Germany, three-time European Cup champion and host in the 2024 edition, is the big favorite in Group A of the tournament, which begins on June 14, with the opening game against Scotland.
– At the pace of Kroos –
After a year of 2023 to forget, with the dismissal of coach Hansi Flick during the FIFA date of September, Germany has regained prestige in recent months, with Julian Nagelsmann at the helm.
The coach’s main decision was to promote the return of Toni Kroos, retired from the national team since 2021, who decided to return to compete in the Euros at home.
The continental tournament will be Kroos’ “last dance” as a player, as the midfielder announced that he will end his career after Germany’s participation.
🏆 The Tonis are here! 👋#dfbteam #euro2024
📸 DFB/Philipp Reinhard pic.twitter.com/Pu8WyMm8pA— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team) June 4, 2024
– Scotland: injuries and fan support –
Scotland have more players injured than goals scored ahead of the European Championship, but captain Andy Robertson and the team feel the support of the 200,000 fans expected in Germany to be the surprise of the competition.
The 39th team in the FIFA rankings shows evolution and regularity since the arrival of coach Steve Clark in 2019. After gaining access to the elite of the UEFA Nations League, Scotland will compete in the European Championship for the second consecutive time, for a total of four participations.
In the Qualifiers, they finished second in the group behind Spain, whom they defeated 2-0 at home, a victory to show that they can face any opponent.
But optimism has waned since then, given the large number of injury absences and poor results. There were consecutive defeats to England, Spain, France, Holland and Northern Ireland. In the last friendly, a difficult victory over Gibraltar, 2-0.
💥 @CheAdams_ on the volley#GIBSCO pic.twitter.com/6JmCKQrYhA
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 5, 2024
– Hungary: Szoboszlai no commando –
Led by the Italian Marco Rossi, Hungary reaches the European Championship after finishing in first place in its group in the Qualifiers, ahead of Serbia.
A historic European football team that has declined in recent decades, Hungary once again has prominent names on the continent, such as captain Dominik Szoboszlai, signed by Liverpool this season. Other important players are goalkeeper Péter Gúlacsi and defender Willi Orban.
With Germany’s likely leadership in Group A, Hungary should fight for the second place with Scotland and Switzerland. The round of 16 will also feature the four best third-placed teams among the six groups.
🗣️: “We are not satisfied with the result, we had more chances, we dominated the match, but it was not enough to win. We have to learn from the match, there were mistakes that did not allow us to score before, I trust that this will be the case in the future.#only together #IRLHUN pic.twitter.com/NhAgVcCynQ
— MLSZ (@MLSZhivatolos) June 4, 2024
– Switzerland, always regular –
Present in the final stages of major competitions in recent years, Switzerland reached the quarter-finals of the last European Championship, passing then world champions France in the round of 16.
The Swiss team will once again be led by 31-year-old captain Granit Xhaka, who arrives after leading Bayer Leverkusen in a surprising season that ended with the German Cup and Bundesliga titles.
In addition to him, other prominent names from Switzerland are the experienced goalkeeper Yann Sommer (35 years old), from Inter Milan, and defender Manuel Akanji (28), from Manchester City.
Xhaka was voted the “second most impactful player” of the season by the Neuchatel Football Observatory, behind only Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder Rodri, thanks to his consistency in distributing the game and composing the game.
“He is the boss of Switzerland and at Leverkusen. I would rather not see him in the group stage match against us at the Euros,” said Rudi Voller, Germany’s sporting director.
The SFV annual report is now online. Exciting figures, facts and interviews about the 2023 football year can be found at https://t.co/BPZvXt18yn pic.twitter.com/9I2IYNZbHZ
— Swiss Football Association (@sfv_asf) May 13, 2024
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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