Portugal, England, Germany… 7 months before the tournament, where are the favorites?

With the end of the qualifiers, all eyes are on the final stage of the European Championship 2024. The next edition of the European Championship is scheduled to be held from June 14 to July 14 in Germany. The draw for the group stage will take place on December 2, and some countries will approach it more quietly than others. An overview of how the candidates look seven months before the tournament.

They shine: France, Portugal and Spain

Vice world champion, France is looking forward to Euro 2024 with certainty, even if Didier Deschamps curses this word and prefers to talk about “Deep beliefsWith caution, the Blues coach did not forget the Olympic level that his group had before Euro 2020 and the amazing exit in the round of 16 (against Switzerland on penalties). But it is clear that France, which had just completed an almost perfect qualifiers (10 matches, 9 wins and a draw) Many goals achieved. Stability, a mix of youth and experience, world-class players: all the lights are already green.

For France, it will be a question of maintaining this level until June, while for Portugal, they are the only country to have won all their matches (10) in the qualifiers and completed them with the best attack (36 goals). With (or in spite of, it depends) an aging Cristiano Ronaldo, the Seleção are playing polished football, worthy of their rich attacking repertoire. Roberto Martinez, who was appointed coach last January, could not have dreamed of a better first year in Portugal.

See also – Spain won the 2023 Nations League last June

Its Iberian neighbour, Spain, must also treat the euro with confidence. It remained true to its style (73.5% possession of the ball in the qualifiers) despite the departure of Luis Enrique and the arrival of Luis de la Fuente at its helm after the 2022 World Cup, and it qualified without trembling, and sent a message last June with its team to win the League of Nations. A serious injury to midfielder Javi, which is considered uncertain for the Euros, is the black spot at the end of the year. But she has time to adapt.

They row a little: England, Holland, Belgium

“We will be one of the teams that can win» Euro 2024, England coach Gareth Southgate noted in October. But he admitted to himselfTired of fighting“Critics predicted this week that”No matter what tomorrow's result is, people will say that he is an inferior opponent», before a draw with North Macedonia (1-1). The Three Lions team, which qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020 finals, maintained its unbeaten record in these qualifiers (6 wins and 2 draws). But the depth of play provided by the team consisting of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and others leaves a bitter taste among followers.

It is much slower for the Netherlands, which was almost non-existent during its double match against France in the qualifiers (4-0 and then 1-2). Other than that, only wins by a small score. Big Dutch talent is scarce in 2023, with the exception of attacking midfielder Xavi Simons, on loan from Paris Saint-Germain to RB Leipzig.

There is slightly less of an issue with a Belgium side that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Romelu Lukaku, as they are unbeaten in 8 matches. But the Red Devils, whose golden generation has almost passed the baton, are used to performing well in the playoffs. They have done so a little less well, as evidenced by their hard-fought victories in Azerbaijan (0-1) and Austria (2-3) at the start of the fall.

They are worried: Germany and Italy

At one point, Germany looked like a predator at the European Championship, even more so if you organized it. Seven months after the Euros, she nonetheless remains a seriously injured beast. After another surprise elimination in the first round of the World Cup last year, it went 5 matches without a win, including defeats against Poland (1-0), Colombia (0-2), and Japan (1-4). Hansi Flick was dismissed, and was replaced by Julian Nagelsmann, who was helpless in the face of another defeat at home to Turkey last Saturday (2-3), followed by Tuesday's loss in Austria (2-0). “We must not look at everything negatively, we must remain convinced of the path we are on“, encouraged Nagelsmann, not helped by the lack of key players and creativity that Germany produces in attack.

The Germanschaft can consider themselves lucky: they did not have to qualify for the qualifiers, unlike Italy, which came close to the qualifiers after a narrow draw with Ukraine on Monday (0-0). After losing twice to England this year (1-2 and then 3-1), they had to absorb the shock resignation in August of Roberto Mancini, coach since 2018. He was replaced by Luciano Spalletti, who thought he would take a year off. After the Italian Championship title with Napoli. He inherited a team that doesn't make many people dream. “Don't we have a great player? this is not true. We have one: it's Federico Chiesa“, replied Spalletti. It seems light for a team winning the European Championship, which risks relying above all on the man who was named the best player of the tournament two and a half years ago: Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma.