My Predictions for Euro 2024

This tournament has all the ingredients to be one of the best to watch from a neutral perspective. Being hosted in Germany, the stadiums are considered some of the best in the world for atmosphere. Having a country host the euros as established as Germany also offers a lot of support domestically. We can all agree that Germany has had some of the best football stories coming out of the domestic leagues this season. Seeing the likes of Bayern Leverkusen dramatically dethrone Bayern Munich. Even achieving the unfathomable feat of going unbeaten in the domestic league and making it to the Europa League final. All this, while having an exceptional player-turned-manager taking the helm of the club to new reaches.

Bayern Munich have had a questionable season. Starting the season looking shaky, Bayern deviated from the steady plan that has been used for many years now and did not complete all their signings in pre-season. Bayern has sustained a business model for the most part by having a steady and charismatic manager at the helm and managing the first team while giving a profile of a player to the board and the background staff being able to bring a player into the club that matches the manager's needs. This season did not hit the mark. They seemed to have an issue with bringing players in or meeting the team's valuations of players and ending up having to select a 2nd or 3rd choice option for the team. They made exceptions for this in Harry Kane. Who only managed to depart from Tottenham on the final days of the transfer window. Since arriving he has broken records aplenty, scoring 44 goals in 45 games.

Which has made a nice transition to making my predictions for Euros 2024. First, I want to go through some teams to watch. Some teams that are favourites are there for a reason. Teams such as France, Portugal, England, Germany, Belgium and Italy are all at the top of the pile.

For some reason, I’m hearing less about Portugal than ever before, but it has to be said that they have a more well-rounded team than ever before. They may have an aged Ronaldo leading but they have an exceptional catalogue of talent all over the pitch who all play at the highest level across Europe.

France is coming off some of the best performances at international tournaments with great, young talents coming through with a mixture of exceptional experienced players guiding them. Having a stable back-line with a lot of experience. They can often lead the way and act as the real spine so the rest of the team can be more attacking and creative going forward.

Italy have brought one of the most youthful squads that they have had in years with the eldest being Matteo Damian at 34 years old and the youngest being Nicolo Fagiolo at 23 years old. Italy have always seemed secure at the back and is more composed than every other country in the Euros each time they play. They have different options going forward and always have a chance to surprise the opposition.

Could this be the year that Belgium surprised everyone and lived up to expectations? With Thibaut Courtois not being selected, I fear that the ageing, golden generation might have passed with the country never quite making it to the heights of football that is expected with the team that they have. But the Belgians can always change things around. Some talented prospects coming into the senior team with the likes of Zeno Debast, Amadou Onana, Arthur Vermeeren, Aster Vranckx and Johan Bakayoko are all able to offer different abilities all over the pitch. Plus, with the team still hosting veterans like Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Carrasco, Leandro Trossard, Kevin De Bruyne and old reliable Jan Vertonghen all being able to bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the pitch. I feel that they have every chance to win on the big stage but history has taught me that this is a team of individuals.

Up next, England. The dream is always here and it's hard to not get everyone's hopes up when a big tournament is here with the solid as-ever Jordan Pickford in goal who, in my opinion, has had a complete stand-out season under Sean Dyche, playing a massive role in keeping Everton in the premier league. England also has Harry Kane, who has had his best season of his career in personal achievements but when it comes to team awards, it has been a season to forget. We also have the likes of Declan Rice, who has grown to the big signing from last summer. Taking his game to the next level but also shows real maturity in the lead-up to this tournament, assisting with any media duties, showing he can change his role for the team and has the calm mind to work his way out of trouble. I’ve spoken a lot of the positives but in reality, I’m avoiding having to talk about the massive defensive issue. England are without Harry Maguire, John Stones has only just started training again after being ill and has not played as much as people realised this season. We have one left-back and he has not played any football since February. I will make it known that as much as I love Gareth Southgate. He’s a Middlesbrough legend and an idol when I was growing up. He has made a mistake not taking someone like Tyrick Mitchell. Southgate falls under the class of being pragmatic, knowing exactly how a team is going to play against him and adjusting to ensure it is disrupted as much as possible. A common theme in international football and has often been shown to be effective. But, not having a fit left-back who has played regularly and would provide a level of comfort for Marc Guehi. I also have some question marks over Jude Bellingham. I know I will get stick over this but it is a fact that he did fall off towards the end of the season and seemed to not play to the heights that I expect of him in each game he plays. To Summarise, I believe that football is not coming home.

A dark horse of the tournament has got to be Turkiye. I think this is just me hoping though. They have a good enough squad to make it competitive against most teams in the tournament and have a handful of youth coming through into the senior team and seeing the next generation with the likes of Kenan Yildiz, Semih Kilicsoy, Arda Guler, Yasin Ozcan and Ahmetcan Kaplan. These have a set-up similar to Belgium, having youth throughout the team and having experienced seniors to guide them.

This brings us to Germany. I believe that Germany will win the Euros. I think they are in safe hands with all 3 keeper options that they have taken with them. Although Manuel Neuer is 38 years old, he still has all the fundamentals and shot-stopping ability that he has had all of his career. For the back line, having a solid spine of Antonio Rudiger and Jonathon Tah who have both played exceptionally throughout the season. Moving into midfield with the likes of Emre Can, Pascal Gross, Ilkay Gundogan, Kai Havertz, Joshua Kimmich Toni Kroos, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. I honestly believe this is the most packed midfield with a variation of defensive and attacking options for transition. Moving into the attack, Germany has transitioned into bringing people who have thrived throughout the season with the likes of Niclas Fullkrug, Chris Fuhrich and Deniz Undav but then topped it up with the likes of Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Maximillian Beier. Beier is a 21-year-old striker who performed well in the league, bagging 16 goals but also has outstanding stats across the board and works extremely hard to win the ball back in the final third. I believe that this young player is 6 months away from a big move to either another German side or overseas.

Having a high level across the board this tournament of a lot of players in their prime. Having such a strong team for the tournament and having a new manager in Julian Nagelsmann, I believe that this is the time for Germany to win. They have a well-developed team and a manager who is known to develop an ideology with a team. During his selection process, he picked each player with an idea in mind of how they were going to create his ideology on the pitch. With the home advantage as well. I believe they are going to start slow but truly develop into an unstoppable team that may get caught on the counter but can press high up the pitch and put pressure on teams that will cause mistakes.

I have included my predictions of the Euro's are as follows.

Round of 16

• Scotland vs Spain

• England vs Poland

• Turkiye vs France

• Croatia vs Belgium

• Romania vs Netherlands

• Serbia vs Portugal

• Germany vs Denmark

• Italy vs Switzerland

Quarter Final

• England vs Spain

• France vs Croatia

• Netherlands vs Portugal

• Italy vs Germany

Semi-Final

• Spain vs France

• Germany vs Portugal

Final

• France vs Germany

Winners

• Germany

I know this is a strong statement and statements can not be taken back. But, I truly believe that this may be a point in international football where a manager can catch teams out and cause mistakes. This German squad has something that every other team does not have, and that is a world-class manager.

Let me know what you think and what your predictions are below.