The European Championships kick off in Stuttgart on Friday, June 14th. Tournament hosts, Germany will be hoping to brush themselves off and push past Scotland in the opening game.
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00:00It's the eve of Euro 2024 in Germany.
00:04The groups are set ahead of another summer of international football.
00:08But who will lift the trophy next month in Berlin
00:11and be crowned 2024's European Champions?
00:19Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:22Anticipation is rising for what is expected to be a classic tournament
00:27of international games at the European Championships this summer.
00:31Let's take a look at what is to come at Euro 2024.
00:35Four weeks of drama awaits in the form of 51 games,
00:39starting in Munich, when the host Germany take on Scotland at the Allianz Arena.
00:44Under Julian Nagelsmann, they are hoping for an improved tournament showing on home soil.
00:49Hungary and Switzerland also join them in Group A.
00:53Group B is this edition's notorious group of death.
00:56Albania will have their work cut out,
00:59trying to progress from a group containing 2008 and 2012 winners Spain,
01:04World Cup semi-finalist Croatia and current reigning champions Italy.
01:09Despite lifting the trophy back in 2021,
01:12Gliazori failed to qualify for the World Cup a year later,
01:16meaning there will be extra emphasis on having a good tournament this time around.
01:20Italy is a really difficult answer to try to analyze
01:23because it's a country that always produces brilliance in competitions.
01:27And yet recently, it knows how to win the Euros,
01:30but like you said, doesn't understand how to qualify for a World Cup.
01:33Italians don't just want you to qualify out of the group stage.
01:36Italians are never happy unless they reach the latter stages.
01:38And by that, I probably mean a semi-final.
01:40It's about whether or not they can manage it on this occasion with players who aren't so experienced.
01:45While we can definitely guarantee that Spalletti is somebody that can do a lot with very little,
01:50it may be a little too little at the moment with Italy.
01:53It's about the winning mentality.
01:55Italy always believe until the end,
01:57but they do lack veteran experience that they had in the Euros.
02:00So I don't think the team is as good as it used to be.
02:03England are the favorites to top Group C, ahead of Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia.
02:08Poland beat Wales in the March playoffs to qualify into Group D,
02:12where they will face the Netherlands, Austria and World Cup runners-up France.
02:16Belgium are under new management after Roberto Martinez was sacked following a poor World Cup in Qatar.
02:22Domenico Tedesco will try and lead Romelu Lukaku et al. to glory,
02:27but first they need to get past Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine in Group E.
02:31And finally, Cristiano Ronaldo could play in his final tournament for Portugal.
02:36They were champions in 2016,
02:39but that won't stop Ronaldo trying to have one more shot at glory,
02:43before potentially hanging up his boot to international level.
02:46They're joined by Turkey, Georgia and Czechia in Group F.
02:50Italy will be hoping to defend their title after beating England in the final back in 2021,
02:57but which other contenders could be coming for their crown?
03:00Well, Jude Bellingham will be fresh from winning the La Liga title with Real Madrid in his debut season,
03:07giving the Three Lions real hope that this could be their year.
03:11They have never won the competition before, so is this finally their time?
03:16We've got probably one of the best squads in the world.
03:18That's as simple as that. It is one of the best teams in the world.
03:22Whether that means anything or not is the big difference, isn't it, really, as England fans.
03:27We need to win stuff.
03:28This is the best team probably that we've had in a very, very, very long time.
03:33This is the best chance we've had in a very, very long time.
03:35And you don't want it to be a case of over the last few years where we've come close and that's it,
03:40and then you've wasted another generation of England talent.
03:43Perhaps the only team that could be standing in England's way this summer are France.
03:48Le Bleu defeated Gareth Southgate's side in the World Cup quarterfinal back in 2022
03:54on their way to that famous final in Qatar.
03:58This time around, could Kylian Mbappé be the man to lead his nation
04:02to their first European Championships victory in 24 years?
04:07It's a huge opportunity for Mbappé, not just to add to his collection of silverware with the French national team,
04:14but also to bounce back from the disappointment of the Champions League.
04:17I presume by that point he'll be a Real Madrid player as well, officially,
04:20or at least there'll have been some communication on it.
04:22But also, it's a chance to represent France for the first time as captain
04:27and potentially lead them to an international title.
04:30It's going to be a big challenge, but it's one I think that Mbappé will have added hunger for now,
04:35given the disappointment suffered with PSG against Dortmund in the Champions League.
04:39Well, the European Championships are certainly capable of pulling off a surprise or two.
04:44In fact, it was 20 years ago this summer when Greece defeated Portugal in the 2004 final,
04:51which shocked the continent.
04:53And while they haven't qualified this time around,
04:57could be capable of pulling off a miraculous Greek-style victory.
05:01I actually think Austria could be interesting.
05:03Now, to be honest, I've been saying that for two tournaments in a row.
05:05Due to a player like Alaba, due to a group of talent, due to actually kind of Rangnick's management.
05:11Now, I know he has been criticised from Manchester United, but he has done something different with his squad.
05:15Another side that could surprise are Albania.
05:18They've huge evolution over the past 20 years, honing what is some really strong talent there.
05:24The flip side to that is Albania have been put in what is probably the group everyone's looking to,
05:29which is one with Italy, Spain and Croatia.
05:32But as good as all these sides are, it's not the Spain of 2010, it's not the Italy of Euro 2020,
05:37and it's not the Croatia of 2018 or even 2022.
05:40Albania, they offer possibility for an upset here.
05:43A fantastic month of football is just around the corner then.
05:47But who do you think will win this summer's European Championships?
05:51Let us know your thoughts using the hashtag FootballNowEuro2024.
05:56That's all we have time for from our studio here in Doha.
05:59We'll see you next time. Bye for now.