Football fans from across Europe share their predictions for the Euros. Most are tipping France or England to be champions
Germany have lost their opening match at the past three major tournaments, having only done so once before in almost 90 years of international football. On the other hand, when Germany get off to a flying start, the following weeks tend to be excellent. Am I confident? Ask me that question again after the Scotland match.
While our squad on paper isn’t quite the same calibre as other dark horses such as Austria or Denmark, this team’s strength lies in their unity. Qualification was completed without a single defeat. Losing to a last-minute goal in Dublin recently was an unwelcome surprise, but it did serve as a useful warning against overconfidence and has perhaps taken off some of the pressure heading into the tournament.
Laporte are reliable centre-backs but the latter is under scrutiny after spending a year in a Mickey Mouse league and the former is playing his first tournament with the national team. Finally, Rodri is a splendid footballer for Manchester City but has rarely delivered for the national team. There are a number of reasons to be pessimistic. Roberto Mancini failing to make the World Cup and, ultimately, leaving in the run-in to this tournament to manage Saudi Arabia leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Luciano Spalletti is an intelligent coach but he lacks strikers. Also, being in a group with Spain, Croatia and Albania is frightening. Spain are flawed but talented; Croatia always show up on the big occasion; and Albania are the type of team that give Italy problems.
I’m not confident at all. Our manager, Kasper Hjulmand, isn’t a risk taker, so we are left with too many players who are past their prime. Our squad is devoid of creativity and young blood. I don’t expect us to be able to break down any opponent’s defensive structure. We have been lucky and drawn a relatively easy group, but this could work against us. As we have seen before, England tend to struggle against the bigger international teams and only facing those teams later in the tournament heightens the pressure put on the team. Jude Bellingham will be the player to watch for England, however Cole Palmer will also give the team a reassuring boost when going forward.
Antoine Griezmann is irreplaceable and our only source of creativity in midfield, including our bench. We entirely rely on him being fit, Kylian Mbappé or not. I really fear the immediate post-Grizou period will be disastrous, like the post-Platini and post-Zidane iteration. Bradley Barcola could be this competition’s Ribéry kid-come-good story of 2006. I haven’t seen N’Golo Kanté play for ages but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to be one the players of the tournament.
We have a few standout players. The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Heorhiy Sudakov will want to put himself in the shop window. Look out for his excellent passing ability and his reading of the game. Artem Dovbyk was the top scorer in La Liga this season and his Girona teammate Viktor Tsyhankov is also in good form.Petro ChymeraI’m definitely confident.
Dennis Man and Radu Dragusin are the players to look out for, but they won’t do much. I think either England or Spain will be champions.I’m confident but with the mild fear that only history can provide. With an abundance of creative players, a lot of work is going to fall on João Palhinha to protect the backline and shore up the midfield. Teams usually win tournaments on the back of a strong defence and Palhinha will be crucial to that.
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