Narek Hambardzumyan
With the upcoming European Championships in six months, it is that time again. The predictions. A time when people try and give their take on what the outcome of the tournament will be in the end. Some obvious takes, some controversial takes, and some outright ridiculous takes will always come up, but I will try to come up with something that will hopefully make some sense.
Group A: Germany, Hungary, Scotland, Switzerland
With the German hosts gaining instant qualification, they have been drawn in Group A alongside a quite competitive group with Hungary, Scotland, and Switzerland. Germany should be the clear favorite to go top in this group; however, a question for second place can be any one of these other countries.
Scotland had an incredible qualifying campaign, with Scott Mctominay leading the way to make qualification. Hungary took first in their group, and the Swiss took second under Romania. I think it will go down to the wire, but I will back Scotland to make it out of the group. They fought off Norway with Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard to qualify and only got second to Spain.
Prediction: 1. Germany 2. Scotland 3. Hungary 4. Switzerland
Group B: Spain, Albania, Croatia, Italy
Certainly living up to its name, the “Group of Death,” it consists of the powerhouse countries of Spain, Croatia, and Italy. Albania has qualified for their first-ever Euros, and it is quite unfortunate to end up in a group like this.
Croatia has been excellent in recent times, with a third-place finish in this last World Cup and runners-up in the UEFA Nations League, losing to fellow group member Spain. Spain has an incredible young squad filled with stamina and creativity, so I’m going to say they will top the group. Second place is a lot more difficult, but I think Croatia have that sort of spark in their team. They got second in their group, one point behind an underdog Turkey, while Italy barely scraped by on goal difference against Ukraine in the qualifiers. It is worth mentioning Italy and Ukraine played each other in the last match of the qualifiers, where Ukraine was not given a penalty in the last moments of the game. Additionally, Croatia has that experience throughout their squad, so I think they will make it through and knock out the current champions.
Prediction: 1. Spain 2. Croatia 3. Italy 4. Albania
Group C: England, Denmark, Slovenia, Serbia
Another talent-filled group, with last year’s runners-ups England, a Denmark team that reached the semi-finals of the last Euros, and a star-studded Slovenia and Serbia squad.
I think undoubtedly England should go top, as they are one of the heavy favorites going into this tournament, and I think second place also seems pretty obvious. The Denmark team that was once semi-finalists is far from what they are now. They are an aging team and no longer have it in them to win. Additionally, I just don’t think Slovenia has enough to cause an upset and go through against a rising Serbia team. A strike partnership of Alexsandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic seems unstoppable, and they are surrounded by an incredible midfield with the likes of Dusan Tadic and Filip Kostic.
Prediction: 1. England 2. Serbia 3. Slovenia 4. Denmark
Group D: France, Austria, Netherlands, Poland/Wales/Finland/Estonia
These last three groups haven’t been decided yet because there are playoff qualifications still left to go, but it doesn’t look like it will affect Group D, as all of the countries that could qualify don’t inspire me too much.
France, who were 2022 World Cup finalists, will definitely go top, and World Cup quarter-finalists Netherlands will be behind them, as they only lost out of penalties to the eventual winner Argentina. Out of the four teams that could qualify, I don’t think any of them have a chance of moving on past the group stage, so this group turned out to be fairly simple, as Austria doesn’t have the squad depth that France and the Netherlands have.
Prediction: 1. France 2. Netherlands 3. Austria 4. Poland/Wales/Finland/Estonia
Group E: Belgium, Romania, Slovakia, Bosnia/Ukraine/Israel/Iceland
This group is very unique, as it doesn’t have a clear favorite to go through. The Belgium squad is aging, but the other qualified teams don’t necessarily have the best squad in terms of depth and individual quality. The teams that have the potential to qualify also don’t have the experience or quality to make it past the group stage.
It is hard to say, but I think Romania will top this group solely because their qualifying run was very good, and they definitely have a decent chance against the other teams in this group. I would also think that Belgium should get second; however, I think that Ukraine could get second if they qualify because they have a pretty good squad that could even get them to that top spot. But for the time being, I will say Romania will go first, with Belgium behind them. Slovakia also doesn’t have the quality of players in their squad to go through and compete with the likes of France and England.
Prediction: 1. Romania 2. Belgium 3. Slovakia 4. Bosnia/Ukraine/Israel/Iceland
Group F: Portugal, Turkey, Czechia, Georgia/Luxembourg/Greece/Kazakhstan
This group is easier than the last one, with two clear favorites to go through. Turkey beat out Croatia to top their group, and Portugal has been one of the top teams in recent years. Czechia just doesn’t have that type of squad for this tournament, which was shown through their qualifying, where they got second to an underwhelming Albania side, and the other teams that could qualify don’t have a realistic chance.
The question is for first and second place, which can go either way. I think an upset will happen, with Turkey going top and Portugal coming in behind.
Prediction: 1. Turkey 2. Portugal 3. Czechia 4. Georgia/Luxembourg/Greece/Kazakhstan
Conclusion
These are my predictions for the group stage of the upcoming Euros. They will draw the knockout rounds with the results from the groups, so I can’t predict what will happen in the long run, so we will just have to wait for the summertime.