Football-mad Germany seek redemption at Euro 2024
Defending champions Italy battle Spain in a heavyweight match in the group stage
TWENTY-FOUR teams from Europe will soon converge in Germany for the continent’s biggest football extravaganza. The 17th edition of the European Championship, known as Euro 2024, kicks off on June 14 when the host nation take on Scotland at the Allianz Arena in Munich in the first of 51 matches.
Italy are the defending champions, having won the trophy three years ago at a pandemic-delayed Euro 2020 in London when they defeated England in a penalty shootout.
In the first of a four-part weekly series to preview Euro 2024, BT Weekend analyses the chances of the teams in Groups A and B.
Group A (Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland)
Three-time European champions Germany have a point to prove in front of their own countrymen, as they seek to make amends for a disastrous World Cup 2022 in Qatar that saw them exit the tournament in shame after the first round.
They are the big favourites in Group A, and barring another catastrophe, they should top the section and make it safely to the round of 16.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has a talented squad at his disposal, including the returning Toni Kroos who has been in imperious form for Real Madrid this season.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 2 pm
Lifestyle
Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.
The Germans will face Scotland, who will fancy their chances of causing an upset or two in this group.
The Tartan Army, as the Scots are called, have never reached the knockout stage of a major tournament in their history. Manager Steve Clarke and his players can take some encouragement from their impressive qualifying campaign that produced five wins and two draws from eight games, including a shock 2-0 victory over the mighty Spain.
Hungary, meanwhile, could be the dark horse in Group A. They famously topped their group at Euro 2016 ahead of Portugal, and at Euro 2020 they defied the odds to hold Germany and France to draws.
Hungary coach Marco Rossi has already announced a 26-man squad for Euro 2024, with the most famous name being Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.
The fourth team in the group is Switzerland are no slouches either. They advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time at Euro 2020 and only bowed out after losing to Spain in a penalty shootout.
Switzerland manager Murat Yakin is bringing a strong squad to Germany, including Inter-Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer, Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji and Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka.
Group B (Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania)
Group B has already been famously dubbed the Group of Death, and it’s easy to see why.
Of all the 24 group games, it is the heavyweight clash between the reigning champions Italy and three-time winners Spain on June 21 in Gelsenkirchen that takes top billing.
Italy are eager to maintain their grip on the trophy they captured at Euro 2020, but they will have to be at their very best to even escape a group that also contains the experienced Croatia and a highly unpredictable Albania.
Under coach Luciano Spalletti, the Italians had a rough time in the qualifying round – they finished runners-up in their group six points behind leaders England and only edging third-placed Ukraine due to a slightly superior goal difference.
Spalletti has yet to announce his final squad, but it’s almost certain he will call up the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Giacomo Raspadori, Mateo Retegui, Destiny Udogie and Gianluca Scamacca.
Spain were nearly perfect in qualifying with seven wins and one loss, scoring 25 goals and conceding just five. The current team under manager Luis de la Fuente, however, is far from the all-conquering side that scooped up the Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 trophies and the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
De la Fuente will be counting on stars like Manchester City midfielder Rodri, Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams and Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata.
Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic is also keeping his cards close to his chest, but he is expected to rely on a mixture of experience and youth to take the country to at least the quarter-finals.
The most well-known faces in Dalic’s likely starting line-up are 38-year-old captain Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Perisic. Fans are also looking out for Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol, who is in a rich vein of form for his club and has even chipped in with some important goals too.
As for Albania, they made it to Euro 2024 largely thanks to a fairly easy qualifying stage where they were placed in a group containing the Czech Republic, Poland, Moldova and minnows Faroe Islands.
Albania don’t really have any household names in their squad, but English Premier League fans might be familiar with striker Armando Broja, who has played for Chelsea, Fulham and Southampton in recent years. Albania have a pretty tight defence ably marshalled by Lazio’s Elseid Hysaj, and could make life difficult for the other teams in the group.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
