With the qualifiers over, all eyes are on the final phase of Euro 2024. The next edition of the European Championship is scheduled for June 14 to July 14 in Germany. The draw for the group stage will take place on December 2, and some nations will approach it more calmly than others. Overview of the form of the favorites seven months before the tournament.
Vice-world champion, France is eyeing Euro 2024 with certainty, even if Didier Deschamps curses this word and prefers to speak of “deep convictions”. Cautious, the coach of the Blues has not forgotten the Olympic form that his group had before Euro 2020 and an astonishing exit in the round of 16 (against Switzerland on penalties). But it is clear that France, which has just completed a near-perfect qualifier (10 matches, 9 victories and a draw), ticks many boxes. Stability, mix of youth and experience, world-class players: all the lights are already green.
For France it will be a question of keeping this form until June, as for Portugal, the only country to have won all its matches (10) in the qualifiers and to have completed them with the best attack (36 goals). With (or despite, it depends) an aging Cristiano Ronaldo, the Seleção plays polished football, worthy of its rich offensive reservoir. Roberto Martinez, appointed coach last January, could not have dreamed of a better first year in Portugal.
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Its Iberian neighbor, Spain, should also approach the Euro with confidence. She remained faithful to her style (73.5% ball possession in the qualifiers) despite the departure of Luis Enrique and the arrival of Luis De La Fuente at her head after the 2022 World Cup. qualify without trembling, and sent a message in June with his coronation in the League of Nations. The serious injury of midfielder Gavi, very uncertain for the Euro, is the black point at the end of the year. But she has time to adjust.
“We will be one of the teams capable of winning” Euro 2024, noted England coach Gareth Southgate in October. But he admitted he was “tired of fighting” criticism this week, predicting that “no matter what the result is tomorrow, people will say they are a lower-ranked opponent,” ahead of the draw in North Macedonia ( 1-1). The Three Lions, finalists of Euro 2020, remained undefeated in these qualifiers (6 wins, 2 draws). But the depth of play of the team of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and others leaves a bitter taste among observers.
It’s much more sluggish for the Netherlands, who almost didn’t exist during their double confrontation against France in the qualifiers (4-0 then 1-2). Other than that, only victories on a minimalist score. Great Dutch talents are rare in 2023, apart from attacking midfielder Xavi Simons, on loan from PSG to Leipzig.
There is a little less of this problem with Belgium of Kevin De Bruyne, Jérémy Doku and Romelu Lukaku, undefeated in 8 matches. But the Red Devils, whose golden generation has almost entirely passed the baton, are used to doing well in the playoffs. They did it a little less, as evidenced by their laborious victories in Azerbaijan (0-1) and Austria (2-3) at the start of the fall.
There was a time when Germany looked like a predator at a European Championship, even more so if it organized it. Seven months into “her” Euro, she is nevertheless a seriously injured beast. After another shock elimination in the first round of a World Cup last year, she went 5 matches without a victory, including defeats against Poland (1-0), Colombia (0-2) and Japan ( 1-4). Hansi Flick was sacked, replaced by Julian Nagelsmann, powerless in the face of a new rout at home against Turkey last Saturday (2-3), followed by a failure Tuesday in Austria (2-0). “We must not see everything negatively, we must remain convinced of the path we are taking,” encouraged Nagelsmann, not helped by the lack of major and creative players that Germany produces in attack.
The Mannschaft can consider themselves lucky: they did not have to make the qualifiers unlike Italy, who came within a whisker of the play-offs after a narrow draw against Ukraine on Monday (0-0). Beaten twice by England this year (1-2 then 3-1), they had to digest the surprise resignation, in August, of Roberto Mancini, coach since 2018. He was replaced by Luciano Spalletti, who thought he would take a sabbatical year after an Italian championship title with Naples. He inherited a squad that doesn’t make many people dream. “We don’t have a great player? This is not true. We have one: it’s Federico Chiesa,” Spalletti replied. It seems light for a defending team at the Euro, which is especially likely to rely on the man voted best player of the tournament two and a half years ago: PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
