Euro 2024 is nearly here. The continent has been patiently waiting for three years since the last edition — and several teams are desperate to get their hands on the trophy.
With Germany hosting the tournament, thousands, if not millions, of people from across the world are expected to travel to support their nations, hoping they will be the team basking in the glory on July 14th in Berlin.
After winning it in 2021, Italy will be hoping to defend their crown, but they're not the favourites. That title is held by 2018 World Cup winners France. Didier Deschamps' side have the perfect blend of experience and youth, which they are hopeful will push them to their end goal.
With the tournament starting on Friday, VAVEL's writers came together to predict what might happen in Group D at Euro 2024, with the Netherlands, Poland and Austria all looking to spoil the French dominance.
Group Winners - France
Written by Harshal Dixit
Group D from the outset looks like an alternative Group of Death, with previous winners the Netherlands and France also facing Austria and Poland, both of whom are capable of playing spoilsport.
But on closer inspection, the outright favourites to win are two-time winners France, with Holland, Poland and Austria all missing their star players through injury.
Les Blues are not only the favourites to win Group D but are firm candidates to win it all. France have not missed a Euro final tournament since 1988 and qualified with a win coincidently against Holland. They boast a squad filled with the perfect mix of world-class talent and experienced veterans.
Didier Deschamps has retained faith in N'Golo Kanté, Antoine Griezmann, and Olivier Giroud, who were pivotal in the 2018 World Cup; not to forget future BalonD’or winner and new Galacticos forward Kylian Mbappe, who would assume the superstar role this time.
The PSG duo of Warren Zaïre-Emery and Bradley Barcola, along with Champions League winner Eduardo Camavinga add a youthful exuberance to the squad. A wealth of depth in attack, midfield and defence makes a very strong case for France topping the charts throughout the competition.
Top Scorer - Kylian Mbappe
Written by Matt North
You can almost be certain that Group D will guarantee you goals considering the attacking prowess amongst all four nations. Dutch forward Memphis Depay and Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski are always there to step up for their nations, even if the latter is set to miss the opening round of matches.
Meanwhile, Christoph Baumgartner of Austria is one to look out for as well as the experienced French striker Olivier Giroud. However, you just cannot shy away from the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe.
The France forward, fresh from sealing his long-awaited move to Real Madrid, will be hoping to help guide France to a third European Championship crown. Having won the Golden Boot at the Qatar World Cup with eight goals, Mbappe is no doubt a man for the big occasions.
A prime example of this was the World Cup final in which he netted a hat-trick despite ending up on the losing side.
As well as this, Mbappe is very close to potentially becoming France’s all-time leading goalscorer. Prior to the tournament, he is ten off the current record held by fellow teammate Giroud. The chances of the forward being the tournament’s top goalscorer are certainly very high.
Surprise Package - Austria
Written by Tyrese Maynard
It seems to happen at every edition of the European Championship. There always seems to be one nation that threatens to do the unlikely.
Who could possibly forget Denmark’s incredible run in 1992 which saw them lift the trophy after they had not even managed to qualify for the tournament in the first place or Greece’s monumental run to defeat a young Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0 in the Euro 2004 final. Which team could flip the script and prevail from the unexpected this time around?
Ralf Rangnick’s Austria could be the pick of the bunch. They are a team that is entering the tournament in rich form, having suffered defeat on one occasion since they were bottom of their Nations League group in September 2022. Since then, they have wiped out the defending champions Italy and Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany.
Already in 2024, Das Team have shown that they are not a team that will not go down without a fight, beating Serbia 2-1 and demolishing Euro 2020’s ‘Dark Horse’ Turkey 6-1.
The Austrian players will certainly have received a boost when finding out that Rangnick refused to bail on them before the tournament kicks off amid reports that Bayern Munich reached out to the ex-Manchester United coach’s signature. This news should give the Austrians an extra boost knowing the manager has his full focus on the project at hand.
The main problem that Das Team could encounter is at the hands of David Alaba, who will be absent due to a serious injury, but with Lens centre-back Kevin Danso being in a rich vein of form throughout the past season, Austria may not have to worry too much.
Being pitched in a tough group with the 2018 World Cup winners France, the Netherlands and Poland, keep an eye out on Austria potentially causing a few upsets along the way.
Standout Fixture - France vs Netherlands
Written by Joe Stephenson
There was only really one choice here, wasn’t there? Two titans of the international game, with three European championships between them and countless world superstars on either side.
On Friday June 21st, the Netherlands and France will battle it out for 90 minutes at the Red Bull Arena, home to RB Leipzig, in what is set to be a thrilling encounter. The two heavyweights are no strangers, after facing off twice in their qualifying group for Euro 2024.
Les Bleus came out on top both times, scoring a triumphant 2–1 victory at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, before demolishing Oranje 4-0 at home. The Netherlands will be hungry for payback and with experienced manager Ronald Koeman at the helm, they could punish France in the same way they almost spoiled Argentina’s party at the 2022 World Cup.
The head-to-head between the two sides dates back to 1908 when Holland beat their French rivals 4-1. Since then, Les Bleus have won 16 times, with the Netherlands taking the victory on 11 occasions. No matter what, this match is set up to be a classic group stage fixture, with countless storylines waiting to unfold.
