30 Days to the European Cup: What will be the story of the summer football feast?

Three o'clock in the morning is not lonely

2024-05-15 22:34Posted in Beijing Sports Creators

In 30 days, Euro 2024 will kick off.

24 teams, 51 matchups. In two months' time, who will be on top of Europe?

What touching stories will happen in this summer's football feast?

The biggest suspense in a football event is who will lift the championship trophy?

So who are the favourites to win this European Championship?

France and England must be the two options that most fans can think of.

France are the 2018 World Cup winners and 2022 World Cup runners-up, with the team's number one star Kylian Mbappe a favourable contender for the number one player in the world, and coach Didier Deschamps remains the mainstay of the team off the pitch.

If you only look at the strength and thickness of the squad, the French team has been the number one team in the world for many years. The early exit from the last European Championship and the defeat in the final of the last World Cup will surely make the "Gallic Rooster" very eager to prove himself again at this European Championship.

England are under Gareth Southgate, although they are yet to win a major tournament. But in recent years, they have indeed been on the right path.

The 'Three Lions' already boasted a lavish squad to rival that of France, and now Bellingham's transformation into a superstar will certainly give them more confidence.

Saying that the German team is the favourites to win the championship may be disagreed by many people, or even think that it is a joke.

With two consecutive World Cup group exits and the last European Championship in the round of 16, it is indeed difficult for such a team to be linked to the favourites to win the European Championship.

But they are Germany, and they are the hosts, and most importantly, they are not short of top players.

The fact that Germany did not do well in the past years was not because of a lack of good players or coaches, but because they had proven themselves elsewhere.

It's hard to say why the Germans are in the doldrums, but with good players and coaches, they could get back on track at any time, and playing at home to the European Championship is the perfect time for them to make a comeback.

There are some teams that may not be particularly conspicuous favorites to win the championship, but as long as they come to the competition, they will definitely participate in the "championship drama".

After the peak of "three consecutive major championships", the Spanish team seems to have fallen silent in recent years. In fact, they are still relatively strong in the qualifiers and group stages, but once they get to the knockout rounds, they always go a little earlier than expected. I don't know what kind of ending they will leave behind this time.

Portugal were one of the strongest teams at the World Cup in Qatar, but they were unable to match their squad.

With veteran coach Fernando Santos leaving after the World Cup, Portugal are riding high under new coach Roberto Martinez, with 10 consecutive wins in qualifying to give them confidence.

Regardless of Ronaldo's role in this Portugal team, this team has the ability to make it to the end of this tournament.

The talk of the curtain call of the Belgian "golden generation" seems to have been talked about for a long time. But until now, they don't seem to have completely ended, or the "golden generation" is actually not going to curtain call, but inheriting.

Although Marouane Fellaini and Eden Hazard are gone, De Bruyne and Lukaku are also veterans, but new stars such as Doku and Opponda may surprise you.

The defending champions Italy and the uncrowned kings of the Netherlands will indeed struggle to win the title this time, and they have both been placed in difficult groups, so fans who like these two teams must watch every game as if it were a final.

There are some teams, although not favourable contenders for the title, who are already familiar faces in major competitions.

Although Croatia is not a traditional strong team, it is stronger than some so-called traditional strong teams in terms of overturning traditional strong teams. If nothing else, Modric should be the last dance this time, and the performance of the Plaid Army must not be missed.

Denmark, which once set a fairy tale of winning the European Championship, left both the semi-finals and the big event of Eriksen fainting in the last European Championship. Although they did not perform well in the Qatar World Cup, they still have the potential to surprise when they return to the European Championship.

Switzerland, a regular participant in the World Cup and the European Championship, although it does not have the strength to compete for the title, is a tough nut to bite. After knocking out France at the last European Championship, they faced Spain on penalties before losing the game, and no matter who meets them, the game will not be easy.

Poland, who are also regulars in the World Cup and European Championships, are not as tough as Switzerland, but Lewandowski's performance will still attract a lot of attention.

Hungary has always been unable to reach the World Cup, but it has always appeared on the stage of the European Championship, and it has always been able to play exceptionally in front of strong teams. This time they have a good chance of reaching the knockout rounds.

Some teams, although there were not many highlights of the European Championship before, but this time it is worth paying attention to.

Scotland, the qualifiers beat Norway and qualified directly. Haaland's exit is a pity, but Scotland's win is not an upset. The Scottish team, which has Scott McTominay, McGinn, Robertson and other Premier League giants, has the potential to be a dark horse.

Ukraine, not only the two big strikers from La Liga dark horse Girona Dovbik and Tsigankov, but also from Chelsea's superstar Mudryk, and from Arsenal's leading brother Zinchenko. If Ukraine reaches the quarterfinals, it should not be considered a dark horse.

Albania, along with Spain, Italy, and Croatia, is in the "Group of Death". Albania were largely ignored when it came to predicting their qualification, but their qualifying performances over the Czech Republic and Poland were something to be wary of. Granada striker Uzuni, Inter Milan midfielder Asllani and Atalanta defender Jimsetti all have the ability to cause problems for strong teams.

Georgia, the theoretically weakest team in this tournament, are ranked 75th in the world and finished fourth in their group in qualifying. According to the previous rules, they were already out of the game by here.

It was the status of the first place in Group D of the UEFA Nations League, which gave them the qualification to participate in the play-offs. They have been very competitive in connecting Luxembourg and Greece, and have become the biggest beneficiaries of the UEFA Nations League since its inception.

Fans often say that "there are no weak teams in Europe", and Georgia's performance in this European Championship will be a direct verification of this statement. In addition, the performance of Kvaratskhelia, the "football alphabet brother", will also become a major attraction of the Georgian team.

What are your expectations for this tournament? What else to watch out for in the teams not mentioned in this article? Welcome to leave a message to discuss.

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