by Scotland will feel entitled to smell blood when they kick off the tournament against a German side who are under huge pressure to deliver. Julian Nagelsmann’s tenure began with friendly defeats against Turkey and Austria; he leads a team in transition and Scotland, a well-coached machine under Steve Clarke, will be able to land an early blow. It is no stretch to suggest that Hungary, who qualified dominantly, will fancy their chances of competing for the top flight. They drew with Germany in Munich at Euro 2020 and it is only 18 months since they outplayed England at Molineux in the Nations League. Switzerland will complete the quartet but will need to gather some momentum. After struggling through the early stages of the qualifiers, Murat Yakin’s side stumbled to draws against Belarus, Israel and Kosovo before losing to Romania. However, their expertise in the competition means they cannot be discounted.
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Albania manager Sylvinho, who made his name as an Arsenal player, spoke before the draw of “creating a dream”. Progressing through one of the most difficult groups they could imagine would seem like the stuff of fantasy, although their performances as they edged out the Czech Republic and Poland during the qualifiers are worth noting. . Italy, marooned in pot four and a shadow of the team that won Wembley two and a half years ago, would certainly prefer to avoid Spain and Croatia, although the latter will have to squeeze out one final show of many from 38-. years old Luka Modric if they are to progress much. On paper Spain should be too much for all three opponents, although they were dealt a heavy blow last month when Barcelona midfielder Gavi suffered a serious knee injury. He will definitely miss the competition and Luis de la Fuente, the veteran coach who stepped out of the shadows last year, must find a viable replacement.
GROUP C – England, Denmark, Slovenia, Serbia
Gareth Southgate may have gone in when Denmark were first drawn out to join England; Slovenia and Serbia offer less stressful paper tests although both can sting. Serbia, full of attacking talent but traditionally less than the sum of their parts, will aim to compete for second place in their first European Championship. Their manager, Dragan Stojkovic must hope that his talismanic striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has not been blunted since swapping the Premier League for a club career in Saudi Arabia. Denmark will be keen to get revenge on England after feeling robbed at Wembley in the Euro 2020 semi-finals, but the shape of the group could hinge on their meeting with incumbent Slovenia. The teams faced each other in qualifying, Kasper Hjulmand’s side taking first place in Group H thanks to a 2-1 win in Copenhagen. If England thwart Serbia or Denmark and need points, they may not feel unhappy about Slovenia’s performance on the day of the final.
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GROUP D – France, Austria, Netherlands, A play-off winner (possibly Wales)
France will be expected to progress to the final stages but could struggle in one of the toughest groups. They were sidelined by an improving Netherlands in Amsterdam in qualifying in October and a race for top spot could yet take shape if Ronald Koeman can get the best out of a bright new generation. No one should discount Austria, who under Ralf Rangnick seem to be in for a surprise: they convincingly beat Germany in Vienna last month and went toe-to-toe with Belgium in qualifying . If Wales make it through the playoffs, an unlikely scenario, they will face an uphill task to bounce back from last year’s World Cup float. France will hope they have done the hard work by the time they face Rob Page’s side, or whoever replaces them, in Dortmund on June 25.
GROUP E – Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, B winner
The level of interest in an underwhelming series could hinge on whether Ukraine – who need to face Israel, Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs – qualify, and good news that supply. Serhiy Rebrov’s team may be keen to win a group that Belgium, still managing a generational transition, are unlikely to tear apart. There will be plenty of eyes on Domenico Tedesco’s Devils Rouges, who qualified with ease and I hope that the disappointment of the early departure of the World Cup is over. A resurgent Romania, who have shown rare consistency to top Group I in comfort, are in fine form under Edward Iordanescu and could spring a surprise, although inexperience at the highest level could be detrimental. Slovakia, who gave Portugal two close games during the qualifiers, will be hoping for a core of Milan Skriniar, Stanislav Lobotka and Ondrej Duda in the mix.
GROUP F – Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, Winner of play-off C
Roberto Martínez and Portugal, who qualified with a perfect 10 wins from 10, should be able to ease off without fear. Should Greece join them through the play-offs, the group would evoke memories of Euro 2004, when Otto Rehagel’s side stunned Portugal – twice, including in the final – and the Czech Republic. This time the biggest threat may come from Turkey, who made fools of everyone who made them dark horses in 2021 but could justify their billing this time under the smart management of Vincenzo Montella. Away wins in Germany and Croatia over the past two months offer a tantalizing promise. The Czech Republic, which was captained by Tomas Soucek but did not have many other stars in it, had a difficult qualifying time at times and might have to retire in third place.
