June is without a doubt the most boring month of the year on the NFL calendar. The Draft is over and training camp is still over a month away. If you’re looking for a fun way to spend the next six weeks until training camp, there are two “other football” (soccer) competitions that should make for high quality entertainment. Across the pond, the European Championships will take place in Germany, starting on June 14. Here in the United States, the Copa America (North and South American) Championships will kick off a week later on June 20. Here’s a rundown of the 24 national teams competing in the European Championships from hosts Germany to defending Champions Italy, World Cup runner-up France, and the hype train England.
GROUP A
Germany
Germany is appearing in their 14th consecutive European Championships, the longest run of any nation. However, they have not had their historically dominant form of late. After winning the 2014 World Cup, reaching the semis at the 2016 Euros, and winning the 2017 Confederations Cup, Germany looked primed for another run. Shockingly, they were bounced in the group stage at the 2018 World Cup, the first time they did not finish in the Top 8 of a World Cup since 1950. Their struggles continued with a Round of 16 exit to England in the 2020 Euros and another Group Stage failure at the 2022 World Cup. After a disastrous campaign of friendlies in 2023 where they went 2-2-5, Germany may have started to right the ship with friendly victories over France and the Netherlands in early 2024. Die Mannschaft will field a heavily veteran team on their home turf as hosts of Euro2024. Forward Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), midfielder Tony Kroos (Real Madrid), and keeper Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) all have over 100 international appearances. The next generation of Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane and Aresenal’s Kai Havertz will need to take the torch from the aging veterans as Germany looks to get back to the upper echelon of European and world soccer. The biggest question for Germany in this tournament will be their defense, which will need to tighten up if they are going to make a deep run.
Hungary
After finishing last in the Group of Death at the 2020 Euros and coming up short in World Cup qualifying, Hungary has been one of the hottest teams over the last few years. Hungary has not lost a game since falling to Italy twice in 2022 in Nations League play. Their 14-game unbeaten run includes two victories over Serbia which put Hungary atop their Euro qualifying group. Going back to Nations League play in 2022, Hungary beat England twice and Germany once to finish second in the group behind Italy. Captained by Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai, Hungary has a relatively young squad that could make a splash at this year’s tournament given their recent run of success.
Switzerland
The Swiss have been strong performers on the European and international stages of late. They reached the knockout stage in the last three World Cups (falling in the Round of 16 each time) as well as making it out of the group stage at the last two Euros. The only loss for the Rossocrociati over the last two years was in Romania in Euro qualifying. The Swiss have a veteran core led by midfielders Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen) and Xerdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire) who both have over 120 international caps. On the back end, they have loads of international experience with Manuel Akanji (Man City), Fabian Schar (Newcastle) and Ricardo Rodriguez (Tornio) who have combined for over 250 caps. Inter Milan keeper Jann Sommer will man the goal. The Swiss defense will not be in question, but one has to wonder where the offense will come from. They have not scored more than once in a game for 5 outings – since a 3-3 draw with Belarus in October.
Scotland
The Tartan Army did not win a game at the 2020 Euros, their first appearance in a major international tournament since 1998. Their form has been better of late and last year earned promotion to the A division of the UEFA Nations League. Scotland will be making their 4th appearance in the Euros and has never made it out of the group stage. After a strong first half of 2023 that earned qualification to the Euros, but have not won in their last 7 outings. Scotland does have some quality players from Premier League squads including captain Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) and leading scorer John McGinn (Aston Villa).
GROUP B
Spain
Since winning back-to-back Euros and a World Cup between 2008-2012, Spain has flopped on the international stage. They have been bounced by Italy in the knockout stages of the last two Euros and fell to Morocco in a shootout in the Round of 16 at the latest World Cup. But the tide may be turning after Spain were runners-up in the 2021 Nations League then won the title in 2023. Results have improved under manager Luis de la Fuente whose career has grown with many of these players, managing Spain’s youth squads over the last decade. Their possession-based tiki-taka approach should enable the veterans and youth to meld into a contending squad in this tournament. The biggest question will be in goal, whether the more experienced Unai Simon (Bilbao) or David Raya (who took over Arsenal’s net this season) will be the backstop. Spain should have plenty of firepower up front with veterans Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid) and Joselu (Real Madrid) partering with young talents Ferran Torres (Barca) and Dani Olmo (Leipzig). Spain’s midfield is always the essential component of their tiki-taka style of play, and they have plenty of talent with Rodri (Man City), Fabian Ruiz (PSG) and Pedri (Barca) in the fold.
Croatia
Croatia’s golden generation has put together an amazing run on the international stage in recent years. They were runners-up at the 2018 World Cup, losing to France in the final, then finished 3rd at the 2022 World Cup. Croatia has been bounced in the Round of 16 in the last two European Championships and most recently lost to Spain on penalty kicks in the 2023 Nations League final. The Vatreni have the band back together with 6 players who have over 90 international appearances, led by Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Hajduk’s Ivan Perisic. Croatia has also worked in some young talent to supplement their aging veterans, including 22-year old Man City defender Josko Gvardiol.
Italy
The defending European Champions have been all over the place over the last few seasons. The Azzurri won Euro2020 then went to the Nations League final in 2021 but followed that up by failing to qualify for the World Cup after a draw with Northern Ireland and a loss to North Macedonia. Many of Italy’s stalwart veterans that led the way to the European title have now retired and they bring one of the least experienced rosters to this tournament. Only three players – keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG) and midfielders Nicolo Barella (Inter) and Jorginho (Arsenal) have more than 50 international appearances. No one on the roster has scored more than 9 international goals. The good news on the back end is that Italy’s defense has experience playing together as 3 Inter Milan defenders will be on the roster. To get out of the Group of Death, Italy will need to find someone that can put the ball in the net.
Albania
Albania is playing in the European Championships for just the second time ever after a group stage exist in 2016. Albania has never qualified for a World Cup and is currently in the B tier of the UEFA Nations League. Despite the lack of history, Albania won their qualifying group for the Euros, topping Czechia and Poland. Albania put together an incredible defensive run in European qualifying, allowing just 2 goals in a 6-game run last year. Since then, the results have fallen off as Albania has failed to score in their last 3 outings, including losses to Chile and Sweden. Albania will lean on their talented youth, led by 22-year old Inter Milan midfielder Kristjan Asllani and Serie A defenders Elseid Hysaj (Lazio) and Berat Djimsiti (Atalanta).
GROUP C
England
For the country that invented soccer, England has just one major trophy to their name – the 1966 World Cup. The Three Lions lost to Italy in a shootout in the Euro 2020 finals, their best finish in the continental championship. England finished 3rd in the inaugural season of the Nations League, but most recently was relegated from League A down to League B. Only two players on England’s roster currently play outside the Premier League – all-time leading scorer Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and midfielder Jude Bellingham (who recently won the Champions League with Real Madrid). England might have the squad with the most familiar names including Man City midfielder Phil Foden along with the Sky Blue defensive pair of Kyle Walker and John Stones. The other Manchester team is also represented at the back with Luke Shaw, along with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold. The most experienced midfielder is 25-year old Decaln Rice (Arsenal) whose Gunners teammate Bukayo Saka will join Harry Kane on the front line. Can England finally capture the magic and bring a trophy home?
Denmark
One of the most inspirational stories of the 2020 Euros was Denmark’s run to the semifinals. After a terrifying situation where star player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and had to be given CPR during their first game, the international community rallied around the Danes. Eriksen was thankfully able to return to play eight months after suffering cardiac arrest, with the Premier League squad Brentford and now plays for ManU. His fellow Red Devil Rasmus Hojlund along with Brentford midfielders Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard, and Christian Norgaard will all be part of this Danish side. Milan defender Simon Kjaer has the most caps of any Danish player in history and will captain the squad in front of 100-cap keeper Kasper Schmeichel. Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will be the combination to watch with Eriksen in the midfield. Denmark enters summer on a bit of a hot streak, having lost just once in their last 10 outings.
Serbia
Serbia has been to three of the last four World Cups, where they have exited at the group stage. However, they have not qualified for a European Championship since 2000 as “Serbia and Montenegro” following the breakup of Yugoslavia. The Eagles bring an experienced squad to the tournament with a number of key players all in their prime. The star at the front is Aleksandar Mitrovic who recently moved to Saudi club Al Hilal after five years at Fulham. He will be joined at the front by Milan’s Luka Jovic and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic. Captain Dusan Tadic has spent time at Southampton and Ajax and will be joined in the midfield by Juventus’ Filip Kostic and Fulham’s Sasa Lukic. Results have been a mixed bag for Serbia of late, but they did earn promotion to Nations League A in late 2022 and beat the United States in a friendly in early 2023.
Slovenia
Slovenia is making their second appearance in a European Championship, the last coming in 2000. They also reached the World Cup in 2002 and 2010. Slovenia enters the tournament with quality recent results including wins over Northern Ireland and Kazakhstan in late 2023 that got them into this tournament and 2024 friendly victories over the United States and Portugal. Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko was the key to Slovenia’s qualification run with 5 goals in 9 games. In order to make noise in the Euros, Slovenia will need an otherworldly performance from keeper Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid). They will face familiar foes Denmark in the opening game of the Euros, the team the finished behind in their qualifying group. Furthermore, they were in a group with Serbia in the most recent Nations League campaign.
GROUP D
France
Les Blues are the clear favorites entering the tournament after their recent run of success on the international stage. After falling to Portugal in the Euro 2016 final, they won the 2018 World Cup, won the 2021 Nations League, and lost to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final. France’s only early exit came in the 2020 Euros when they fell to Switzerland in a shootout in the Round of 16. France is led by the electric Kylian Mbappe who is one of the greatest players alive. He is the Patrick Mahomes of soccer and will be taking his talents to the behemoth that is Real Madrid this fall. He will be joined at the front of France’s attack by grizzled veterans Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) and Olivier Giroud (Milan). Those three rank among the top four in French history in international goals. The key to France’s 2018 World Cup title was defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante who locked down opposing forwards. Joining Kante in the midfield will be two youngsters from Real Madrid – Eduardo Camavinga and left back Ferland Mendy. The biggest change for Les Blues will be in goal where longtime keeper Hugo Lloris has retired from international play. Milan’s Mike Maingan has the most international appearances of the three keepers named to France’s roster. France has the best front line in the tournament and the attacking firepower to beat anyone. The question for the French will be if their relatively young defense and new keeper can lock down the back end.
Netherlands
The Dutch had a strong run with their golden generation in the early 2010s with a runner-up finish at the 2010 World Cup and third place finish at the 2014 World Cup. But when their aging stars retired, they failed to qualify for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup. The Oranje have started to turn things around and advanced out of the group stage at both the 2020 Euros and 2022 World Cup. The Netherlands have also had strong showings in the Nations League, winning their League A group twice and finishing 2nd overall in 2019. The Dutch have one of the most experienced defensive groups in the tournament with 6 players who have over 40 caps. The Inter Milan duo of Denzel Dumfries and Stefan de Vrij will join with Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, Man City’s Nathan Ake, and Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt. Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid) will be the focal point of the Oranje attack. If they can get consistent play from an inexperienced goaltender group, it would not be surprising to see the Dutch reach the semifinals of this tournament.
Austria
Austria will be making their third straight appearance at the European Championships after reaching the Round of 16 in 2020. Their recent run of success included promotion to the Nations League A division in 2022. Austria enters the tournament on a bit of a hot streak, having lost just once over the last 18 months (a 3-2 loss to Belgium in qualifying). That run includes 2-0 victories over both Italy and Germany in friendlies. Austria has not been shut out since a loss to France in the 2022. Inter striker Marko Arnautovic will be the focal point of the attack, in front of a midfield loaded with talented players from the Bundesliga. Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer and Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer, along with the Leipzig duo of Christoph Baumgartner and Nicholas Seiwald will cover most of Austira’s midfield duties, playing on familiar German turf. On the back end, a pair of Monchengladcach defenders (Stefan Lainer and Maximilian Wober) will have the tall task of defending against the elite strikers in this group.
Poland
The Eagles have been a force in qualification for major international tournaments but have struggled to deliver on the biggest stages. Poland will be appearing in their 4th straight European Championship and has made the last two World Cups. However, they have only made it out of the group stage twice in their prior 5 international appearances. To reach this tournament, they had to win a qualification play-off over Wales. Poland boasts one of the best strikers in the world in Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (who has scored 82 international goals). The struggle for Poland has always been an inability to find consistent play around Lewandowski to open up space for him against stifling international defenses. Poland does have the most experienced keeper in this group with Juve’s Wojciech Szczesny defending the goal. If their young Premier League players (Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior and Brighton’s Jakub Moder) can step up, Poland could put themselves in position to advance to the knockout stages out of a difficult group.
GROUP E
Belgium
The Red Devils have been one of the top-ranked teams in the world for the better part of the last decade but have yet to deliver a championship performance with their Golden Generation. Belgium has exited the last two Euros in the quarterfinals. After a third place finish in the 2018 World Cup, they were shockingly bounced in the group stage after a 2-0 defeat to Morocco. The story of Belgium over the last decade has been a team loaded with individual talent that was eventually out-run by younger and more athletic sides. Man City talisman Kevin De Bruyne will once again lead an experienced midfield. Fellow Man City forward Jeremy Doku will team up with the enigmatic Romelu Lukaku (now playing at Roma) on Belgium’s front line. Belgium’s lineup features players with over 100 caps at all three levels, including midfielder Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid) and center back Jan Bert Vertonghen (Anderlecht). The notable omission from this Euro roster is keeper Thibault Courtois who recently returned from injury to capture the Champions League title for Real Madrid. Belgium has not lost a game since that Morocco defeat at the World Cup and enters the tournament as one of the favorites, provided they can figure out their goalkeeping situation.
Ukraine
After missing out on automatic qualification based on a tiebreaker with Italy, Ukraine won their play-off against Iceland to reach the Euros for the fourth straight time. After a quarterfinal appearance in 2020, Ukraine has their sights set on another run this year. They have lost just once since the beginning of 2023, a 2-1 defeat to Italy. That run includes impressive draws against Germany (twice), England, and Italy all while having to play their designated “home” games outside of the country due to the ongoing Russian invasion. Andriy Yarmolenko (Kyiv) will be the focal point up front and is the veteran of the squad with over 100 caps. This is a side with some Premier League talent, including captain Oleksandr Zichenko (Arsenal), midfielder Mykhaylo Mudryk (Chelsea), and defenders Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton) and Illya Zabarnyi (Bournemouth).
Romania
The Tricolorii dominated their qualifying group with 6 wins and 4 draws, reaching the European Championships for the 4th time this century. They have only made it out of the group stage once at the Euros, but the zenith of their National Team came in the 1994 World Cup where they reached the quarterfinals. Romania brings a relatively young team to this tournament with just two players who have 50+ international appearances (midfielders Micolae Stanciu and Razvan Marin). But the strength of the Romanian side is in their youth. 22-year old defender Radu Dragusin had a handful of appearances for Tottenham and keeper Horatiu Moldovan just transferred to Atletico Madrid.
Slovakia
The Falcons finished behind Portugal in their qualification group as they reached the Euros for the third straight campaign. Slovakia made it to the Round of 16 in both the 2016 Euros and 2010 World Cup. This Slovakian team features a young front line coupled with experience on the back end. Midfielder Juraj Kurcka and defender Peter Pakarik both have over 100 international appearances. Slovakia has two Premier League keepers in Martin Dubravaka (Newcastle) and Marek Rodak (Fulham). PSG defenseman Milan Skriniar will captain the squad. The biggest question for this team will be where the goals can come from as only two players on the roster have scored more than 10 international goals.
GROUP F
Portugal
The Portuguese have been one of the most consistent teams on the international stage this century. They have made it out of the group stage in all but one World Cup and Euro since 2000. The high points came in a 4th place finish at the 2006 World Cup and winning the 2016 Euros. They also claimed the inaugural Nations League title in 2019. Cristiano Ronaldo will once again return to the Selecao with over 200 caps and 128 international goals to his name. He joins a talented front line that also features Liverpool’s Diogo Jota and Barca’s Joao Felix. Portugal also boasts a midfield loaded with Premier League talent including ManU’s Bruno Fernandes and the Man City duo of Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes. On the back end, Pepe has been a stalwart of the Portuguese defense for years but also can be prone to aggressive fouls and red cards. Man City’s Ruben Dias and Barca’s Joao Cancelo are the other veterans of the group, plaing in front of Roma’s Rui Patricio who has started over 100 times in goal for Portugal. All-in-all, this is an experienced lineup that has the talent to make a deep run in this tournament if they can keep their heads on straight and avoid red cards or emotional breakdowns.
Czechia
The Czechs will be appearing in their 8th straight European Championship. Interestingly, they have an on-again-off-again run of making it out of the group stage in every other tournament. They did reach the quarterfinals in 2020 and have the talent to get out of this group. Their front line will be manned by the Leverkusen duo of Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek who led their club to a historic double of winning the Bundesliga and Pokal and finishing as runners up in the Europa League. Schick missed most of the Euro qualifying matches with an injury but has returned for the tournament. Most of the Czech roster plays at home for one of the Prague teams (Slavia Prague or Sparta Prague) with the exception of midfielder Tomas Soucek and right back Vladimir Coufal who play for West Ham. Czechia enters the tournament with a relatively young team, having just 2 players over 30 years old and just one (Soucek) with more than 40 international appearances.
Turkey
Turkey edged out Croatia to win their qualifying group to reach the Euros for the third straight tournament. Turkey’s best run was a semifinal appearance in 2008 which came shortly after their 3rd place finish at the 2002 World Cup. Since qualifying, their results have been a bit up and down with a win over Germany and a draw with Italy, but losses to Hungary and Austria. Italian manager Vincenzo Montella will have to decide whether to rely on his aging veterans or on the up-and-coming youth for this tournament. Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu will captain the Crescent-Stars. Up front, Cenk Tosun (Besiktas) is Turkey’s leading scorer but if Montella goes young, he could throw 19-year olds Kenan Yildiz (Juvenutus) or Arda Guler (Real Madrid) into the fray.
Georgia
This will be Georgia’s first major international tournament. The Crusaders were the beneficiaries of UEFA’s new qualifying paths which enabled teams from various levels of the Nations League to have an extra path to qualify. In the group stage, Georgia finished in 4th behind Spain, Scotland, and Norway. However, as the highest-rated team in League C, they were entered into the play-off path. Georgia shut out Luxembourg then beat Greece on penalty kicks to earn a spot in the Euros. Georgia also earned promotion to Nations League B, making this the high point in their footballing history. Georgia might have the widest variety of international leagues – their players come from clubs in 19 different countries. Notably, striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia plays for Napoli, midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze for Watford, and midfielder Saba Lobzhanidze in the MLS (Atlanta United). This is definitely the “feel-good” story of the tournament but Georgia will have a tall task ahead of them to make any noise in this group.
PREDICTIONS
Group Winners
Group A – Germany
Group B – Spain
Group C – England
Group D – France
Group E – Belgium
Group F – Portugal
