Football European Championship 2024 – overall ranking: winner England

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March 18, 2024

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Our pick: Football European Championship 2024 – overall position: winner England

14.06.2024 21:00

European Football Championship is not scheduled for five months from now, so it doesn’t hurt to make a small forecast of what it might look like. The national teams from the top five European leagues, plus the national teams of Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium, are expected to compete for the overall championship. At least, that’s what the bookmakers say the odds are, before betting and recruiting respectively influence their size.

The home advantage will be Germany, however, it may not be such a great benefit. Our western neighbours did not play a qualifier, in the preparatory duels Die Mannschaft did not shine too much. The change of coach didn’t help either, with Julian Nagelsmann taking the helm, and despite the quality of the squad (Leroy Sané, Ilkay Gündogan, Manuel Neuer, Florian Wirtz, etc.), the team is not doing well in terms of play and results. Although they will have a sell-out every game at the home championship, there will also be enormous pressure from the media, the management and the public. The fact that Germany is a tournament team is no longer true in the last decade and you can’t live off history.

Belgium is undergoing a generational change, with a much rejuvenated squad, but two key players remain, spearhead Kevin de Bruyne and cannonballer Romelu Lukaka. Both players tend to get injured quite often, and if one of them is missing, the team loses clear strength in offense. Of the other really big stars, only Jérémy Doku, who is developing under Pep Guardiola’s wing at Manchester City, is already in the team. In any case, the team did not lose in the qualifying group, adding two draws to their six wins. However, the rebuilding team will not get the overall championship, or it would be a big sensation.

The new coach Portugal Roberto Martínez, who failed to develop Belgium’s strong generation into a success at representative level before qualifying, has become the man to beat. He has also repeated mistakes with the Iberian side, the biggest being the adulation of Cristiano Ronaldo. The legend of world football has had his best years behind him, and the numbers, which look convincing at first glance, don’t change that. In fact, CR7 has had an amazing year in which he has scored a huge number of goals, it’s just a matter of which opponents to take against. The league in Saudi Arabia has risen in level, but especially in the offensive positions, goals scored against weak defences are not worth that much. The same is true in the qualifiers, where the Portuguese didn’t lose a point, but they had a weak group where Slovakia was the strongest opponent. In any case, Portugal has a great roster that includes Bruno Fernandez, Rafael Leao, Bernardo Silva and others, but if they decide to play “all on Ronaldo”, they are without a chance for overall success.

Italy had big problems in the qualification itself, fighting for qualification until the last group match, and in the crucial duel with Ukraine the referee forgave the team a penalty. The defending champions from 2020 certainly do not command as much respect as in the past. The national team currently has no world-class star, the team has to do without the punished Sandro Tonali. The defence is a bit too old at first glance, which will be a problem against dynamic opponents. The team from the Apennine Peninsula cannot repeat their title, the team lacks more dominance, it is impossible to play only on breaks.

Also Netherlands is one of the wider favourites, finishing second in the group behind France, with whom it lost both of its matches. This clearly shows the ceiling of the team, it is not at the absolute top. After all, the Tulips proved it at the last championship, where they were no match for the Czech team. The team can play very fast, however, the team lacks more creativity and a reliable spielmachr.

On the other hand, the qualifying group was won by Spain with a record of 7-0-1. The national team can rely on quality goalkeepers (Unai Simon, David Raya), the defense is very experienced. Up front, there is a mix of huge talent (Gavi, Lamine Yamal) and proven extras (Álvaro Morata, Rodri, etc.). Spain is better than at the World Cup in Qatar, and the team is ready to compete with the best. In 2023, Luis de la Fuente’s charges managed to win the Nations League, which counts, as the quality of the opponents is after all more demanding than the entire qualification for the European Championship. On paper, only France and England are better teams than Spain, maybe Portugal.

It is the Gallic national team that will have to Euro 2024 arguably the strongest team, with a number of top players in the squad, including the bench, and Kylian Mbappé is the X factor. France has not lost once in qualifying, many footballers remember the 2018 World Cup title. The 2022 team finished second at the World Cup, as did the 2016 European Championship. Thus, France has long shown stability of results at the national level. The baton continues to be held by the coach, Didier Deschamps, who knows well how such tournaments are played. His main task then is to keep the mental setup of the team and tame the egos of all the stars. The vast majority of the team plays in European big clubs, and the PSG trio Mbappé – Muani – Dembele can play in the offensive line. There are countless options, but the health of Rabiot, who is a key midfielder, is a very important factor. The defence is also pumped up, and the team is generally tuned both in terms of speed and strength.

According to the odds, the biggest favourite for the overall championship is currently England. Albion are hugely motivated, they’ve been waiting for a major breakthrough for a long time. The team finished second in the 2020 European Championship, also this time Gareth Southgate is on the bench. The team should be dragged as usual by sharpshooter Harry Kane, who is in incredible form after his transfer to Bayern Munich. The same goes for Jude Bellingham, who has moved to an offensive post at Real Madrid. It is his performance rise that could be the tip of the scales, as well as the fact that someone other than Jordan Pickford, ideally Nick Pope, could finally be the number one goalkeeper. Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is having an excellent season, while Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden are global stars. The only question mark is the composition of the stopper duo, where Harry Maguire appears intermittently. In any case, England looks in the optimal composition and frame of mind, the team has the quality and ability to finally win something big. Maybe the cards will change partially during the spring, but at the moment Albion’s chances look almost optimal.

What to bet on:

England’s overall win at the 2024 European Championship makes sense, the team has matured, the results have remained high, the squad is wide and balanced including two superstars, together with France they are a bounce away from the rest of the teams.

Confidence:

7/10

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