There is a little more than three weeks until the first matches of the European Football Championship. And while France and England are among the favorites of both fans and experts, according to analysts, Austria could spring big surprises. Let's see what else they think of each of the Euro 24 teams in Germany.
France
The French national team did not play their strongest games in recent times, losing at home to Germany and taking a shaky 3-2 win over Chile in Marseille. Captain Kylian Mbappe had a couple of troubled matches and the absence of Antoine Griezmann due to injury was felt by the team. However, the strengths of the French line-up were also there. The young hope Warren Zaire-Emery played well against Germany and Randall Kolo Muani scored and assisted against Chile. Deschamps made nine changes for the second leg, with William Saliba coming into the Marseille starting line-up, although the coach had noted that the Arsenal player was "doing things he doesn't like".
England
The emotions are quite fresh after Jude Bellingham's 95th minute equalizer against Belgium. After England's loss to Brazil, the British simply could not afford another defeat. However, these two games demonstrated that Gareth Southgate's side will need some serious strengthening and Harry Kane getting fit for the championship in Germany.
Germany
Until the end of last year, Germany's national team looked quite confused on the field. Since the start of 2024, however, they have beaten France and the Netherlands. The players Toni Kroos, Robert Andrich and Florian Wirtz demonstrated an excellent game. Accordingly, coach Julian Nagelsmann made no changes to the squad for the two matches, starting both games with 27-year-old Stuttgart left-back Maximilian Mittelstedt, who was on the bench last season.
Spain
"A match against Brazil is never friendly," Dani Olmo said after the tense 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu on March 26 - a game full of momentum, goals, fierce clashes and some serious mistakes. Barcelona's 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal, who was irresistible as a right winger, also stood out with his play. Obviously, the youngster will be the center of attention at Euro 24 as well. The exciting game made up for the 1-0 loss against Colombia in London a week earlier.
Portugal
The Portuguese team was unchallenged in the qualifying campaign. 10 wins in 10 games, a goal difference of 34 goals, an impressive 5-2 win over Sweden. And then came the first loss for Roberto Martinez's team with 2-0 against Slovenia. But after such a strong performance before, the game doesn't weigh quite as much on the Portuguese's morale. Yet, it became clear how important players Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva are after both were absent in Ljubljana. However, Martinez emphasized: "Our goal for these matches was not to win at any cost, but to work the team. Although we don't like to lose.'
The Netherlands
The results for the Dutch team in the matches against Scotland and Germany were polar. After overwhelmingly beating the Scots in Amsterdam 4-0 with a 4-3-3 formation. But despite the victory, the visitors regularly controlled the ball on the field. In the match in Frankfurt, Joey Veerman gave the Netherlands the lead in the fourth minute with a powerful volley. The Dutch played in their well-known 3-5-2 formation and made several strong counterattacks, but were unable to score again. However, the Germans equalized and then took the match 2-1. Otherwise, Koeman's team can be a dangerous opponent, but they need to take measures and tighten their game.
Belgium
Belgium are unbeaten in 12 qualifying matches under head coach Domenico Tedesco. But we can leave the praise for the team there. A draw with Ireland could easily have been a defeat for the Belgians had Evan Ferguson not conceded an early penalty for the hosts. And the 2-2 draw at Wembley against England was pretty tortured. Yes, Kevin De Bruyne is expected to return for the championship, but the Belgium team does not look like a serious contender for the Euro 24 finals.
Italy
Luciano Spalletti took his team to the United States for two games against Ecuador and Venezuela and returned home with two wins, four goals scored and a clean sheet. Niccolò Barella and Lorenzo Pellegrini again showed they are in top form and Matteo Retegui scored twice against Venezuela. So we can expect a strong performance from Italy at the Euro.
Croatia
It took 174 games and 18 years for Luka Modric to bring an international trophy for the Croatian national team, be it just the ACUD cup, a friendly tournament organized in Cairo. During the tournament, the team showed class in the last matches and a shaky performance in the first.
Austria
We can't help but emphasize the record for the fastest goal scored in an international match, which was won by Christoph Baumgartner, scoring against Slovakia just 6 seconds after the first whistle. The match ended in a crushing 6-1 for Austria with a Michael Gregoric hat-trick as Ralf Rangnick's side made it five straight wins.
Denmark
Coach Kasper Hülmand has come under some criticism for his handling of the Danish national team. However, in the last two matches, his team drew with Switzerland in a goalless match and beat the Faroe Islands national team 2-0.
Hungary
In their last two matches, the Hungarians recorded two consecutive victories – 1-0 against Turkey and 2-0 against the Kosovo team. Only Colombia (21 games) currently has a longer unbeaten run in international football than Hungary, who have not lost since Dominik Soboszlay took over as captain, or 17 games without a loss.
Switzerland
After a 0-0 draw against Denmark, the Swiss eliminated Ireland 1-0 with the only goal from Xherdan Shaqiri's free kick. His presence on the pitch brought an element of unpredictability to the Swiss team - something it lacked against Denmark due to Shaqiri's absence. Coach Murat Yakin can be pleased with his team and applaud the performances of players such as Shaqiri, Vincent Ciero and Derek Kutesa.
Romania
The Romanian team played two mediocre games - a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland and a 3-2 loss against Colombia. Romania's weaknesses were evident in these matches, but also a few rare blissful moments such as Yanis Hagi's goal against Colombia. Still, Eduard Iordanescu's side have a lot to work on before heading to Euro 2024.
Poland
Poland's last two games in the play-offs ended with wins against Estonia and Wales, guaranteeing the Poles a place at Euro 24. Michal Probej can be proud of his boys, who have built a cohesive and strong team from a mere collection of players that is yet to prove themselves.
Serbia
The Serbia team is not in its best form. After a much discussed 4-0 defeat against Russia in Moscow, Dragan Stojkovic's men took a lackluster 1-0 win over Cyprus. Let's see what kind of game they will demonstrate in June and July in Germany.
Czech Republic
Ivan Hasek's side went on a five-match unbeaten run, seeing off Norway and Armenia in the last two games, both ending in 2-1. The team has a chance to make a significant mark in Germany this summer, given that they are in a group with Portugal, Turkey and Georgia and have strong players in the likes of Tomas Soucek and Patrik Schick.
Scotland
Steve Clarke insists he is not concerned about his team's form following Scotland's defeats with 4-0 to the Netherlands and 1-0 to Northern Ireland, but there is plenty to worry about. Scotland have now lost five and drawn two of their last seven matches and overall the team looks shaky in defense and toothless in attack. Two friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland follow in June, giving the Scots a chance to regroup ahead of their Euro opener against Germany in Munich.
Slovenia
A very strong game played the Slovenian team against Portugal. The Slovenians earned a deserved 2-0 win with second-half goals from Adam Gnezda Cerin and Timi Max Elsnik and a clean sheet behind Jan Oblak. Slovenia's performance was so impressive that even the Portugal manager Roberto Martinez praised the team and stressed that Slovenia will cause serious problems for Group C opponents England, Serbia and Denmark.
Turkey
The Turkish team demonstrated serious problems. After the humiliating 6:1 defeat by Austria, the Turks also lost 1:0 to Hungary, despite many chances that they failed to score. Vincenzo Montella has time to improve his team's performance until the summer, but he is already being asked by the media about his eventual resign.
Ukraine
It would be a shame for a team full of such brilliant players not to triumph at the Europeans this year. Ukraine has not one but two world-class goalkeepers in Andrii Lunin and Anatoly Trubin, the brilliant young playmaker Georgy Sudakov, excellent footballers like Alexander Zinchenko and Mykhailo Mudrik. Serhiy Rebrov has proven to be a good coach and selector, and if he irons out the small cracks in the team, Ukraine could be the big surprise of Euro 24.
Slovakia
The international window has been a difficult time for Slovakia head coach Francesco Calzona. In the matches against Austria and Norway, he had to improvise due to the absence of key players with injuries, most notably captain Milan Skriniar. Those absences gave the periphery players a chance to shine, but they fell far short in the 2-0 loss to Austria. The team rallied for a 1-1 draw against Norway, and young centre-back Adam Obert promises to be among the stars of the European Championship.
Albania
Albania, who topped qualifying Group E ahead of the Czech Republic and Poland, suffered two defeats, with the 3-0 drubbing by Chile in Italy particularly painful. In the following match against Sweden, the team showed significantly better form, but it was not enough for them and they lost 1-0. Coach Silvinho has a lot of work to do if Albania are to make a mark at the Euro tournament.
Georgia
Willy Sagnol's side needed to win two home games to reach the Europeans and they did. Luxembourg lost by 2-0, and the match with Greece went to a penalty shootout. This is a great success for Georgia, who are sent to their first major tournament.