There is just something romantic in the air when it comes to international football. I love club football but I feel as though there is something ominous about football players representing their countries on such a grand stage.
Just in case you were wondering, yes, the tournament is still to be called EURO 2020 as UEFA wants to keep a reminder of how the football community came together through the hard times of the Coronavirus. The tournament is set to begin on Friday, 11th of June and while I am excited for more football, I am concerned for the health of the players after having endured a season of unprecedented circumstances. However, the show must go on.
I aim to discuss who I consider favorite's for the competition, teams that are vastly overrated and some teams that can surprise you. Historical context plays a significant role in football for some reason or the other, for me, at least. With that being said , some of these takes are going to be very outlandish but that's how I genuinely foresee the direction of the tournament heading. I'll also include a prediction bracket of how I think the tournament would go coming down to the end.
Below are the 6 groups that each team will be a part of. The top 2 advance to the round of 16, with the 4 best 3rd-placed teams joining them. Personally I much preferred the tournament when there were just 16 teams, but hey, the UEFA is just a bunch of money grabs who clearly have chosen quantity rather than quality of their product. I guess I'm part of the problem because I still insist on watching regardless. Anyways, enough of my rambling, here are the groups:
Contenders
France
I think this speaks for itself. The French are the odds on favorites to win the tournament. Boasting a multitude of superstars across all areas of the pitch, France can undoubtedly be considered as a Rolls Royce of international football presently. Coming off a World Cup win, the French will seek to repeat Spain's triumph by winning the World Cup and European championships consecutively. Also, they will aim to avenge their disappointing loss to Portugal in the 2016 EURO Finals, a loss that deeply hurt the nation as they were the host of the tournament. I'm not sure there is much I can add that you may not know already; this France team is loaded. Karim Benzema makes his return to the national team after a mercurial season with Real Madrid to add to this already talented squad.
Strengths: Loads of pace up top with Mbappé and Coman, solid defensively, and a very deep squad (this is really important as this is the first Euros where 5 substitutions are allowed).
Weaknesses: Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is always prone to one error per game and this could prove costly in a tight affair, however this is just me nit-picking.
Portugal
The defending champs, Portugal have now solidified themselves amongst the world's best teams. Coming into the tournament ranked as the 5th best team, the Portuguese also boast a wide array of talent and attacking flair. Not too shabby at the back either, boasting Football Writer's Player of the Year, Rúben Dias, veteran center back, Pepe, with Danilo Pereira in front of them in holding midfield, Portugal have the potential to be stubborn to break down. They also have an opportunity to match Spain's feat by winning the Euros back-to-back.
Strengths: They have Cristiano Ronaldo. A leader on and off the pitch for the squad, Ronaldo has proven time and time again that he is able to rise to the occasion when the lights are brightest.
Also, having won the previous tournament, the Portuguese now enter the tournament with some pedigree and confidence that they belong with the other European giants, a trait they never possessed before.
Weaknesses: This is where I allude to my point in the introduction about football history. Portugal historically have been slow starters. In the previous tournament, they qualified out of the group as one of the third best teams in their group. This could prove detrimental to their progression out of the group as they are up against both Germany and France. Portugal have a HORRIBLE record against Germany, winning just three of their eighteen encounters. And I don't think they would beat France either, leaving them to battle for the best four 3rd place spots. Fernando Santos also sets up very defensively, so I'm worried that can contribute to a bad goal difference. Once they make it out the group stage however, regardless of position, I have no doubt that they will make a deep run in the knockout stage. 2
With that, my list of contenders are over. Yup. I told y'all that this was going to be controversial. To me those are the only teams that have proven that they are championship material in recent history and that's what I'm basing my definition of a true contender on. These are the teams that I will take seriously at having a shot at winning the title. I'm not saying that they are the only teams that can win, but rather they're the only ones I have the utmost faith in.
Pretenders
Conversely, how I would define "pretenders", are teams that are being considered contenders but have done absolutely nothing to legitimize that claim.
These are the teams I consider to be massively overrated and I expect them to underperform and disappoint yet again.
England
Face it England fans, you're not winning anything. The fact that England is ranked 4th in world football is actually a disgrace. If England plays Germany, Italy, Spain or Holland tomorrow, just to name a few, especially in a game that actually means something... 100% they'll lose. Their World Cup run to the semi-final was massively exaggerated. They beat Sweden and Colombia. Now of course you can only beat what's in front of you but as an England fan, if you're being real with yourself, you were supposed to win those games. The minute England encountered a slight challenge against Croatia, they folded like they always do. If England could not win a competition with their greatest compilation of talent ever in the Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, Terry, Ferdinand Era, then this team has 0 chance.
Now, I know that may have come across as harsh but that's just the history. Blame your team for that, not me. I will admit however, the English have an incredibly talented group. Attacking-wise, they have the lethal Harry Kane, a lot of flair on the wings with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, and budding young stars in Mason Mount and Phil Foden. I definitely won't ignore how talented this team is. I would even go as far as to say it's not a talent problem, but that coach, oh brother, that coach, Gareth Southgate is definitely not a guy I would trust to lead my nation to a title. Recently, after having announced his squad for the Euros, Southgate excluded Jesse Lingard from the squad and still insisted on playing him in a warm-up friendly. Instead of going with guys he chose for the Euro squad. I mean that thought process just baffles me. My expectation for England is that they make it out the group stage but the minute they encounter a team with any quality, which they are projected to, either Portugal, Germany or France, they will get bounced, resulting in yet another disappointing tournament. The English have an incredible crop of players but I'm not sure Southgate is the man to carry this group forward and it will hurt them in the end.
Belgium
Okay hear me out, I know that the Belgians are stacked: Ranking #1 in World football and deservedly so, I might add. The pressure is on. To me, if you are ranked 1st, the expectation should be championship or bust. I simply don't think this team can go all the way because they have done nothing to prove they can, so by that logic, I can only label them as pretenders. How much longer do we have to wait Belgium? We have been hearing about this "golden generation" of Belgian football for years on end and they have yet to deliver; not even a finals appearance in any major competition to their name.
In the last European tournament they got eliminated by Wales in the quarter-final; a huge disappointment. Belgium also enter the tournament with Kevin De Bruyne injured. Eden Hazard has also been an injury concern recently. Can we say for sure that he will be healthy for sure? The Belgium team of old also had a great defense with Vincent Kompany anchoring the backline, however he is now retired and additionally, Toby Alderwiereld is not the same defender he used to be. Another reason I have doubt in the red devils is because of their coach Roberto Martinez, who has become obsessed with playing with a back three with this group for whatever reason. Their defenders are slow and I think that makes it easy for them to get countered. Belgium ultimately disappoint again, thus making them more "pretenders" than "contenders" for me.
Dark Horse
Turkey
Turkey are perennial dark horses. Their best performance was when they made the semi-finals of the competition in 2008. They even placed 3rd in the 2002 World Cup coached by Senol Gunes.
Turkey breezed through the qualification process after only conceding 3 goals in ten games.
Key Players to watch : Burak Yılmaz, the 35 year old veteran recently won Ligue 1 with Lille, ending the season with 16 goals and 5 assists.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu: Reinventing himself at AC Milan this season, the 27 year old playmaker had 4 goals and a whopping ten assists in the Serie A this past season. He has an eye for the long range shot and is a deadly set-piece taker.
My Euro 2020 Bracket
Germany are my favorite team so I won't deny the obvious bias in my pick. However, this is Germany's coach Joachim Löw's last run in charge of the team and I think it injects some rejuvenation into the team to make a run. Recalling Thomas Muller and Matts Hummels to the national team adds some much needed experience to the team. I also am a huge fan of the formation Löw's been putting out recently.
This team has a perfect balance and with the likes of Kroos, Gündoğan and Goretzka that can come on in the midfield, the German national team definitely has all the tools in place to have a successful tournament. Let's go Deutschland!
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