Battle of Europe: Five favourites to win Euro 2020 title

THE European Championship will finally kick off on Friday after an extra year of waiting.

The tournament, tagged Euro 2020, was postponed by a full year following the Covid-19 pandemic that ravaged the world and caused severe disruptions in all walks of life.

The world is now ready to witness a feast of international football served up by 24 teams in 11 venues across Europe from 11 June to 11 July, starting with Turkey taking on Italy in Rome on Friday.

The European Championship is the world’s most followed continental football tournament and a large chunk of the globe’s best players will be in action.

Although 24 teams will be vying for the ultimate prize, the prestigious trophy, only a handful have realistic chances of winning the title.

Even with the unpredictability of the championship – Denmark won it in 1992 after taking Yugoslavia’s place in the tournament in the last minute and underdogs Greece went all the way in 2004 – there are still very few teams that can be considered as true favourites.

Naija Times presents the five teams with genuine chances of winning the competition…

BELGIUM

The Red Devils have one of the strongest squads in world football, with players in the top teams in the top leagues.

They are the No.1 team in the world according to FIFA’s ranking and they had their best World Cup finish in 2018, reaching the semi-finals.

Among the Belgian squad, there are players who played key roles in helping their clubs win the Serie A title (Romelu Lukaku with Inter Milan), the English Premier League title (Kevin de Bruyne with Manchester City), the Spanish LaLiga title (Yannick Carrasco with Atletico Madrid) and the English FA Cup (Youri Tielemans with Leicester City).

Apart from these stars, Belgium have in their ranks one of Europe’s most talented players in Eden Hazard. If the Real Madrid star could shake off recent form and injury setbacks and play anything close to his best, his combination with the other important members of the squad could be devastating.

Belgium have often fallen short at major tournaments despite their array of talents, but the semi-final finish at the Russia 2018 World Cup must have instilled new confidence to match their undoubted abilities.

STRENGTHS: A collection of highly talented winners can steer Belgium to success and their first ever international title. It is a solid squad overall but their midfield and attack could compete with any in the world, with Tielemans, Hazard, Lukaku, Napoli’s Dries Mertens et al.

WEAKNESSES: The fact that their head coach Roberto Martinez is not considered elite, having only ever won one FA Cup with Wigan eight years ago, might be a concern.

Their defence is not as strong as the other departments too, with their best defenders being Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, both in their 30s.

STAR PLAYER: Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan).

WORLD RANKING: 1

France

Les Bleus have not won the European Championship since 2000, although they came close and reached the final on home soul in 2016.

France’s resurgence started under their current manager Didier Deschamps after the team failed to make any impact at the World Cup or European Championship from 2006, when they reached the Mundial final.

The former midfielder, who captained France to the World Cup trophy on home soil in 1998, has since coached the team to the European Championship final and World Cup triumph.

The extra-time defeat to Portugal in the 2016 final really stung the French and they are keen to add the Euro title to the World Cup they won three years ago in Russia.

In Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud, Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann, Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris, France have the core of the squad that reached two straight major finals and won one.

They have now added Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema to the mix to give Deschamps options in a loaded attack.

STRENGTHS: France’s midfield has strength and guile in Pogba, tireless running and unrivalled commitment in Kante, as well as steel in Bayern Munich’s Corentin Tolisso.

Juventus star Adrien Rabiot is also a great option to have in what is probably the tournament’s strongest midfield.

WEAKNESSES: Apart from Varane, there is no real world-class player in France’s central defence, and their first-choice goalkeeper Lloris is prone to the occasional costly error.

STAR PLAYER: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea).

WORLD RANKING: 2

PORTUGAL

As champions, Portugal are automatic favourites. But they are actually much more than just champions, they are a very strong team.

As demonstrated by their 4-0 dismissal of Israel in their final pre-tournament friendly on Wednesday night, Portugal are not giving up their title without a fight.

They have a squad brimming with top talent, led by their captain and one of the best footballers of his generation, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Juventus forward is 36, but he has shown no signs of slowing down, topping the Serie A goals charts and scoring again on Wednesday.

Ronaldo, who is chasing the world record for international goals, will be surrounded by a support cast of exceptional players including Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix, and Liverpool’s Diogo Jota.
Also in head coach Fernando Santos, Portugal have a man who knows how to forge a solid, organised, pragmatic and hardworking team from a set of individual talents, like he did in 2016.

STRENGTHS: An attack featuring Ronaldo is always lethal. He and the other forwards will have superb supply from Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Lille’s Renato Sanches and Wolves veteran Joao Moutinho.

WEAKNESSES: The heart of the Portuguese central defence is creaking, with old men Pepe and Jose Fonte the likely starting pair. A team with pace will give them serious problems. They will need young Ruben Dias of Manchester City to replace one of the old soldiers.

KEY PLAYER: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus).

WORLD RANKING: 5

GERMANY

The Germans have not done well in the last three years, finishing bottom of their group in the first round of the 2018 World Cup and struggling against opposition perceived to be weaker in recent games.

However, you can never rule out the German machine, especially when it is well-oiled. It is Joachim Low’s swan song and the head coach, who won them the World Cup in 2014, will hope to bow out with the trophy that has eluded him.

With the return of previously axed Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels, Low has reinforced his squad with the experience they sorely missed, and the young team can now fly.

Incidentally, they are in the same first-round group as fellow favourites France and Portugal, and surviving that group would energise their ambitions.

STRENGTHS: Germany have champions across their squad. From Bundesliga winner Manuel Neuer in goal, to Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League-winning trio Antonio Rudiger, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner as well as Ilka Gundogan of Premier League champions Manchester City, there is winning mentality coursing through the squad.

WEAKNESSES: They are a bit thin in attack, with no top traditional centre forward in the squad. They might struggle for goals against a team sitting deep and not leaving space for Werner to exploit.

STAR PLAYER: Kai Havertz (Chelsea).

WORLD RANKING: 12

ITALY

Like Germany, Italy are considered as outsiders to win the tournament by most people. But, also like Germany, it not wise to ever rule out the Italians.

The Azzurri do not have eye-catching talent like France, Belgium or Portugal, but under Roberto Mancini the Italians have been literally unbeatable.

Under the former Manchester City manager, Italy are unbeaten in 26 matches, one better than the record set by the legendary Marcelo Lippi who led them to win the 2006 World Cup.

They have won 22 of those 26 games and have not conceded in their last eight games, another record. Mancini’s aim is to take Italy to their first trophy since that 2006 triumph, and he has built a team capable of defying the odds to do just that.

He has a few top-class players to help in achieving this lofty aim, including AC Milan goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, Lazio forward Ciro Immobile, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti.

Italy might not look glamorous, but they are a functional unit that will be hard to beat.

STRENGTHS: Their long unbeaten run gives them iron-clad belief. They have a solid base in their goalkeeper Donnarumma and the defence led by Chiellini.

WEAKNESSES: Italy’s only out-and-out striker is Andrea Belotti who scored only 13 goals in 35 Serie A games for Torino last season.

KEY PLAYER: Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan).

WORLD RANKING: 7

NOT TO BE ENTIRELY DISMISSED

ENGLAND with a very talented squad that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018 but have not won any trophy since their 1996 World Cup triumph on home soil.

SPAIN who have slipped into mediocrity in recent years after winning the 2008 Euros, the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euros, but who have a relatively strong squad with an elite coach, Luis Enrique, in charge.

ALL THE TEAMS AT EURO 2020

Portugal

England

Belgium

France

North Macedonia

Finland

Slovakia

Hungary

Scotland

Ukraine

Czech Republic

Russia

Austria

Sweden

Switzerland

Wales

Turkey

Denmark

Poland

Croatia

Netherlands

Germany

Italy

Spain