If you were playing a Euros 2024 football predictor game right this second, the chances are that you’d choose England as the favourites to win the whole tournament. After reaching the Semi-Final of the 2018 World Cup and a par performance losing to France in the Quarter-Finals in 2022, following losing the final of the last European Championships on penalties to Italy at Wembley in 2021, now is surely England’s time. 2024 in Germany does seem like it is the last chance for Gareth Southgate’s England team to finally fulfil its potential and end 58 years of hurt.
In fact, even with the bookies England are joint favourites at 7/2 to win the whole tournament this summer. It would be the first time they’ve won the European Championships, adding it to the famous World Cup win on home soil in 1966. So, how are England realistically shaping up before Germany 2024?
Easy qualifying stage
England are always accused (by supporters of the other home nations at least) of having incredibly easy qualifying groups for every major tournament. They seem to play San Marino, Liechtenstein, and The Dog and Duck every two years and make it through before the halfway stage. This wasn’t quite the case in qualifying for Euro 2024, where they were put in a group with current champions Italy (who had beaten them at home to the title last time out), tough opposition in Ukraine, and a tricky Balkans trip to North Macedonia. Malta made up the numbers as the lowest-ranked team in the group. Despite two big hitters and a potential banana skin, England qualified with ease, winning 6 and drawing 2 of their 8 games and qualifying with time to spare.
The shape of the squad
Despite the success that Gareth Southgate has brought during his time as England manager (you can’t really argue with a final and semi-final compared with previous England managers), he has always come under scrutiny for playing football deemed too defensive considering the wealth of attacking talents at his disposal, and also that he favours certain players even if they are out of form or not playing for their clubs.
Harry Maguire has been a central part of this argument. For much of the past two seasons he has rarely played for Man Utd, been stripped of the captaincy, and when he has played has suffered calamitous moments costing his team goals. Despite this, Southgate has continued to pick him for England, alongside Kalvin Phillips, who doesn’t seem to have played at all since joining Man City from Leeds at the start of last season, and Jordan Henderson is another who has kept his squad place so far despite choosing the money in Saudi Arabia rather than continue in the Premier League. All of this, yet Raheem Sterling, who has been one of the most consistent and creative England performers of the last decade has been dropped since moving to Chelsea and losing form.
Despite all of this, there are some incredibly exciting England players and genuine world class options throughout the pitch. Pickford remains solid in goal, if John Stones is fit, he provides class alongside Kyle Walker at the back, and a trio of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, and Trent Alexander Arnold in midfield should leave any football fan salivating, and when you consider the world class Harry Kane surrounded by any one of a plethora of exciting wingers and playmakers, there is a lot to be positive about with England’s chances.
The shape of the Euros
It’s a good time for England because other than France, who they can compete with, the other big hitters are not at their strongest this time around. Germany has the pressure of hosts on top of a few years of abysmal performances and results, Spain are good but not like their glorious best of 2008-2012, Italy won the last Euros but didn’t even qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, the golden generation from Belgium never made it and has broken up, and this leaves England as favourites.
They are in a group with Slovenia, Denmark, and Serbia and if they win the group have a favourable route through to the final stages, with a potential round of 16 game against one of Austria, Romania, or Turkey, followed by big games that you need to get through to win any international tournament.
England Euro 2024 fixtures
Group C
Slovenia (25th June in Cologne)
Denmark (20th June in Frankfurt)
Serbia (16th June in Gelsenkirchen)
With the summer tournament in Germany fast approaching, England fans have a lot to be excited about. If Southgate can bring together all these generational talents into a cohesive team (as he has managed to in the past), and they can keep their nerve in the big moments, they have the players, and the experience of coming close to winning, that should help them get over the line this time around. A favourable group stage should mean a confident and relaxed England going into the knockout stages. For those of you looking at a Euros cup predictor, it should give you confidence to choose England to score goals, win games, and go close to winning, if not winning the whole thing!