[This is part 4 to a six-part series on the Euro 2020. The first three articles talked about location, how the tournament works, and the first four groups. In this article I will be talking about Groups E and F. In the upcoming parts, I will discuss the pundits’ favorites, who I think are the real favored teams, and how I think the tournament will play out.]
Group E (and player to watch per team)
Where the pundit’s favored teams to progress are Spain and Sweden.
- Poland:
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Germany) is the current FIFA Men’s Best Player of the Year and just recently (May 22nd) scored his 41st goal of the season in the 90th minute against Augsburg to break the record for most goals scored in a single Bundesliga season.
- Slovakia:
- Marek Hamsik (Gothenburg, Sweden) is 33 years old and towards the end of his career. He is the captain of the national team, the most capped player for Slovakia, and the nations all-time top goal scorer with 26 goals so far.
- Spain:
- Álvaro Morata (Juventus, Italy) is a main striker for his club along with Ronaldo. He has been taking up a bigger attacking role in the national team as others retire.
- Sweden:
- Dejan Kulusevski (Juventus, Italy) is winger and is beginning to be a more frequent starter for his club. He most recently scored in Juventus’ 2-1 win over Atalanta to become the Coppa Italia champions.
I think that Spain are likely to finish as the top team and Sweden in second. Although Spain is trying out a new generation of players, I think they remembered to leave in enough veterans to help get them out of their group. Sweden is an overall steady team and even with the injured Zlatan Ibrahimović not participating, I think players like Kulusevski will step up and help them comfortably make it out of their group.
However, I think Poland is a pretty strong team and with Lewandowski (the current FIFA Men’s Best Player of the Year) they will most likely find their way out of the Group as third place contenders.
Group F (and player to watch per team)
Where the pundit’s favored teams to progress are France and Germany.
- France:
- Kylian Mbappé (PSG) is a star player at is club alongside Neymar. He helped France win the last World Cup by scoring 4 goals, including one in the final in their 4-2 win against Croatia.
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, Spain) is the starting striker for Real Madrid and will be making his first, and controversial, appearance for the national team since 2015 after Didier Deschamps did not select him for five years due to a sex-tape scandal that also included former teammate Mathieu Valbuena. Luckily, due to COVID and the Euros changing the rules to allow 26 players per squad, instead of the regular 23, he has been selected to play. He has also been playing well for his Spanish club, scoring 23 goals this season and making the second top goal scorer in the league (Messi being first with 30)
- Germany:
- Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Spain) is the main midfielder for Real Madrid alongside Modrić. He helped the national team win the 2014 FIFA World Cup and has won multiple Champions Leagues with his club team.
- Hungary:
- Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig, Germany) is a 20-year-old midfielder for his club and the national team. He helped his nation qualify for the Euros by scoring a last-minute goal against Iceland.
- Portugal:
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Italy) helped the national team to win the previous Euro and is the main player for his club. He has won one Portuguese Super Cup, two English Super Cups, two English League Cups, one F.A. Cup, three English League titles, three UEFA Super Cups, four FIFA Club World Cups, two Spanish Super Cups, two Spanish Cups, two Spanish League titles, five Champions Leagues, two Italian Super Cups, one Italian Cup, two Italian League titles, one UEFA Nations League Cup, one Euro, three Best Player in Europe awards, two The Best FIFA Men’s Player awards, and five Ballon d’Ors.
- João Félix (Atletico Madrid, Spain) is a main forward for his club team and the national team. Most recently (May 22nd), he helped Atletico Madrid win the Spanish League title in their last game to the season.
Known as ‘the Group of Death’ this is the hardest group to predict because of the three top teams in it. Portugal are the reigning champions of the Euro, France are the 2018 World Cup champions, and Germany have always been a powerhouse. I think that Germany will most likely win the group. I think both France and Portugal will make it out of the group based on the fact that the top four, third-placed teams make it. It’s just a matter of who will come in second and who will be third.
With Portugal beating France 1-0 to win it last time, I think that they have the advantage over France. I know that people will argue that now with M’bappe, Benzema, and Antoine Greizmann, as an attacking force, France it better, but Portugal has also gotten better. For example, the Portuguese have Diogo Jota, Joao Felix, and Ruben Diaz (2021 Premier League Player of the Season, and 2021 FWA Footballer of the year); and their captain, Ronaldo, to lead the attacking side.
Stay tuned for my next article where I will be discussing who the pundits have chosen as the favored teams.
Photo: Estadio de La Cartuja, Wikipedia, Creative Commons
