Euro 2024 Power Rankings: France, Germany and England remain favorites; Spain impress while Belgium stumble

1

France

The condition of Kylian Mbappe’s nose may be the other great looming crisis for the French nation, but the winner of the Golazo 100 will be back soon, masked in preparation for over a thousand over-the-top compilations. In the usual Didier Deschamps fashion, The Blues hardly given over to their collective talent in the victory over Austria. We already know, however, that high-level defensive and offensive talent, with N’Golo Kante in the middle, is a formula for winning tournaments.

two

Germany

Julian Nagelsmann’s all-passing, all-angles-at-the-same approach will not come up against a more favorable opponent than Scotland, but even considering that, Germany have started their campaign in extremely authoritarian fashion. . It already appears to be a happy contest between Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala to be the face of the tournament.

3

England

You wouldn’t rush to watch the 1-0 win over Serbia again, but if you did you would see an England defense completely at ease against a dangerous array of attacking talent. Gareth Southgate’s side could and should have pushed for a second to ease England’s blood pressure at home, but if they continue to hold their opponents to 0.2 xG then Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka should be able to deliver enough magic at the other end.

4

Spain

Any team that can crush Croatia is clearly a serious contender, but a word of caution is needed after a game in which Mateo Kovacic was able to challenge the Spanish defense, one of a series of simple opportunities that the best international teams can create . Don’t give up in the last stages of tournaments. Lamine Yamal and Alvaro Morata can only do so much.

5

Netherlands

While Memphis Depay’s indifferent display may be cause for concern, the Netherlands looked impressive against good opposition. For the first time, Ronald Koeman’s team is able to move the ball with the same elegance as his own, while the introductions of Wout Weghorst and Jeremie Frimpong have spoken with impressive depth in the Dutch ranks.

6

Portugal

It’s the same story for Portugal in the big tournaments. They have the talent to overcome any opponent, but it is often used out of synchronization; against the Czech Republic there was a lot of work to get the ball into the final third, but not nearly enough to shoot until they fell behind.

7

Italy

A spirited comeback gave Italy the points against Albania and means they are well placed to reach the last 16, even if the tougher games ahead are not to their liking. They will also need to ensure that Federico Dimarco covers the space behind him on the left or someone else does. The big names have appeared – especially Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni and Federico Chiesa – but there could be a huge weight on their shoulders if the fringe starters don’t show up.

8

Switzerland

Murat Yakin was one of the big winners of the first round of games, with surprise inclusions in the form of Kwadwo Duah and Michel Aebischer playing key roles in the victory over Hungary before Breel Embolo, perhaps spurred on by his absence from the XI, scored an away goal. Bank. Given the form of their opponent, this Swiss team looks like someone who could bleed a nose or two.

9

Belgium

Repeat the 1-0 defeat to Slovakia 10 times and Belgium would win at least six or seven times. More often than not, Romelu Lukaku will take at least one of the legitimate chances that come his way and marginal refereeing decisions may not swing against the Red Devils. Even so, they are behind the eight ball in Group E, with two potentially tricky games still to come. It does not seem unimaginable now that disaster could strike Belgium again.

10

Austria

There will be work to do to reach the round of 16, but Ralf Rangnick’s side must be optimistic that repeated performances will see them reach four points, perhaps better, in the games ahead. Nicolas Seiwald and Marcel Sabitzer, in particular, look set to make a big mark on the tournament.

11

Denmark

There will be cause for great disappointment on the Danish side at the way they were unable to see out the opening game against Slovenia, with the game slipping away from them after Rasmus Hojlund went close to scoring early in the second half. They could drop down the table if the England game goes against them, but they should still have enough to reach the knockout stages.

12

Croatia

The knowledge that Croatia can always escape Group B and pick up a few wins in penalty shoot-outs keeps them at the top of our power rankings, perhaps higher than they should be, even as they fell in defeat to Spain. Unsurprisingly, after this result it appears there is a lot of work for Zlatko Dalic to do in defense.

13

Peru

The 3-1 victory over Georgia was a lot of fun. A team that seemed to freeze under the lights three years ago felt liberated this time, receiving a powerful boost of energy from the vibrant Arda Guler. With talent in their ranks and the near certainty that they will be well supported everywhere they go in Germany, this time they may just be underdogs. Not even.

14

Slovakia

The easy cliché to fall back on after a surprise victory like this over Belgium is that it was a triumph of the collective over the individual. There may be some truth to that, but what was clear in Frankfurt was that Slovakia have really good players where they need them. Stanislav Lobotka barely missed a pass, Denis Vavro was excellent at managing the defense and Martin Dubravka was as fearless with the ball at his feet as he was facing shots. Many, this column included, may have canceled Slovakia too soon.

15

Serbia

Serbia arrived at the Euros with a reputation for advanced, high-scoring football, which they only partially lived up to in their debut. They certainly took the initiative in the second half of the year. but his control over the matter was quite fragile, the collective creativity of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and substitute Dusan Tadic quite underwhelming, Aleksandar Mitrovic was something of a non-entity.

16

Romania

It really wasn’t anyone’s idea of ​​a 3-0 game, but when opportunities arose for Romania, they met them with full force and were rewarded. Their excellent finishing may not hold up in a tournament, but if they press with the same energy they did the first time, they will create easier opportunities for themselves.

17

Slovenia

There’s more to the Slovenia national team than gossip column regular Benjamin Sesko, but boy was he a lot of fun in his Euro 2024 opener. He shows a prodigious talent for hitting the ball whenever an opportunity arises. Next time, you’ll have to imagine he’ll hit the back of the net instead of the post. Don’t count them out for beating Serbia and almost securing their place in the round of 16.

18

Czech Republic

A strong display against Portugal almost earned the Czechs a valuable point – for seven minutes we wondered if it could be even more – but it offered no great indication of what they might do with two more favorable opponents on the horizon. Do Patrik Schick and company have the firepower to take down at least one of Turkey and Georgia?

19

Poland

Robert Lewandowski’s purposeful warm-up on the touchline in the opening game has renewed hope that the Barcelona striker will be available for the big challenge, a clash with Austria where both sides could actually score a victory if they are to escape Group D. Even without their talisman, they proved to be a team that knew how to ask questions of very good defenders.

20

Hungary

It does not bode well for Hungary’s hopes of a strong tournament run when Marco Rossi bluntly warns that their next opponents, Germany, “are better than us”. True, that may be so, but when he continues with the commitment that his team “can see what they can do”, it suggests a team that lost its stomach in the opening game against Switzerland.

21

Ukraine

Many Ukrainian players will feel they did not damage their reputation, even in a heavy defeat: Artem Dobvyk questioned the strong Romanian defense and Georghiy Sudakov looked fearless in the final third. The problem is that Andriy Lunin had one of the worst games of his career. It will be necessary to improve the goal difference, but there is no reason why this team cannot collect four or six points against Slovakia and Belgium.

22

Albania

It was always going to be a big ask for the Albanian defense to hold firm for 89 minutes, 33 seconds after Nedim Bajrami had scored the quickest goal in European Championship history to give them a shock lead. However, they never seemed to have the desire to keep Italy under control for long, the fear will be that Spain and even Croatia could do them more damage in the games to come.

23

Georgia

A stunning defeat proved that Georgia are more than just the Khvicha Kvaratskhelia team, with the likes of Georges Mikautadze and Giorgi Chakvetadze suggesting a bright future for them in the years to come. Was there a touch of naivety on the part of the tournament’s newcomers, exemplified by the goalkeeper’s last-minute corner kick? Only time will tell.

24

Scotland

When three points are likely to be the mark for a third-placed team to escape the group, it would be extremely premature to suggest that Scotland are out. The problem for Steve Clarke’s side, however, is that the criticism they have received from the Germans means they need four points or a spectacular goal difference to win. Both scenarios look quite difficult ahead of the meeting with Switzerland.