With EURO 2024 just around the corner, it’s key to remember that several factors can affect a team’s success. From players’ form at club level which can be carried over to the national team, to team chemistry as well as examining different teams’ rosters, there’s a lot to consider when making football predictions this summer. In this article, we’ll look at some of the top contenders & underdogs and do our best to predict what we can expect from them given the information we have. To begin, we have Belgium, the team whose fading Golden Generation still believes that they can finally win some silverware. **Belgium’s Team Chemistry** Belgium’s locker room has never been the happiest place. After their 2-0 loss to Morocco at the FIFA World Cup, L’Équipe reported a clash between Kevin De Bruyne, Jan Vertonghen, and captain Eden Hazard which took almost a year to resolve. There’s also the long-standing feud between Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois due to De Bruyne’s ex-girlfriend openly admitting to not being faithful to him and finding warmth in Courtois’ arms. It’s been widely reported that those two have barely spoken to each other in a decade… besides in a professional context, of course. So, when new Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco named De Bruyne as the new team captain over Courtois, the Real Madrid goalie didn’t take it well. Courtois, considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, announced that he wouldn’t be available for the tournament, which is a big blow to the Red Devils. To replace the Madrid ‘keeper, Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town), and Matz Sels (Nottingham) have been called up, but none of them match Courtois’s skill level. Despite this major setback, there’s still plenty for Belgian fans to be optimistic about. Romelu Lukaku scored the most goals in the qualifiers with 14 goals, 4 more than second place Cristiano Ronaldo. In fact, we have an exciting market for our online betting community ahead of this tournament: “Lukaku to outscore Ronaldo” – as always, we have the best odds for that.
Belgium were in fine form during the qualifiers, finishing with 6 wins and two draws in 8 games, and racking up 22 goals. In this tournament, they’re drawn in Group E alongside Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine, so they have good odds of advancing. If they win their group, they’ll face the 3rd place team from Group A, B, C, or D, which should put them in a great spot to reach the quarter-finals before Courtois’s absence might become a significant issue.
**England’s Questionable Defense** [At 4.00](https://m.betking.com/sports/match/4725976/euro-2024-winner), England are BetKing’s favourites for EURO 2024, but some of their roster choices have been puzzling. Leaving out a potential x-factor in Marcus Rashford, who has scored as many goals for England as Foden, Saka, and Bellingham combined in fewer games, was surprising. However, considering his club form, perhaps it was justified. The bigger concerns are in defense. Fikayo Tomori hasn’t been on Gareth Southgate’s radar, while Harry Maguire (dealing with an injury) and Jarrad Branthwaite (considered too young despite a fine season) were both dropped recently. With John Stones and Luke Shaw also battling fitness issues, England might only have one of their usual back-four, Kyle Walker, available for their opening games against Serbia and Denmark. While players like Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Lewis Dunk, and Joe Gomez are talented, relying on two of them as center-backs could be risky in a knockout tournament. In attack, fans of the Three Lions can breathe easy. Harry Kane (44 goals & 12 assists this season) and his back-up, Ollie Watkins (27 goals & 13 assists), are sure to deliver goals, while Phil Foden (27 goals & 12 assists), Jude Bellingham (23 goals & 13 assists), Bukayo Saka (20 goals & 14 assists), and Cole Palmer (27 goals & 15 assists) have been in great form for their clubs, making an impact as scorers and providers this season. If England can find stability in defense, we believe they have a strong chance of reaching the final again, just like in the last edition of the tournament.
**Portugal’s Perfectly Balanced Side** Roberto Martinez is living the dream, leading such a talented group of players. However, this also means he’s under pressure to deliver. In his previous role with Belgium, despite having an exciting squad, it was widely accepted that there were stronger teams out there. So, finishing 3rd at the 2018 FIFA World Cup was considered an impressive achievement. With Portugal, the expectations are higher, and anything less than winning a title would be seen as a failure. With an attack featuring stars like Rafael Leão, Diogo Jota, Francisco Conceição, Bruno Fernandes, Gonçalo Ramos, João Félix, Bernardo Silva, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 44 goals in 45 games for Al Nassr and 10 goals in 10 qualifiers, Portugal has an attack that can threaten teams from the flanks and through the middle. Their midfield is solid with Fulham’s tough-tackling João Palhinha and PSG’s Vitinha, who made the Champions League Team of the Tournament for his stellar performances. In defense, they boast the experience of Pepe and Ruben Dias, the youth of António Silva, and the speed of Diogo Dalot, Nuno Mendes, and João Cancelo. There’s a strong case that they have the most balanced squad in the tournament. Having won all 10 games in the qualifiers, the only team to do so, they enter EURO 2024 as a team most would rather avoid.
Among these talents, one player worth highlighting is Bruno Fernandes. The Manchester United captain is exceptionally durable, which is both a blessing and a curse. His desire to play every minute often leads to burnout, making him occasionally frustrating to watch. When he takes the occasional rest, his output improves. In the final month of the season, he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for two weeks and this forced rest significantly improved his form. He ended the season on a high note with 2 assists in his final 3 games, including a no-look pass to Kobbie Mainoo for the winner in the FA Cup final. In a friendly against Finland earlier this week, he scored twice in just 45 minutes and was the standout player. He led the Euro qualifiers in assists (7) and our Bet of the Day is for him to carry this fine form into this Euros and lead the assists chart once more.
**Others…** There are several other top teams we can expect to make deep runs in this tournament. Luis de la Fuente’s Spain will be exciting to watch, especially with the young talent Lamine Yamal. La Roja are the reigning Nations League winners and success in that minor tournament could be carried over to this big one. Host nation Germany, under Julian Nagelsmann, is also a team to keep an eye on with their “double #10s” tactic featuring Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Kylian Mbappé’s France and reigning European champions Italy need no introduction, though Giorgio Scalvini’s ACL tear last weekend will be a concern for Luciano Spalletti and Italy. To wrap this up, here are the two underdogs hoping to make a mark in this tournament. **Underdogs** The Euros have always been a stage where underdogs actually have a shot at success. In 1992, Denmark famously won the tournament despite not originally qualifying. They were a last-minute replacement for Yugoslavia, who were disqualified having just broken up because of the war. In 2004, Greece stunned the football world by defeating Portugal in Lisbon to lift the title for the first time, having already knocked out top teams like France and Czech Republic. If we are to see any fairytale runs in this edition, we believe it will be one of these two teams: Serbia or Ukraine. Serbia’s performance in the qualifiers wasn’t the most impressive, finishing 4 points behind group winners Hungary. However, the talent they have could lead to major upsets if things go their way. In goal, they have Chelsea’s Đorđe Petrović, and in midfield, Al-Hilal’s Sergej Milinković-Savić, along with Filip Kostić and Dušan Tadić. They’re spoiled for choice up front with Dušan Vlahović and Aleksandar Mitrović. Head Coach Dragan Stojković, a former Champions League winner with Marseille, knows a thing or two about beating the odds. So, this is a team worth keeping an eye out for.
Ukraine winning this would be a heartwarming story, given everything the country has been through. But they’re not just a fairytale; they have real talent. Andriy Lunin proved to be an excellent deputy for Thibaut Courtois this season, playing a major role in Real Madrid’s Spanish Super Cup, La Liga, and Champions League wins. Andriy Yarmolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko bring a wealth of experience, while Illia Zabarnyi has been a solid addition to Bournemouth, featuring in 37 of their 38 league games. Artem Dovbyk is coming off a standout season with Girona, winning the Pichichi Trophy and helping them qualify for the Champions League for the first time. His goals could prove crucial to Ukraine’s dreams. Mykhailo Mudryk seems to be finding his form at Chelsea, and along with former teammate Heorhiy Sudakov, they bring a lot of creativity to Ukraine’s play. While it might not seem like much, it’s still enough talent to cause upsets.
BetKing, the best betting site in Nigeria, offers you the chance to win big by betting on football tournaments like the [Copa America](https://m.betking.com/sports/football/leagues/prematch/copa-america-2024) and [EURO 2024.](https://m.betking.com/sports/football/leagues/prematch/uefa-euro-2024) [Join us via our mobile website](https://m.betking.com/account/registration?redirect=/) or try out the best betting apps in the market and book a bet today to start your journey towards winning millions.