UEFA Euro 2024: Group C Preview

England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

One of the highest-ranked nations coming into the tournament, England hope to go one better. Suffering heartache in the last Euros, making the final for the first time but lost to Italy on penalties at Wembley. A perennial underachiever in international football, England have won a solitary World Cup in 1966 and have made just three semifinal appearances since then. Since becoming manager in late 2016, Gareth Southgate has successfully made England a competitive outfit. Making the semifinals twice in three tournaments. Criticism against Southage persists over his conservative style of play and in-game management but for Euro 2024, he has made some key decisions. Harry Maguire, Ben Chilwell, Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford have missed out while Kobbie Mainoo, Adam Wharton, Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer made the final squad. Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham are coming off excellent individual seasons. Kane finished top-scorer in the Bundesliga, Premier League Player of the Season in Foden and La Liga Player of the Season in Bellingham. However Southgate would also have to find a balance in the attack, so one of Bellingham or Foden would have to come off the bench. With Maguire omitted and Luke Shaw battling for fitness, England's defence is less solid than in recent years. Shaw's backups are Kieran Trippier and Joe Gomez, both right-footed. At the same time, Marc Guehi and Lewis Dunk have been called up but have 17 caps between them with little tournament experience. They topped their qualifying group unbeaten, and recorded home and away wins against Italy for the first time since 1977 and 1961 respectively. Success for England would be winning the Euros, given their past tournament outings. However, a mental block persists with England; failing to beat the likes of France, Italy and Belgium. It's whether they can finally get over that line and lift the trophy in Berlin in July.

Likely Starting XI:- Pickford - Trippier, Guehi, Stones, Walker - Rice, Gallagher, Bellingham - Foden, Kane, Saka (4-3-3)

Serbia 🇷🇸 

Part of former Yugoslavia, this is Serbia's first appearance in the Euros as an independent nation, despite qualifying for five World Cups this century. When Serbia was part of Yugoslavia, they finished fourth in the 1962 World Cup and runners-up twice in the European Championships (1960 & 1968). Aside from Euro 2000 as Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia have never advanced to the knockout stages as an independent nation in any major tournament. A disappointment, given the players that have produced. Former Yugoslavia international Dragan Stojkovic has been Serbia's coach since 2021 and this will be his first Euro outing. They finished second in their qualifying group, losing twice against Hungary, who finished above them in the group. They usually play a strike partnership which suits the profile of strikers they have. Aleksandar Mitrovic, their all-time scorer, is partnered with Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic or Luka Jovic. Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic marshalls the three-man defence with two of Nemanja Guedij, Milos Veljhovic or Strahinja Pavlvovic. Dusan Tadic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic are the headliners in midfield, with Tadic linking the midfield and attack. Andrija Zivkovic, Sasa Lukic, Ivan Ilic and Nemanja Maksimovic are adept options depending on how Serbia want to set up. Serbia has the talent to make a shock run but faltered to deceive. With five wins in their last twelve games, their form is worrying. They are the favourites to go through alongside England but falling to get points against Denmark and Slovenia spells trouble for the Eagles advancing to the knockouts.

Likely Starting XI:- Rajkovic - Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Gudeij - Kostic, Ilic, Milinkovic-Savic, Zivkovic - Tadic - Mitrovic, Vlahovic (3-4-1-2)

Slovenia 🇸🇮

Another nation that broke away from former Yugoslavia, Slovenia have only been to three major tournaments since gaining independence in 1991. Having a single Euro appearance in 2000 while appearing in two World Cups (2002, 2010). Coach Matjaz Kek is in his second stint as head coach, with his first spell coming between 2007 and 2011, taking Slovenia to the 2010 World Cup. Now back at the helm, he has led them to the Euros through direct qualification for the first time. They finished second in their group, behind group opponents Denmark on head-to-head. They finished with the same points tally. They were prolific throughout qualifying, scoring 20 goals in eight games; The most in the group. Captain Jan Oblak will be playing in his first major tournament with Slovenia, having been one of the best goalkeepers throughout the 2010s at Atletico Madrid. With Oblak at the twilight of his career, they have a rising star in RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko. A tall, lanky striker with a ferocious shot, Sesko is coming off an impressive debut campaign in Germany, scoring 14 Bundesliga goals for Leipzig. With seven wins in the last ten games, Slovenia have clear momentum heading into their first game against Denmark. If they can pull off a result, a first-time appearance in the knockout stages seems more likely than ever. 

Likely Starting XI:- Oblak - Karnicnik, Bijol, Balkovec, Stojanovic - Zajc, Lovric, Stankovic - Zugelj, Sesko, Horvat (4-3-3)

Denmark 🇩🇰

Winners of the 1992 edition, Denmark had a remarkable run in the last Euros. Making the semifinals in emotional circumstances, winning the goodwill of the wider football world. Since then, they made the 2022 World Cup but failed to make the knockout stages. Finishing bottom of the group. Kasper Hjulmand, since becoming Denmark's coach in 2020, has shaped the team in a compact 3-5-2 formation, with a combative midfield with width coming from the wingbacks. After the 2022 World Cup, he has used various formations throughout the qualifiers and it remains to be seen what shape he goes for in Germany. Hjulmand has also made significant decisions on who goes to the tournament. Experienced heads Kasper Schmeichel, Simon Kjaer and Christian Eriksen have made the squad while young bucks Rasmus Hojlund, Morten Hjulmand and Alexander Bah also made it. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Euro 2020 star Mikkel Damsgaard made it to Germany. Still, their inclusion was controversial as Philip Billing and Matt O'Riley, who had better seasons than Hojbjerg and Damsgaard were omitted. They topped their qualifying group, ahead of Slovenia and Finland; winning seven of ten qualifying matches. With Kasper Hjulmand opting for experience, the know-how should be enough to advance to the knockouts. With just one defeat in ten games, Denmark's form is good. However, with the choice of pragmatism and bringing players at the back end of their careers, Hjulamd has to hope that they pay off or Denmark could be in danger of being one of the disappointments of the tournament. 

Likely Starting XI:- Schmeichel - Vestergaard, Andersen, Christensen - Bah, Hjulmand, Norgaard, Jensen, Maehle - Hojlund, Poulsen (3-5-2)