Euro 2024 predictions: Group stage
Welcome back to my blog, and after a long lay-off of over 5 months, I’m back! Today I will be predicting how the highly anticipated, upcoming Euros tournament will play out, starting with how each group will look after the 3 matchdays. Ready? Let’s get started!
Group A
- Germany
- Hungary
- Scotland (Q)
- Switzerland
Group A is quite easy to predict for me, as Germany and Hungary are the clear front-runners here to qualify for the knockouts through the top 2. Germany are the home nation and favourites, and they have the squad to succeed. Hungary also have a decent side, and should do well enough to clinch a second place finish. I also foresee Scotland making it out of the group through the 4 third place spots as they will finish with one win against Switzerland and a draw with Hungary. However, Switzerland will have a shocking tournament and finish bottom after qualifying for the knockouts in their last 5 major tournaments in a row.
Group B
- Spain
- Italy
- Croatia (Q)
- Albania
This group did pose a challenge to predict, as the top 3 teams all have history of success in recent tournaments as well as decent squads. However, I can’t help but feel that Spain will do well this tournament and begin their success with a first place finish. Italy will be not too far behind in 2nd, with croatia drawing with Italy and winning against Albania to qualify for the round of 16. Finally, Albania will finish rock bottom with a grand total of 0 points and exit the tournament early on.
Group C
- England
- Denmark
- Slovenia (Q)
- Serbia
This group was quite easy to predict too, since England and Denmark both did well in the last Euros. I think both sides should do decently this time too, which is why they finish first and second respectively to qualify for the next stage. Slovenia will do decently well this tournament, beating Serbia and tying with Denmark to qualify from third on 4 points,surprising a healthy portion of fans who assume that they will finish rock bottom on 0 points. RB Leipig striker Benjamin Sesko will have a break-out tournament while Jan Oblak’s experience and skills will help them keep a crucial clean sheet against Serbia. Finally, the group stage will spend the end of the road for an uninspired Serbia side.
Group D
- France
- Austria
- Netherlands (Q)
- Poland
Group D was a hard one to predict, as all 4 teams are decent sides with a good chance to go deep into the knockouts, and France are the only team who are much better than the rest. Therefore, I’ve tipped France to finish at the top comfortably. I’ve also predicted Austria to pull off a surprise 2nd place finish over the Netherlands. Austria have a tactical stalwart in Ralf Rangnick managing the team, while they also have an astonishingly good squad featuring the likes of Champions League finalist Marcel Sabitzer, Bayern midfielder Konrad Laimer and RB Leipzig talent Christopher Baumgartner. On the other hand, the Dutchmen are missing key players such as Koopmeiners and Frenkie de Jong, which is sure to have an impact on the team’s results, leading to them barely qualifying in third. Finally, any Lewandowski heroics will be insufficient to rescue his Poland side as they will finish a miserable 4th to crash out of the tournament.
Group E
- Belgium
- Ukraine
- Slovakia
- Romania
This group could be quite interesting, with only Belgium the clear-cut star team of the group. The other 3 will have to battle it out for 2nd, and I think Ukraine will do so comfortably. However, the other two teams will sadly exit the tournament after 3 matches as both will struggle to clinch crucial points to have a shot at qualifying.
Group F
- Portugal
- Turkey
- Czech Republic
- Georgia
Finally, we have reached the last group in the Euros, Group F. This group should theoretically be a cake walk for the Portuguese, and I back them to finish top on 9 points. Turkey should perform decently as well, making up for their meltdown back in 2021 when everyone was tipping them to be the dark horses of the tournament. However, both Czech Republic and Georgia will serve as stat-padding opportunities for Turkey and Portugal as they get grouped quite brutally.
There you have it, my predictions for Euro 2024’s group stage. Stay tuned for more Euro 2024 articles coming out, and I look forward to bringing you all more exciting content in the coming days!
