12 minute read
GROUP A
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Belgium to No 1 in the FIFA World Rankings remains in place, perhaps for a victorious final push. Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard [fitness permitting] and Romelu Lukaku head up the all-star cast but there is plenty of support too, with Youri Tielemens coming to the fore in recent months. And under Martinez, Belgium will be well-drilled and flexible too. Belgium do though have to be at their sharpest, which they weren’t in Euro 2016 when they were beaten by surprise package Wales at the quarter-final stage. That was their warning shot, to take nothing for granted. Have the lessons been heeded five years later?
SPAIN
Although Spain hammered Germany 6-0 in the Nations League last autumn, Luis Enrique’s side have produced some distinctly disappointing performances since then. It’s hard to know which Spain will show up. La Roja were held to a 1-1 draw by a stoic Greece side, and could only sneak a narrow 2-1 win in Georgia, the decisive goal not coming until injury time. It’s possible the weight of the previous generation is causing some talented players to shrink when wearing national team colours. It’s a heavy burden. Legendary figures such as Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres are naturally a hard act to follow but Spain are not convincing despite having a squad that still contains record appearance holder, World Cup winner and captain Sergio Ramos, veteran Sergio Busquets and the excellent Alvaro Morata. Much rests on prodigies such as 18-year-old starlet Pedri, and Ansu Fati. Pedri, the Barcelona midfielder, has been in great form all season and received his first call-up to the national team in March for the World Cup 2022 qualification fixtures. Fati, meanwhile, has struggled with injuries but is a livewire who should be included, if he can get back on the pitch in time. For his part, Enrique has to stop chopping and changing the XI. A return to a clear philosophy is needed and without it, it’s hard to see Spain repeating past glories.
ABOVE: Poland are outsiders but the goals of Robert Lewandowski mean they could spring a shock
ABOVE (SMALL): England captain Harry Kane will be central to the Three Lions’ chances of a first trophy since 1966
BOTTOM: Gareth Bale and Wales were the surprise package of Euro 2016 – is a repeat beyond them?
TOP RIGHT: Luka Modric for Croatia
BOTTOM RIGHT: Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates with his teammates on team Sweden
GERMANY
This will be Joachim Low’s final international tournament after 15 years in charge of the Germany national team, and it’s 25 years since Die Mannschaft’s last European Championship trophy. That final was also staged at Wembley, so it’d be fitting if that drought was ended by a coach who rejuvenated the squad he inherited a decade-and-a-half ago. That fairy tale ending seems a long way away, however. Germany suffered a shock home defeat to North Macedonia in the spring internationals, their first home World Cup qualification defeat since losing to England in 2001, some 35 fixtures prior, and there were calls for Low to step down early. Some may argue the 2014 World Cup winner has earned the right to go on his own terms, but at what cost? The fact is, Germany don’t have the depth they used to. But there is nevertheless a strong starting XI, and this is Germany – it’s in their DNA to reach the latter stages of tournaments when the odds are against them; the side that almost won the 2002 World Cup was one of the weakest in decades. This is a youthful squad, but with experience too. It’s a difficult blend that Low has gotten right before. Will he go out on a high?
THE UNDERDOGS
IT WOULDN’T BE THE FIRST TIME AN UNFANCIED NATION HAS SHOCKED THE CONTINENT TO WIN THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS. DAVID WHITWORTH LOOKS AT SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTING OUTSIDERS…
croatia
Croatia are not at the level they were three years ago, when they went to the final at World Cup 2018. And yet, Croatia still have enough quality to cause a stir. The elegant veteran midfielder Luka Modrić remains the standout, the go-to guy to raise his nation’s fortunes. sweden
Any team with Zlatan Ibrahimović is a dangerous one. The evergreen 39-yearold recently came out of international retirement after a five-year absence to represent his country. His strike partner is Alexander Isak who is performing well in La Liga with Real Sociedad. The Swedes have every chance to progress from a group including Spain, Poland and Slovakia.
denmark
In the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Denmark have won impressively away in Austria, 4-0, 8-0 against Moldova and have taken victory in all three games in their group. They have the veterans of Kasper Schmeichel and Christian Eriksen as well as strikers Martin Braithwaite and Kasper Dolberg. Their group of Belgium, Russia and Finland gives them hope of progressing to the next round. poland
Similar to the Swedes with Zlatan Ibrahimović, Poland have their own hot-shot striker in Robert Lewandowski. Coach Paolo Sousa was only appointed in January and will be aiming to harness the talents of his main man and some good supporting players to safely progress through their Group E matches.
wales
Wales were the standout team at the last European Championships – impressively making the semi-finals stage, where they were beaten by Portugal. Although they have peaked since that golden summer, Wales can still rely on the quality of winger Gareth Bale and midfielder Aaron Ramsey to spring a surprise.
FOUNDED: 1898
NICKNAME: AZZURRI (BLUES)
BEST EURO RESULT: CHAMPIONS 1968
EURO RECORD: P38 W16 D16 L16
EURO HISTORY
With four World Cup titles to their name—a record only bettered by Brazil and matched by Germany—one will expect Italy to be dominant at the continental level. However, despite having an intimidating football history, Italy have won just one Euro title despite reaching the finals on three occasions—most recently in 2012 when they lost 4-0 to Spain.
LEADING SCORER Luigi Riva 35 Goals MOST APPEARENCES Gianluigi Buffon 176 Caps
PROBABLE STARTING XI
BONUCCI
EMERSON DONNARUMMA
LOCATELLI FLORENZI
ACERBI
BARELLA PELLEGRINI
CHIESA BELOTTI
itAlY
After a few years in the footballing wilderness, Italy are gradually finding their way back to footballing royalty. The Azzurri who have been mediocre by their own standards in recent years have regrouped under Roberto Mancini and are now considered one of the dark horses for this summer’s rearranged Euros. After breezing past teams in the qualifying round where they began with a two-nil win over Finland, followed by a six-nil drubbing of Liechtenstein and a three-nil win over Greece, Italy head into this tournament in impressive form and are expected to take some stopping. Since losing to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League in 2018, they are unbeaten in 25 games they have played up to the March 2021 international break. In that period, the Azzurri scored 68 goals and kept a whopping 18 clean sheets. Meanwhile, twenty of those games ended in wins for Roberto Mancini’s side, making them one of the most in-form sides heading into this tournament.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Donnarumma and Insigne are exciting players in their own right, but this current Italy squad has Federico Chiesa as the star man. The 23-year-old Juventus forward is growing into a fine player and has become instrumental to the successes of both Juventus and Italy, despite the presence of more experienced layers in their ranks. The former Fiorentina player had always possessed potential, but in recent months he has proven that he is ready to take centre stage. As long as he stays fit, Chiesa will be worth watching this summer.
COACHING
Roberto Mancini was appointed Italy coach in 2018 following years of mediocrity for gil Azzurri that saw them drop to 21st in FIFA ranking—their worst in history. The former Manchester City boss replaced Gian Piero Ventura in May 2018 and despite an early wobble has since restored Italy’s glory. The 56-year-old is an established name in the game and has won League titles in Italy and England. He is known for his expressive, yet disciplined style of play, and is rated one of the top coaches in this summer’s Euros.
COUNTRY FACTS
POPULATION: 60.8 MILLION
CAPITAL: ROME
CURRENCY: EURO
LANGUAGE: ITALIAN
INSIGNE
QUALIFYING RESULTS
MATCHES
Italy is drawn in Group A alongside Turkey, Wales and Switzerland. June 11: Turkey vs Italy; Kick-off 3pm (Stadio Olimpico, Rome) June 16: Italy vs Switzerland: Kick-off 3pm (Stadio Olimpico, Rome) June 20: Italy vs Wales; Kick-off 12pm (Stadio Olimpico, Rome).
PREDICTION
Their opening game against Turkey looks like the biggest game for Italy. The Turks are expected to qualify from this group ahead of Switzerland and Wales who are still embroiled in indiscipline issues within the squad and uncertainty surrounding their head coach, Ryan Giggs. Overall, the Azzurri are expected to finish top the group and make it to as far as the semifinal, being that they are one of the most in-form teams in Europe at the moment. Italy
2-0 Finland Italy 6-0 Liechtenstein Greece 0-3 Italy Italy 2-1 B-Herzegovina Armenia 1-3 Italy Finland 1-2 Italy Italy 2-0 Greece Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy B-Herzegovina 0-3 Italy Italy 9-1 Armenia
POS TEAM G W D L PTS 1 Italy 10 10 0 0 30 2 Finland 10 6 0 4 18 3 Greece 10 4 2 4 14 4 B-Herzegovina 10 4 1 5 13 5 Armenia 10 3 1 6 10 6 Leichtenstein 10 0 2 8 2
FOUNDED: 1895
NICKNAME: NATI SUISSE BEST EURO RESULT: GROUP STAGE 1996, 2004, 2008
EURO RECORD: P13 W2 D5 L6
EURO HISTORY
For a country that is rated 13th in world FIFA rankings and 11th in UEFA nations, Switzerland have a very poor Euro record. The Red Crosses have only made it to four UEFA European Championship tournaments in their history (1996, 2004 2008, 2016) and have won just two games in the ten games they have played at the Euros. Their most memorable Euro performance came in June 2008 when they won Portugal two-nil in Basel, thanks to a late double by Hakan Yakin. However, their run to the Round of 16 in the 2016 edition of the Euros the furthest that they have gone in the Euros.
LEADING SCORER Alexander Frei 42 Goals MOST APPEARENCES Heinz Hermann 118 Caps
PROBABLE STARTING XI
ELVEDI
FREULER SOMMER
ZANEV AKANJI
XHAKA
ZAKARIA SOW
SHAQIRI GAVRANOVIC
GROUP A sWitZERlAnD
After years of hurt and below-par performance in the European Championship, Switzerland made it back-to-back Euro appearance when they qualified for the 2020 European Championship. The Red Crosses have never been known as a footballing giant. Their inability to command the same respect as countries like Croatia, Czech Republic and even Belgium, has been down to their inconsistencies in the past. But having made it to their second Euro in eight years, Switzerland will be looking to build on their most recent European showing when they made it to the round of 16 in 2016. They began their journey to the finals by picking up wins over Georgia and Gibraltar. These wins were sandwiched between two draws with Northern Ireland and Denmark as they rode on those early results to finish with 17 points—one ahead of Denmark.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Breel Embolo, Mario Gavranovic and Denis Zakaria are all players who are exciting to watch and who are drawing interest from Europe’s elite club side. Established names like Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka remain good players despite their recent troubles in their respective clubs. But when looking for the star player in this team, the honour has to go to the goalkeeper, Yann Sommer. The Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper is a safe pair of hands and can be relied on to organise the Swiss defence. In the Bundesliga, he is behind just Neuer as the best goalkeeper in the division. If The Red Crosses will hope to get anything from this summer’s Euros, they will need Sommer to be in his best shape.
COACHING
Vladimir Petkovic is the man in charge of Switzerland for this edition of the Euros. The relatively unknown Croat was appointed in 2014 to restore Switzerland to its place in football middle class after a series of disappointing results that saw the Red Crosses fail to qualify for a major tournament in four years. Since his appointment, Switzerland have improved. They finished fourth in the UEFA Nations League and were able to qualify for the 2016 and 2020 edition of the UEFA Euros. The Red Crosses finished top of a fairly easy group ahead of Denmark and Northern Ireland.
COUNTRY FACTS
POPULATION: 8 MILLION
CAPITAL: BERN
CURRENCY: SWISS FRANC
LANGUAGE: GERMAN, FRENCH, ITALIAN, ROMANISH
EMBOLO
MATCHES
Switzerland are in the same group as Turkey, Wales and Italy. June 12: Switzerland vs Wales; Kick-off 9am (Baki Olimpia Stadion, Baku) June 16: Italy vs Switzerland: Kick-off 3pm (Stadio Olimpico, Rome) June 20: Switzerland vs Turkey; Kick-off 3pm (Baki Olimpia Stadion, Baku)
PREDICTION
Switzerland’s game with Italy can be said to be the toughest draw in the group stages. The Italians are group favourites and are expected to win all their group matches. But for Switzerland, the opening match against Wales will hold the greatest significance. If the Red Crosses can win that game, it will serve as a confidence booster for them and perhaps set them on the way to picking up more positive results from the group. Beyond the group stage, it is unclear how Switzerland will fare. But on paper, an adventure beyond the Round of 16 looks unlikely.
QUALIFYING RESULTS
Georgia 0-2 Switzerland Switzerland 3-3 Denmark Ireland 1-1 Switzerland Switzerland 4-0 Gibraltar Denmark 1-0 Switzerland Switzerland 2-0 Ireland Switzerland 1-0 Georgia Gibraltar 1-6 Switzerland
POS TEAM G W D L PTS 1 Switzerland 8 5 2 1 17 2 Denmark 8 4 4 0 16 3 Ireland 8 3 4 1 13 4 Georgia 8 2 2 4 8 5 Gibraltar 8 0 0 8 0
