FotMob player-of-the-match display, making five saves throughout, a total one more than he had made across his prior five international outings combined.

That trio is likely to be busy again at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf on Friday as they look to seal another victory and progress to the knockout rounds of the European Championships for the first time since 2016.

This time around they come up against a Ukraine side who struggled during a 3-0 loss to Romania in their own Group E opener. In the group, many would have predicted Serhiy Rebrov’s side to finish second behind Belgium but instead, they now sit on the edge of exiting the tournament after just two matches if they lose again here.

The former striker admitted in his press conference after the game that ‘nobody expected this result’ as two huge errors from goalkeeper Andriy Lunin consigned Ukraine to two losses in their last three outings overall, both of which have seen them concede exactly three goals. 

He must now act quickly to get his side in the right mindset to bounce back here, but having secured just one win across four competitive head-to-head fixtures previously, more misery wouldn’t exactly surprise. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

The defending Copa América champions kick off their title defence this Thursday facing Concacaf qualifier Canada in the opening game of the 2024 tournament.

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By Jon Arnold

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Argentina followed up their 2021 Copa América title with a triumph at the 2022 World Cup and enter the summer with realistic expectations of a third consecutive major trophy. While Lionel Messi is no longer playing in the UEFA Champions League, he’s accumulated a dozen goals and nine assists in just 12 games played so far this season in MLS. Neither of those numbers lead the league, but it’s a good indication that when Messi is on the field, he’s still able to make magic happen. 

He’s hardly alone. Long-time running buddy Ángel Di María is also back for a ‘last dance’ while forward Lautaro Martínez, midfielder Enzo Fernández and goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez are among 21 of 26 players who won the 2022 title and are back for Copa América.

While Argentina is marked by continuity, Canada is characterised by change. A new manager, American Jesse Marsch, is at the helm after Canada found their success plateauing after qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, its first since 1986. 

Some star names who helped Canada return to the tournament remain key players including Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies and Lille forward Jonathan David. Other players are now working into the team as well, with goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau and centre-back Moïse Bombito expected to start in place of veterans who held down the roles in the 2022 cycle.

This will be Marsch’s third game in charge and the third match in which he’ll lead Canada against a team currently in the top 10 of the FIFA rankings. After a rocky debut, falling 4-0 to the Netherlands, Canada recovered with a scoreless draw against France ahead of Thursday’s opener. Argentina had a less daunting pre-tournament friendly calendar, taking care of Ecuador and Guatemala on U.S. soil.

While Argentina comes in as the defending Copa America holder thanks to the 2021 triumph that ended a long drought since Argentina’s win in the 1993 continental championship, Canada is making its debut. The North Americans were invited to the 2001 edition but pulled out after the tournament was canceled, then hastily un-canceled. They’ll hope to put up a strong fight. If they can match the draw they achieved against France, the world No. 2, when they face Argentina, the world No. 1, it will be a memorable debut. But Messi and the rest of the world champions will be eager to show they’re still the best team on the continent and in the world.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Copa America live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Both Denmark and England enter their Group C match in a slightly uneasy state of mind. Neither were especially impressive in their opening matches against Slovenia and Serbia, respectively, though England did at least manage to get through their match with all three points and a clean sheet.

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By Ian King

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Indeed, their performances seemed to somewhat mirror each other. Both started positively, and scored a narrative-laden goal within twenty minutes after spells of fresh, attacking football. But both seemed to run out of steam, and the only difference between the two teams was Serbia didn’t take their one big chance, while Slovenia did. 

There is further reason to believe that this could be an extremely tight game. Three years ago, these two met in the semi-final of this competition at Wembley and it took an extra-time rebound from a saved penalty kick to separate them. England won on that occasion, but only by an extremely narrow margin, and on home territory. 

And it can hardly be said that Denmark don’t have a history of upsetting England in this very competition. In October 1983, with Euro ‘84 only featuring eight teams, an Allan Simonsen penalty at Wembley knocked England out. It was, with the benefit of hindsight, one of the first flowerings of the great Denmark team of the mid-1980s. 

But that was forty years ago, and on the evidence of their opening match there’s not much ‘great’ about Denmark’s class of ‘24. Unable to build upon the platform that Christian Eriksen’s goal had given them against Slovenia, they were stung with a sucker punch. Rasmus Højlund seemed to be all heat and no light, and he needs to be a greater source of Denmark goals than he has of late.

Jude Bellingham remains the lightning rod around which hopes English are gathered, and there was little against Serbia to suggest that he can’t come good on that implied promise. There should also be better to come from Harry Kane; England’s attacking options generally remain strong, Phil Foden notwithstanding. 

But the midfield didn’t work out against Serbia, and crowbarring Foden into the team didn’t seem to do anyone any favours. Fix that conundrum and get better service to Kane, and England are capable of much better, though the defence remains an obvious concern. It’s difficult to see similar room for improvement in Denmark, but history shows us they’re plenty capable of causing a surprise.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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You can follow every game from Euro 2024 live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.