EURO 2020 first look and group stage predictions

 

24 teams will compete in 12 cities from London to Baku. International Football squads throughout Europe will compete in the most-watched sporting event of 2020.

Qualifying stages have already been played out; the Euro 2020 competition is just around the corner. Although the majority of qualifying is over, 16 teams remain in the qualification stages. These teams include Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Bosnia, N.Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Iceland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Georgia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus, Scotland, and Israel. They will have their shot at qualification for the tournament in March.

The teams mentioned don’t hold a probable chance at winning the tournament, so let’s take a look at the big boys who have a far greater chance of winning this year’s prestigious trophy. The group stages for the Euro’s will begin in June 2020, it’ll be a heated summer event with International footy on our screens near enough every day. Making predictions on International Football is considerably less troublesome than domestic leagues, given the sheer difference in team quality.

GROUP A

1st Italy

2nd Turkey

3rd Switzerland

4th Wales

Italy is the favourite on the best sportsbooks to take Group A’s first-place position and rightfully so. The Italians have been a front runner in International Football for decades and continue to impress as a nation; with their hard work ethic on the pitch. Turkey could give Italy a run for their money and recent International results for Italy could put them in a position where they’re an unnoticed underdog.

That said, the qualification stage for the Italians hasn’t been a problem at all. They finished 12 points ahead of second-place and managed to net an impressive 37 goals, with just 4 conceded. With all due respect to the Turks and the Swiss, I can’t see them causing Italy problems in the long run.

Predicted Group Winner: Italy

Predicted Second Place: Turkey

GROUP B

1st Belgium

2nd Russia

3rd Denmark

4th Finland

One of the favourites to win the entire competition Belgium could be a force to be reckoned with during the summer Football event. With the talent on their team from the likes of Inter Milan, Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton, Dortmund and Leicester… the Belgium squad will be fully stocked with talent in preparation for this year’s European competition.

In Belgium’s qualifiers; they avoided dropping 1 point and went on a 10 game winning streak. The main threat for Belgium during the Euro’s will be Russia, who fortunately for Belgium have already succumb to the masterclass of Belgium Football; multiple times in the qualifiers. I can’t visualise many tests for Belgium during the group stage, but I’m not sure if the easy group stage will be good preparation for Belgium in the finals.

Predicted Group Winner: Belgium

Predicted Second Place: Russia

GROUP C

1st Holland

2nd Ukraine

3rd Austria

Playoff Winner B

 

A squad dripping with talent are the Dutch Internationals. A squad worth over 330 million pounds, it’s easy to overlook Holland due to past performances but this year’s squad looks more determined than ever. 

I don’t see a competitive group stage for Holland what so ever, I think they have a great chance at going undefeated in Group C.

 Group Winner: Holland

Second Place: Ukraine

GROUP D

1st England

2nd Croatia

3rd Czech Republic

4th Playoff Winner C

 

World Cup Semi-Finalists England

England manager Gareth Southgate will be preying besides his bed each night in the hopes that Harry Kane can return to full fitness in time for the Euro 2020s. The striker is a key attribute in England’s scoring capabilities and is a real dampener on the spirits of fans.

Qualifying stages were handled; England came out with just one loss and scored 37 goals. The group is theirs to lose and their main competition will be the Croatians, who are a strong side with the likes of Ante Rebic and Mateo Kovacic… but just not enough to stop England prevailing.

Group Winner: England

Second Place: Croatia

GROUP E

1st Spain

2nd Poland

3rd Sweden

4th Playoff Winner B

Roberto Moreno’s Spanish side enter the group stages undefeated in qualifying. They’ll have strong teams in Sweden and Poland to contend to, but nothing that the Spanish can’t handle. They finished 5 points clear in qualifying and I believe they can continue the undefeated streak into the finals. Spain has won this competition consecutively and remain the only team to do so, they hold a mental advantage over the entire tournament.

I predict Spain will dominate their group stage and face no real danger until the final stages of the competition. One of my favourite Euro 2020 picks would be for Spain to stay undefeated.

Group Winner: Spain

Second Place: Sweden

GROUP F

1st France

2nd Portugal

3rd Germany

4th Playoff Winner A

Easily, group F falls under the ‘hardest to predict’ category with the three big boys (France, Germany & Portugal) all falling into the same group. Defending champions Portugal has the demanding task of taking on World Cup winners France and resurging Germany. Surprisingly, each team has had their own struggles during qualifiers. Portugal was unable to finish above Ukraine and ended up in 2nd, whilst France and Germany both had to battle for 1st place finishes. Turkey gave France a run for their money at the same time Germany found struggles with Holland in their way.

The weakest link when comparing current form would have to Germany, they may even miss their shot in the finals if they don’t manage to earn more points than the other group's third-place finishers (four 3rd place teams with the most points will qualify into the final 16).

Group Winner: France

Second Place: Portugal