10. Denmark
Not many will be tipping Denmark to triumph. But they have been capable of causing surprises in the past, memorably winning the competition in 1992 and taking England to extra-time in the semi-finals last time out. They certainly have plenty of experience at international level. Seven members of their squad have passed the 60-cap barrier. Yet some key individuals are ageing and have seen better days (Kasper Schmeichel, Simon Kjær), others haven’t had great seasons (Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg), and their promising youngsters don’t look at the level to dominate international football just yet (Rasmus Højlund, Mikkel Damsgaard).
Goalkeepers: Mads Hermansen (Leicester), Frederik Rønnow (Union Berlin), Kasper Schmeichel (Anderlecht)
Defenders: Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace), Alexander Bah (Benfica), Andreas Christensen (Barcelona), Mathias Jørgensen (Brentford), Simon Kjær (AC Milan), Rasmus Kristensen (Roma), Victor Kristiansen (Bologna), Joakim Mæhle (Wolfsburg), Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester)
Midfielders: Jacob Bruun Larsen (Burnley), Thomas Delaney (Anderlecht), Anders Dreyer (Anderlecht), Christian Eriksen (Manchester United), Morten Hjulmand (Sporting CP), Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham), Mathias Jensen (Brentford), Christian Nørgaard (Brentford)
Forwards: Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford), Kasper Dolberg (Anderlecht), Rasmus Højlund (Manchester United), Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Brugge), Yussuf Poulsen (Leipzig), Jonas Wind (Wolfsburg)
9. Croatia
Perennially underestimated, Croatia often perform better than expected. When you consider they have a population of less than four million, arguably no country has punched above their weight more in the last 30 years. Only officially admitted into international football in 1994, Croatia have reached the World Cup final once (2018) and finished third twice (1998, 2022) since then. They have not performed quite as well at the Euros, reaching the quarters twice (1996, 2008) but were second in the Nations League as recently as last year. Of late, they have shown signs of decline, losing to Wales and finishing behind Turkey in qualifying. They also have the misfortune of being in what is widely regarded as the Group of Death alongside Italy, Spain, and Albania. Moreover, many of their key players like Luka Modric, Ivan Perišić and Andrej Kramarić are on the wrong side of 30. Despite the presence of talented Man City duo Joško Gvardiol and Mateo Kovačić, it’s debatable at best whether the next generation of Croatian footballers are as accomplished as their predecessors.
Goalkeepers: Ivica Ivušić (Pafos), Nediljko Labrović (Rijeka), Dominik Livaković (Fenerbahçe)
Defenders: Martin Erlić (Sassuolo), Joško Gvardiol (Manchester City), Josip Juranović (Union Berlin), Marin Pongračić (Lecce), Borna Sosa (Ajax), Josip Stanišić (Leverkusen), Josip Šutalo (Ajax), Domagoj Vida (AEK Athens)
Midfielders: Martin Baturina (Dinamo Zagreb), Marcelo Brozović (Al-Nassr), Mateo Kovačić (Manchester City), Lovro Majer (Wolfsburg), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Mario Pašalić (Atalanta), Luka Sučić (Salzburg), Nikola Vlašić (Torino)
Forwards: Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Luka Ivanušec (Feyenoord), Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim), Marco Pašalić (Rijeka), Ivan Perišić (Hajduk Split), Bruno Petković (Dinamo Zagreb), Marko Pjaca (Rijeka)
8. Belgium
Another international team with no shortage of talented individuals. However, the perception around Belgium is that their best opportunities to win a major international tournament are behind them. They are likely to rely on some familiar faces that haven’t quite been able to get them over the line in the past, including Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel and Romelu Lukaku. The omission of Thibaut Courtois is notable, given that he appeared for Real Madrid in the Champions League final. More will consequently be expected of younger players like Everton’s Amadou Onana, Leicester City’s Wout Faes and Man City’s Jérémy Doku who weren’t deemed as essential previously. The Belgians should come through a group that includes Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. But whether they are good enough to emulate their previous best Euros performance (runners-up in 1980) or their strongest tournament display of the golden generation era (third at the 2018 World Cup) looks doubtful.
Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thomas Kaminski (Luton), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest)
Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Wout Faes (Leicester), Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor), Arthur Theate (Rennes), Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht)
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Orel Mangala (Lyon), Amadou Onana (Everton), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal), Arthur Vermeeren (Atlético de Madrid), Aster Vranckx (Wolfsburg), Axel Witsel (Atlético de Madrid)
Forwards: Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven), Yannick Carrasco (Al-Shabab), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jérémy Doku (Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (Roma), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Loïs Openda (Leipzig)
7. Italy
It’s easy to forget that Italy are the holders given how few of the heroes from three years ago will be competing in this tournament. Leonardo Bonucci, Marco Verratti, Leonardo Spinazzola, Lorenzo Insigne and Giorgio Chiellini are among the standout names who are not playing this time. It’s also less than a year since Roberto Mancini’s surprise resignation as coach with Luciano Spalletti, who impressively guided Napoli to the Serie A title in 2023, becoming his successor. And Italy still have top-class players like Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jorginho and Nicolò Barella. They weren’t really fancied at Euro 2020 either, nonetheless, it would be a big surprise if they manage to retain their title.
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham)
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Gianluca Mancini (Roma)
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Michael Folorunsho (Hellas Verona), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)
6. Netherlands
The Dutch side have lacked the quality of previous generations in recent times. Reaching the quarter-finals at the last World Cup under Louis van Gaal felt like a minor overachievement and they haven’t got past the last eight of the Euros since 2004. They also have an awkward-enough-looking group that features France (who beat them twice in qualifying), Poland and Austria. Frenkie de Jong missing out due to injury is a blow. Still, with players of the calibre of Virgil Van Dijk, Nathan Aké, Denzel Dumfries, Xavi Simons and Cody Gakpo, they should have enough to reach the latter stages of the competition. They even could be considered a dark horse to win outright.
Goalkeepers: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Mark Flekken (Brentford), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)
Defenders: Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Girona), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern München), Stefan de Vrij (Inter), Denzel Dumfries (Inter), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Ian Maatsen (Dortmund), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), Jerdy Schouten (PSV), Joey Veerman (PSV), Georginio Wijnaldum (Al Ettifaq)
Forwards: Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Atlético de Madrid), Jeremie Frimpong (Leverkusen), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Donyell Malen (Dortmund), Xavi Simons (Leipzig), Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim)
5. Spain
Since their remarkable run of winning three major tournaments in a row between 2008 and 2012, Spain have reverted to how they were usually perceived — an immensely talented squad who appear to suffer from psychological shortcomings and don’t have the required nous to get over the line. Since winning the World Cup in 2010, they have not gone beyond the round of 16 in three attempts. However, they did manage to make it to the semi-finals of the Euros three years ago after yet another round-of-16 exit in 2016. With Man City’s Rodri and prodigious Barcelona duo Pedri and Lamine Yamal, they have among the strongest midfielders in the competition. Similarly, with Aymeric Laporte and Dani Carvajal among the expected starters, their defence boasts plenty of prowess. But the lack of cutting edge has hurt the team in the past and once again, there is no sign of a world-class attacker. Options like Nico Williams and captain Álvaro Morata will go into this tournament with plenty to prove.
Goalkeepers: David Raya (Arsenal), Alejandro Remiro (Real Sociedad), Unai Simón (Athletic Club)
Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea), Alejandro Grimaldo (Leverkusen), Aymeric Laporte (Al-Nassr), Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad), Nacho (Real Madrid), Daniel Vivian (Athletic Club)
Midfielders: Álex Baena (Villarreal), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Pedri (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Fabián Ruiz (Paris), Nico Williams (Athletic Club), Martín Zubimendi (Real Sociedad)
Forwards: Joselu (Real Madrid), Fermín López (Barcelona), Álvaro Morata (Atlético de Madrid), Jesús Navas (Sevilla), Dani Olmo (Leipzig), Ayoze Pérez (Betis), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
4. Portugal
As Ireland found out to their detriment on Tuesday night, Portugal boast one of the strongest squads in Europe. At 39, Cristiano Ronaldo remains a potent finisher and a genuine difference-maker at this level. And there is plenty of world-class talent elsewhere in the team — Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, João Cancelo and Bernardo Silva are all good enough to get into almost any team in the world. There are times when they have looked a little imbalanced at past tournaments and struggled to perform to their potential, such as at the last World Cup where they suffered a surprise quarter-final loss to Morocco. Yet there is no doubt they should have genuine aspirations to glory and Roberto Martinez is an astute enough coach, so it wouldn’t be a major shock if they do end up emulating Euro 2016 when the country won the trophy for the first time.
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Patrício (Roma), José Sá (Wolves)
Defenders: João Cancelo (Barcelona), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting CP), Nuno Mendes (Paris), Pepe (Porto), Nélson Semedo (Wolves), António Silva (Benfica)
Midfielders: Danilo (Paris), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Pedro Neto (Wolves), João Neves (Benfica), Rúben Neves (Al-Hilal), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), João Palhinha (Fulham), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Vitinha (Paris)
Forwards: Francisco Conceição (Porto), João Félix (Barcelona), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Rafael Leão (AC Milan), Gonçalo Ramos (Paris), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)
3. Germany
Up until relatively recently, the German national team looked in rag order. A series of poor results culminating with a 4-1 defeat against Japan led Hansi Flick to become the first coach in their history to be sacked last September. Subsequent appointment Julian Nagelsmann wisely opted to bring vastly experienced midfielder Toni Kroos back from the international wilderness and the former Bayern Munich boss appears to have steadied the ship — they have lost only two of their nine matches since his tenure began and managed impressive wins over France (twice) and Netherlands within that period. Teams with home advantage have also historically tended to exceed expectations so they should at least be able to avoid a repeat of recent embarrassments. In the two World Cups since their 2014 triumph, they have not made it out of the group stages, while they didn’t fare much better at the last Euros, as they were dumped out by eventual finalists England in the round of 16. But with players of the calibre of Ilkay Gundogan, Antonio Rüdiger, Kai Havertz, Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala, surely they will click eventually.
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern München), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Emre Can (Dortmund), Benjamin Henrichs (Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern München), Robin Koch (Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstädt (Stuttgart), David Raum (Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Leverkusen)
Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Leverkusen), Chris Führich (Stuttgart), İlkay Gündoğan (Barcelona), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern München), Leroy Sané (Bayern München), Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Füllkrug (Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Müller (Bayern München), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)
2. England
Arguably only France have a better group of individuals to choose from. As ex-Liverpool star Jamie Carragher recently pointed out on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, England had arguably the best player in the Premier League (Phil Foden), the Bundesliga (Harry Kane) and La Liga (Jude Bellingham) in the season just gone by. Yet a lingering doubt remains. The Three Lions still haven’t won a major tournament since 1966. It seemed perfectly set up for them at the last Euros, a tournament practically on home soil. Yet they blew it on penalties after some questionable tactical calls by manager Gareth Southgate, who has been continually accused of undue conservatism. It remains to be seen whether they get as good a chance of triumphing again anytime soon. Probably the biggest question mark is their backline with Harry Maguire ruled out and Luke Shaw doubtful. A recent 1-0 loss to Iceland did little to alleviate these worries, while Maguire’s likely replacement Marc Guéhi still relatively unproven at this level. There is also uncertainty about the midfield without the hugely experienced Jordan Henderson. Will they go with Trent Alexander-Arnold or Kobbie Mainoo and are either good enough to help guide England to glory?
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern München), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
1. France
Didier Deschamps has done a remarkable job overall as French manager, as highlighted by their astonishing consistency during his tenure. They have at least made the final of three of the last four major tournaments and are expected to be there or thereabouts again. There is arguably no one better than Kylian Mbappe when Real Madrid’s latest recruit is on song. Antoine Griezmann has proven himself to be a top-class creative midfielder at international level. And their backline is so strong that William Saliba — arguably the best centre-back in the Premier League during the 2023-24 campaign — is not a guaranteed starter. There are potential areas of weakness though — possibly having to rely on a 33-year-old N’Golo Kanté, who is playing in Saudi Arabia these days with Al-Ittihad, is far from ideal. Yet overall, France should probably be considered slight favourites. They ostensibly have more quality and variety to choose from in every area of the pitch than any of the alternative main contenders.
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens)
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Marseille), Theo Hernández (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konaté (Liverpool), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Inter), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern München)
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético de Madrid), N’Golo Kanté (Al-Nassr), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurélien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris)
Forwards: Bradley Barcola (Paris), Kingsley Coman (Bayern München), Ousmane Dembélé (Paris), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris), Kylian Mbappé (Paris), Marcus Thuram (Inter)
