Preview

Group E is one of the more open groups at Euro 2024, so both Romania and Ukraine will back their chances of getting into the knockouts. A win and a draw could easily be enough, so their first clash presents a great chance for either side to start off on the right foot.

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By Neel Shelat

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Defence is Key for Romania

Romania have not reached the knockout stages since Euro 2000 but they have a golden opportunity to change that this time around. They qualified for the tournament as Group I toppers with an unbeaten record and just 5 goals conceded in ten games. That was despite the fact that they kept no more than 40% possession in half of their games.

Romania’s best player will lead their defensive effort as Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Radu Drăgușin is expected to start at the heart of their back line. His defensive positioning, anticipation and strength in duels will be crucial when his side have to resist long spells of pressure.

As long as they continue to keep things tight at the back, Eduard Iordanescu’s side will only need one or two moments of magic to make the difference up front. They will hope to see the likes of Nicolae Stanciu, Dennis Man and George Pușcaș deliver the goods at crunchtime.

Can Ukraine’s Attacking Firepower Take Them Through?

Ukraine put together a memorable run to the Euro quarter-finals last time around with a well-balanced side. On paper, their quality has only improved in the intervening years as the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Artem Dovbyk and Viktor Tsygankov have taken their games up a notch, but they made a much tougher job of qualifying this time around.

They failed to get through their group and were only saved by the lifeline that is the UEFA Nations League path to the final qualifying play-offs. Even after getting there, they made very tough work of defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland, scoring late winners after conceding the opener in both games.

Serhiy Rebrov has not changed the formula a great deal since taking over, but something about the balance of his side seems off. Unlike Romania, they do not have a solid defensive base that can offer a platform to build a great campaign. If they get it right, though, Ukraine should have more than enough attacking quality to at least aim to for second spot in the group.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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On 11 June 2016, Albania made history by playing their first-ever match at a men’s major tournament finals, losing to Switzerland. On 19 June they made more history: A first goal, scored by Armando Sadiku, then an hour later a first win, secured by that one goal to nil over Romania. They’ve never been to a tournament again since, until now, but if more history awaits them they are going to have to pull off one of the greatest shocks of recent European Championship history.

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By Karl Matchett

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In their group, Spain are two-time Euro winners in the last decade and a half. Croatia, while not historically good at the Euros, made the 2018 World Cup final and the 2022 semis just 18 months ago. And their first opponents, Italy, are the current reigning champions.

It’s a monstrous task for Albania to be sure, yet some hope remains. Firstly, in experience: from that historic win over Romania, goalkeeper Etrit Berisha and full-back Elseid Hysaj both remain in the squad, now third-and vice-captain respectively. Others involved then also remain, while Sadiku himself was still part of the national team up until last year.

Perhaps more importantly, several are playing at a very high level around Europe: Hysaj at Lazio, Berat Djimsiti at Atalanta, Kristjan Asllani at Inter, Armando Broja at Fulham. And maybe most importantly, Rey Manaj at Sivasspor, a striker in great form this past campaign and rediscovering the international goalscoring touch too. He hadn’t netted for Albania for almost three years, but did so in a warmup before the Euros – he’ll be crucial to their hopes of an upset.

And what an upset it would be: even if Italy failed to reach the last World Cup, they won the last Euros.

Expectation is upon them, from Luciano Spalletti in the dugout to Gigi Donnarumma with the captain’s armband and almost every attacking name in the squad. Only three players have clubs outside of Italy, and plenty are at sides with standout years behind them: five from Inter’s title-winning squad, four from Juventus and Roma – and Gianluca Scamacca, who just won the Europa League with Atalanta.

He may hold the key to how far Italy go. Others have to be the supply line and provide both on and off-the-ball quality as the Azzurri seek to find their way again, but the consistency of Scamacca’s 19-goal campaign at club level needs to be replicated on the international stage.

So many questions remain of them after three years of underperformance – it’s time to hit back with answers.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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If Germany, England, Portugal and France are the major favourites, then of all the outsiders to win Euro 2024, Spain might just have the best case.

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By Karl Matchett

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But Spain will need a little fortune, some bold decisions…and probably Álvaro Morata to bring his shooting boots on a regular basis. No immediate conclusion on which of those are most likely.

Despite missing the likes of Gavi from the squad, the technical ability of this La Roja side is unquestionable; in Rodri and Pedri they have two-thirds of perhaps a most perfect possible midfield, they have pace and depth in wide forward areas and three players who have just won the Champions League.

Even so, Luis de la Fuente might be forgiven for feeling his defensive options are a little below that of other major rivals, with Aymeric Laporte now playing in Saudi Arabia and Robin Le Normand serviceable, but unlikely to be considered a great any time soon.

That may not be such an issue if Spain can get the balance right in the middle of the park though, dominate play for long stretches, and find the right combination of their many final-third options – perhaps with Dani Olmo key to that, capable of playing as a No. 10 to shift the formation away from the regularly used 4-3-3.

Their first test will be a key one: A hugely familiar Croatia lineup, one with cohesion and experience…but also ageing legs. Indeed, Croatia and Spain played out a classic at the last Euros.

Marcelo Brozović is another plying his trade in the less-than-elite Saudi league these days, Ivan Perišić 35 years old and back in his home nation with Hadjuk Split. Luka Modrić, for all his enduring genius, is 38: he can remain a match-winner, but not if he’s chasing possession for 80 minutes of the 90.

As such, we can expect to see a first glimpse of how Spain deal with an aggressive and tenacious midfield defensively, but also one with great transition speed and ability. Mateo Kovačić, when fully fit, remains one of Europe’s kings in this regard, breaking lines with his acceleration past a challenge or two and into space, turning defence to attack in an instant.

Who finishes up on the end of those moves remains the question mark for Croatia, with Andrej Kramarić averaging a goal every 3.3 games across his long international career and no other attacking option yet managing a dozen goals for Croatia.

Perhaps it’s finally Lovro Majer’s time to shine, or maybe it’s more of the same for Croatia: looking short of the real deal at the Euros, where they’ve never been past a quarter-final. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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There’s no doubt that several groups at Euro 2024 look extremely open and with the possibility for at least three, if not all four, nations to believe they can reach the knockouts – and Group A is a prime example of that.

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By Karl Matchett

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While Scotland might be the outsiders and Germany the clear favourites, both the other two will feel they can absolutely claim second place – and why not, given recent form? The only problem might just be that they meet each other immediately.

Hungary and Switzerland both come into this clash knowing it might be the pivotal one which dictates coming second and guaranteeing a spot in the last 16, with no chance to ease themselves into the tournament. It might well be all or nothing, and that means it can go either way: cagey and careful, or all-out on-the-offensive, determined to make their mark and give themselves an enormous step towards a top-two finish.

Captained by Dominik Szoboszlai, supremely well organised, and with just one defeat in their last 16 dating back to late 2022, a third straight appearance at the European Championship makes this Hungary’s best side since their late 1960s/early 70s heyday by a large distance. Their optimism is well-founded, though they may rely on moments of magic from a few key faces, Szoboszlai among them and also Roland Sallai in attack.

As for the Swiss, it’s just one loss in 12 for them too, since the start of 2023, though goalscoring has been somewhat harder to come by for them. With Haris Seferovic finally ousted from the squad, the likes of Noah Okafor, Zeki Amdouni and Ruben Vargas need to take this as their chance to shine in attack. They have long been great in build-up and in terms of off-the-ball shape, but now need one of those approaching-prime-age forwards to really make their mark.

Still, Switzerland have pedigree here. In the last five World Cups, they’ve reached the last 16 on four occasions. At Euro 2020 it was the quarters. And while a few iconic names like Xherdan Shaqiri are still involved on reputation as much as anything, they come to Germany with genuine standouts at club level this season: Inter’s Yann Sommer, Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka, Monaco’s Denis Zakaria.

Add in Manuel Akanji and Dan Ndoye, both enjoying great club years with Man City and Bologna, and they have a group packed with positivity and a culture of winning. They can upset a huge nation along the way – but first must navigate the lower-key, but just as testing, challenge of Hungary. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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That the pressure has been turned up a little under the England squad ahead of their opening Euro 2024 match against Serbia can only really be considered to be a combination of bad luck and self-infliction.

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By Ian King

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On the one hand, it is unfortunate to run up injuries to key defenders, especially when they were looking pretty threadbare on that front to start with. But on the other, the Iceland performance – so much toil for just the one shot on target all night – was worryingly stagnant, and not for the first time since beating Italy convincingly at Wembley last October. England may have primarily been playing friendlies since that night, but they’ve been doing so with little to show for them. 

They were tepid in their last two Euro qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia – a 2-0 win and a 1-1 draw – disappointing against both Brazil and Belgium – a defeat and a scrambled draw, this time – mildly improved against Bosnia & Herzegovina and then lousy against Iceland. You can already feel the storm clouds forming in the distance. The question is, how much stronger might they be by the end of Sunday evening? England need a strong start to out-run them. 

At least Serbia can’t do a great deal worse than they did at the last World Cup when, having already lost their opening match to Brazil, they threw away a two-goal lead against Cameroon to draw 3-3 and then lost to Switzerland to confirm their elimination from the tournament in bottom place in their group. They will arrive in Gelsenkirchen with little to lose, and with Aleksandar Mitrović still leading their front line they have the potential to strong-arm their way past England. 

England have the muscle to be able to win this game with comfort. Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden were the players of the year in Spain and England respectively. Harry Kane may not have won any silverware in his first season at Bayern Munich, but it can hardly be said that Kane didn’t pull his weight, scoring 36 goals in 32 games in the Bundesliga and 45 goals in 44 games in all competitions. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were in outstanding form throughout the league season. 

But English teams have ended up as less than the sum of their parts before, and if they want to progress in this tournament England may need to beat themselves first. Good times never felt so vulnerable. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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If a settled squad is a happy squad, then Slovenia should go out for this Group C clash with Denmark – the same group as England and Serbia – without a care in the world.

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By Ian King

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Benjamin Šeško had been the subject of increasing transfer speculation during the build-up to Euro 2024, but just days before their kick-off against Denmark he signed a new contract with RB Leipzig which should keep the wolves from the door for now. 

Slovenia start their tournament as rank outsiders, and the historical record isn’t too pretty. They’ve only played Denmark six times before. In June 2023, they drew 1-1 in their qualifying group for this competition. Denmark have won the other five, including the return fixture to the draw, 2-1. Prior to these meetings, they hadn’t met since 2008. 

Should Šeško show the sort of form that he showed in the Bundesliga last season for Leipzig, Slovenia may even fancy their chances of overcoming Denmark. With 14 goals in just 17 starts and 14 substitute appearances last season, small wonder Arsenal and Chelsea were sniffing around. He also became the youngest player since Rudi Völler in 1982/83 to score in seven consecutive Bundesliga appearances and the second Leipzig player ever to do so, equalling a club record set by Timo Werner in 2019/20.

But Šeško won’t be the only young striker on the pitch on Sunday evening. Rasmus Højlund has already made his big move, and scored ten goals in thirty appearances for Manchester United last season. But he’s scored a goal every other game throughout his 14 appearances for Denmark and may be just as much of a threat to Slovenia as Šeško is to Denmark.  

Denmark came within a whisker of reaching the final of the Euros just four years ago. They took the de facto hosts England to extra-time in the semi-finals and only lost to a rebound from a penalty which looked slightly suspect in the first place. Their performance at the last World Cup, however, didn’t match expectations. With just a single point from a goalless draw with Tunisia, they finished bottom of their group. 

England’s recent friendly implosion against Iceland will also set them thinking. If the top seeds can find a way of tripping up, and the Iceland game suggested that for all their talents they could, then this group might even be up for grabs; all of which makes a strong start more important than ever.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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The opening match in Group C between Poland and the Netherlands is crucial for both teams, but for very different reasons.

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By Ian King

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Starting with a win would ease the Netherlands’ passage towards the knockout stages. With France to play next, three points may be essential if they’re to go into their final round of fixtures without any nerves hanging in the air.

A point from this game and a win against Austria five days later would almost certainly be enough to put Poland through with a game to spare themselves. Otherwise, they may find themselves having to take something from their final match against France to give themselves a chance.

Places in the next round are available for four of the six third-placed finishing teams this summer, but the chances of getting through diminish, the fewer points they have. In 2021, three of them had four points and one had three. In 2016, two had four points and two had three. Four points doesn’t guarantee a passage through but it does make it highly likely, while three makes it a crapshoot in which your goal difference will matter. 

But how likely is a surprise from Poland? If a week is a long time in politics, then 45 years is definitely a long time in football. May 1979 was the last time that Poland beat the Netherlands, in a qualifier for the European Championships of 1980. The two sides have met twelve times since then, with seven Dutch wins and five draws.

Back in the 21st century, reports of the retirement of Robert Lewandowski turned out to be overstated, so hopefully he’ll be starting for, and captaining Poland, presuming the thigh injury he suffered in their final warm-up game is as insignificant as head coach Michał Probierz claimed after the match (there were mixed messages on that in the media). Matty Cash misses the tournament with the calf injury that overshadowed the end of his league season. Poland were dependent on their Nations League form to get this far, and will start as group outsiders. 

The Dutch have also had injury concerns, with Frenkie De Jong out since March and the Liverpool-pursued Teun Koopmeiners also now ruled out by a late injury. Jurrien Timber didn’t make the cut after failing to recover in time from the ACL injury he picked on his Arsenal debut last August. The Netherlands will start as comfortable favourites to win but they’ve imploded in tournament finals before, haven’t they?

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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The 17th edition of the men’s European Championship will be the first time that the full tournament is held in a reunified Germany. Die Mannschaft are naturally involved in the opener, in which they face Scotland.

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By Neel Shelat

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Germany Going For Home Glory

The hosts have won the men’s Euros on just three occasions, most recently in France in 1984 when Germany was still split between the West and East. Post-reunification, Die Mannschaft have reached three Euro finals, winning only in 1996. A second title is very much is the expectation this time, but their first target has to be getting three points on the board in Friday’s opener against Scotland.

The home team have only won six of the previous 16 men’s Euros openers, though that includes the last two in Italy and France. A success here would be a first on German soil as West Germany failed to win in 1988, though they did triumph three times as the antagonists previously.

Scotland Seeking To Spoil The Party

This will be Scotland’s first tournament opener and just their fourth ever appearance at the men’s Euros. They have not advanced past the group stage on all three previous occasions, including the last edition of the competition. This time, though, they have good reason to hope for a different outcome.

Regardless of the result of this game, they will have a fighting chance in Group A. Their direct and duel-heavy style of play helped them seal direct qualification from a tough group that included the likes of Spain, Norway and Georgia. Nothing epitomises it better than the fact that Scott McTominay was the group’s top-scorer with seven goals in as many starts.

Steve Clarke’s side certainly have the potential to cause an upset or two in this tournament.

Could Nagelsmann Be The Difference-Maker?

Especially in international tournaments, teams look to their star players to make the difference in big games. For Germany, though, head coach Julian Nagelsmann could hold the key to their success.

The 36-year-old tactician is renowned for his tactical nous and quick understanding of the game as it is being played, so his in-game tweaks could well give Germany the edge in potentially tight games such as this.

His approach to management is quite different to most of his peers too, as he has picked his squad with a much heavier emphasis on form and suitability to his style of play. It will be very interesting to see how that plays out both today and in the tournament overall.

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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.

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