Rome: The UEFA EURO 2020 will kick-off on June 11 this year with 24 nations battling it out for claiming their supremacy in European football. The tournament was supposed to be held last year but the rage of COVID-19 made it impossible to organize the tournament. Despite that, it still holds its name as “EURO 2020”. Portugal will defend their title in the upcoming tournament after claiming it back in 2016 beating France in the final. Interestingly, UEFA has decided to give it a bit of twist in the schedule of the fixtures with matches to be played all across the Europe instead of being in a particular nation as celebratory edition of the 60th anniversary of the tournament. The Stadio Olimpico in Rome will witness the curtain raiser between hosts Italy and Turkey. The final though will be played at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Among the couple of dozens of nations their a few who could prove the title contenders, let us see who are those :
France: The reigning World Champions is arguably the side to watch out for in this tournament. They were the runners-up back in 2016 at their homeland but this year they hope for going one step further. The two winners of this title have the quality in their ranks with squads being boasted with quality flooded at almost all the positions on the pitch ready to tear up the any opposing side. Their strong football structure has developed some of the best young prodigies and they will be seen at the upcoming tournament in full-flow. The overloads are actually for the centre back and left back position. Raphael Varane will be an obvious choice for coach Didier Deschamps with one of Prensel Kimpembe, and Clement Lenglet being the partner. Such was the quality and depth that Dayot Upamecano despite having a great season missed out for the tournament. The return of Karim Benzema is an added boost for the side alongside Luca Digne who had his breakthrough season with Everton. Besides that, the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and N’golo Kante can be deadly at any given day with Griezmann. However, Kylian Mbappe will be the man to watch out for the “Les Bleus”. It all comes down to how Deschamps make the most of his options.
Portugal: That extra time strike from Eder and the iconic scene of Cristiano Ronaldo motivating his team from the sidelines after being injured is still a vivid memory as Portugal claimed their first ever trophy in International stage beating France at their home. The defending champions will face tough challenge when they against that French side and Germany in the group of death. Despite that they are strong contenders for the title. Lead by Ronaldo, the squad has qualities all over the pitch. Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo possesses exceptional qualities alongside a certain Bruno Fernandes who had the his best ever season in club football and will be man to watch out for. These were the core players who powered the Portuguese to the UEFA Nations League title. Joao Felix, hailed as the next big star for them will be seen after a good season with Atletico Madrid while a possible return of in form striker Andre Silva is on the cards. However, its very surprising to see the footballing world underrate such a quality squad despite their recent feats but this can be big positive for Fernando Santos’ side.
Germany: The three title winners of title were the semi-finalist in last edition losing to a dominant French side. The squad went for a major revamp as some of their veterans bid farewell to their career. Joachim Low showed faith in his youth with the likes of Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Niklas Sule and Timo Werner being a household names now-a-days for the record champions. Toni Kroos will be a key man for them as well as Joshua Kimmich who has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the game while also being able to aid equally well as a full-back. Marc Andre Ter Stegen could miss out on the tournament having injured himself playing for FC Barcelona. Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller despite having a few dry seasons clicked just about the right time as they can be decisive on their day especially Muller who got back to his groove in the last couple of seasons for Bayern Munich. Despite the inclusion of Mats Hummels, Lack of experience at the back and also upfront with a designated no.9 can be a matter of concern for “Die Mannschaft” however, you can’t predict anything on paper for the Germans as they can look completely different side with their ability to soak pressure collectively as team is very well known to everyone.
Belgium: After their superb display in 2018 FIFA World Cup finishing third, the golden generation Belgium will now have their eyes set on the EURO. Their unbeaten run without any draws in the qualifiers too rightly indicated them as one of the firm favourites in the tournament. The spotlight though will be on the three big names upfront Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku with the latter two having the superb season domestically. De Bruyne is arguably the best attacking midfielder in the world inspiring Manchester City to a UEFA Champions League final. It will be interesting to see if Robert Martinez’s 3-4-3 formation can deliver again. But Belgium is not only have the Individual brilliance but also they are good as unit. Veteran defenders, Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Vermalen made it to the provisional squad although there’s very less possibility that they will miss out on the 26 man squad. Toby Alderweireld will probably complete the three backline although lack of good wing backs could cause problem to them. Thibaut Courtois will be a key man for them hoping to replicate his golden glove winning run in the World Cup. Thorgan Hazard the younger brother of Eden is also in good form for Borussia Dortmund alongside forward Dries Mertens while Lukaku had probably his best ever season in his entire domestic and the big Belgian no.9 will be hoping to bring his A game to this tournament as well.
England: Since 2015, England’s football has been on the rise, especially with the emergence of a few young prodigies who are on rise to establish themselves in the big boys game. England’s chances have certainly boosted by a mile due to this as they are one of the prime contenders for the title. The FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 was just the right indication. Unlike the typical British culture of kick and rush football, the likes of Jadon Sancho, Phil Sancho, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford who will all be at the EURO this year, are much technically gifted on the ball ready to posses threat to opposing defence. And adding a certain Harry Kane at the top as target man is a icing on the cake. Gareth Southgate will hope that the British young guns fire in all-cylinders if England are to challenge the rest of the Europe. The right full-back position for them is overloaded with quality with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Aaron Wan-Bissaka being the three options. The only concern for England is their ability to play out of back however, they have John Stones though for that matter. The England squad gained praise for the performance in 2018 FIFA World Cup and it will be interesting to see if they can repeat that in the EURO too.
Despite all these big teams, there are Dark Horses as well who could bring out surprises on their given day
Italy: The Azzuris were once among the favourites for the title having won it back in 1968. However, after the final of 2012, Italy went for a major transition. Some of their big names retired and it took time to settle down which also lead to a few disappointment of not qualifying for EURO 2016 and World Cup 2018. But fast forward to 2020, Italy looked good specially in the qualifiers as being the only side apart from Belgium to register win in all of their fixtures. It also looked like the emergence of a new generations as well with likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Moise Kean, Nicolo Barella , Federico Chiesa and Federico Bernadeschi coming to provisional squad. These youngster could surprise any opposing side on their day. Apart from them, experience will come through Lorenzo Insigne, Georgio Chielleni, Ciro Immobile and Allesandro Florezni. In Chielleni, the Azzuri will look for that inspirational figure that will lead the side as well their backline, a usual sight with Italy’s skippers for generations. Marco Verratti will be vital cog in the middle of the park while Immobile will have the duty upfront of firing in the some strikes into the net. The side looked promising in recent times and will be interesting to see how coach Roberto Mancini make the most of the options.
Netherlands: The Dutch has always been labelled as a dark-horse on the international scene. They always had a formidable squad leading to a good start until something drastic happen in the big matches. They actually had only success on the International scene in this very tournament back in 1988 when the legendary trio of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard lit up the tournament for the men in orange. The squad went for restructure failing to qualify for both EURO 2016 and World Cup a couple of year later. The new generation Dutch maestro emerged just at right time when they put on splendid display in the 2019 UEFA Nations League but falling just short losing to Portugal in the final. The tournament though showed positive signs of side getting back to their grove. They were second in their qualifying group behind Germany with six wins and a draw. Skipper Virgil Van Dijk and his deputy Mathijs de Light will be the two towering figures in the centre of the defence ready put fear in the minds of any forwards with their pace, strength, aerial prowess and ball playing ability. Frenkie de Jong is probably the biggest household name in Dutch these having earned praises for his all-round abilities in the middle of the park as fitting ”Total Footballer”. He is someone who can control the tempo of the game alongside the dynamic Georginio Wijnaldum. Ajax’s teenage star Ryan Gravenberch will probably make it to the final squad and as for the attacking side, the silky Memphis Depay will lead the forward line with the winger being in red hot form Lyon this season. Despite being a young squad the Dutch could make a few upsets with their prowess of the Total Football.
