With the Euro 2024 group stage behind us, let's look back at the highs, the lows, and the moments that drove us crazy. Yes, I'm looking at you, Gareth Southgate. You cost me and the online betting community thousands of Nairas with your naive tactics. Anyway, here we go: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Euro 2024 and how they might influence our football predictions for the knockout rounds. **The Good…** **Luis de la Fuente Inspires Spain’s Revival** Spain is the only team to pick up all 9 points in the group stage, and they did it without conceding a goal. After multiple heartbreaks in international tournaments, especially in the World Cup where they have failed to get past the Round of 16 in three straight editions, a change was needed. Under Luis de la Fuente, they seem to have found that change. Having coached the U19, U21, and U23 teams, few people know these Spanish players better than him, and he’s already proving his worth. Winning the UEFA Nations League was a great start, and now they’ve built on that success in this tournament. They face Georgia in the Round of 16, and if they win—as expected—a quarter-final matchup against hosts Germany could be next. It’s a tough road, but after getting maximum points from a group with Italy and Croatia, we have a lot of confidence in their chances.
**Slovenia & Georgia Create History** It wasn’t pretty, but Slovenia has made history by reaching the knockout stage of a senior international tournament for the first time. They finished with 3 draws in 3 games and might have snagged a win if Luka Jovic hadn’t scored a 90+5 minute equalizer for Serbia. Still, it was a joyous moment for their fans, and they’ll get to celebrate this achievement for a while. However, we don't expect the celebration to last long with Portugal waiting for them in the Round of 16.
In their first-ever appearance at an international tournament, Georgia has made it to the Round of 16—a remarkable achievement for the lowest FIFA ranked team among the 24 participants. The Crusaders aren’t just coasting; they’re making a significant impact. Georges Mikautadze leads the tournament in goals scored (3), while Giorgi Mamardashvili has been outstanding between the sticks, leading the Euros in most goals prevented (3.1) and most saves per 90 minutes (8.0). And then there’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who hasn’t hit the heights we know he’s capable of, but has still been influential, especially in the 2-0 win over Portugal. They face Spain in the Round of 16, and regardless of the outcome, Head Coach Willy Sagnol should be proud of the incredible job he has done. **Veteran Midfielders Leading the Way** We’ve seen many great moments from youngsters in this tournament. Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Nico Williams, and Lamine Yamal have been exciting for their respective countries. Francisco Conceição's goal against Czechia for Portugal put him in an exclusive club of fathers and sons who have scored at a EURO, with his dad Sérgio Conceição netting at EURO 2000. Ah yes! Arda Güler also scored a Goal of the Tournament contender in Türkiye’s 3-1 win against Georgia. However, this tournament seems to be where the older players have really shone. In the Group Stage, only four players were named Man of the Match more than once: Granit Xhaka (31), Christian Eriksen (32), N'Golo Kanté (33), and Kevin De Bruyne (32). Besides the Man of the Match awards, many standout players for their countries are also in their 30s, like Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Türkiye), Nicolae Stanciu (Romania), and Marcel Sabitzer (Austria). Perhaps the old guys aren’t ready to pass the baton to the young guys just yet. Speaking of Austria… **Austria and Switzerland Build on 2020 Performance** Austria and Switzerland had strong showings in 2020, and they've built on that this year. In 2020, Austria reached the knockout stage for the first time in their history, with two group stage wins, while Switzerland made it to the quarter-finals for the first time, knocking out then-reigning world champions France. This year, both teams have been equally impressive. Switzerland finished as runners-up in Group A behind hosts Germany, whom they nearly defeated on Matchday 3. Austria topped Group D, which included France and the Netherlands, with manager Ralf Rangnick earning praise for his excellent tactics. The Round of 16 will bring its own challenges: Austria faces a tricky tie with Türkiye, while Switzerland has a tougher match against reigning European champions Italy. It's not an easy call, but our betting tip for today is to lean towards both teams winning their games and advancing to the quarter-finals.
**The Bad…** **Croatia** Two points from 3 games and 6 goals conceded is a poor showing for Croatia. For some reason, they can't seem to match their World Cup success in the Euros. While they've finished in the top three of the World Cup three times (1998, 2018, and 2022), they've struggled in Europe. In their last 14 Euro games over four editions, they've won just 4, losing 5. In contrast, they have won 10 of their last 14 games at the World Cup, losing just two. In this tournament, they lost their opener to Spain (3-0) and never really bounced back. A draw against Albania was gut-wrenching, and Mattia Zaccagni’s 90+8 minute equalizer for Italy was crushing. Even Luka Modrić looked deflated while accepting his Man of the Match award against Italy. Maybe Kylian Mbappe was right; the European Championship is tougher competition than the World Cup. **Big Name Strikers** Do you remember Stephen A. Smith’s famous rant when Phil Jackson selected Kristaps Porziņģis for the New York Knicks in the 2015 NBA draft? He was so mad, saying, **“We’ve been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok and flat out deceived.”** That’s exactly how I feel about the big-name strikers in this tournament. The star goal scorers haven’t shown up, leaving us all confused. In the Euro 2024 Qualifiers, Romelu Lukaku led the scoring chart with 14 goals, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo (10), Kylian Mbappe (9), Harry Kane (8), and Manchester United's duo Scott McTominay and Rasmus Højlund (both 7). But in this tournament, these six players have scored a grand total of… wait for it… three goals. Three! Surprisingly, Georges Mikautadze (Georgia) is leading with three goals, matching his qualifier tally, and the often-overlooked Niclas Füllkrug (Germany) has been reliable with two goals off the bench. Maybe this is one of those years where a big name doesn’t win the Golden Boot. Since Germany is likely to advance further than Georgia in this tournament, our bet of the day is on Niclas Füllkrug winning the Golden Boot, and BetKing has the best odds for this pick.
**Unlucky Ukraine** I really feel for Ukraine. In a strange Group E where all four teams ended up with four points, they landed in fourth place and got eliminated. They became the first team in European Championship history to not advance from the group stage with four points. With experienced players like Andriy Yarmolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko, plus exciting talents like Mykhailo Mudryk, Illia Zabarnyi, and reigning Pichichi Trophy winner Artem Dovbyk, a lot was expected from them. Turns out losing 3-0 in the opening game does have severe consequences. Croatia knows that feeling too. **Group C** Group C (with England, Denmark, Slovenia, and Serbia) was historically boring for neutrals and frustrating for fans. Well, except for Slovenian fans, as we discussed earlier. With only 7 goals scored by the 4 teams across 6 games, they matched the lowest tally from a group in the Euros set by 2016’s Group C (Germany, Poland, Northern Ireland, and Ukraine). With attackers like Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Rasmus Højlund, Benjamin Šeško, Dušan Vlahović, and Aleksandar Mitrović, we expected this group to break records for goals, not this. This wasn’t down to bad luck like, say, Romelu Lukaku's three offside goals—these teams were genuinely poor in the attacking third. For context, of the 24 teams in the tournament, Denmark ranked 16th in xG (3.15), Slovenia was 19th (2.62), England was 22nd (2.19), and Serbia was 23rd (2.11). **The Ugly: Gareth Southgate’s Questionable Approach To Games** During their draw with Slovenia, a picture of an England fan sleeping during the game went viral, perfectly capturing our feelings about the Three Lions—they have been painfully boring to watch. England entered this tournament with a lot of promise but have yet to come close to delivering on it. From the start, the squad selection raised eyebrows. Marcus Rashford, one of the most experienced attackers, was left out, while a clearly injured Luke Shaw, who hadn’t played in months, was included. Additionally, James Maddison—arguably the team's most creative player from deep—was also left out. In the tournament, there were questionable decisions about team selection. Starting Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield was always a risky move, and it was no surprise when he didn’t impress in that role in the opening two games. Also, with Kieran Trippier (used at left back) and Phil Foden (used on the left wing) not playing in their natural positions, England’s left wing has been largely ineffective. Then there’s Jude Bellingham who scored in the opening game but has been a shell of himself. It’s almost like Gareth Southgate needs a manual for these players from their club managers. The tactical approach of prioritizing a tight defense over maximizing their attacking potential, which has been frustrating. England ranks 22nd out of 24 teams in xG (2.19) over 3 games—a pathetic return for a team with the best collection of attacking talent in this tournament. If you need another stat to show how disjointed they’ve been, here it is: Phil Foden has passed the ball more times to Jordan Pickford (3) than to Harry Kane (1) at Euro 2024. Luckily for them, they have been drawn against Slovakia in the Round of 16 - a side they should beat. After that, though, I expect them to be eliminated.
**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[ 2024 Euros](https://m.betking.com/sports/football/leagues/prematch/uefa-euro-2024). [Join us](https://m.betking.com/account/registration?redirect=/) today to get value for money. Try out the [best betting app](https://m.betking.com/l/mobile-app/) in the market and book a bet today to start your journey towards winning millions.