Predicting Euro 2024 – Winners, Losers and Where to Watch

By WherestheMatch Team

The 2024 European Championships are just around the corner with the tournament set to commence on the 14th of June. There’s plenty to look forward to and we can’t wait for another exciting tournament showcasing some of the best players world football has to offer.

Unlike some of the other sport sites on the web, we don’t own a supercomputer, nor are we able to hire a data analyst to break down the statistical probabilities leading into Euro 2024. Our predictions are fully backed by questionable opinions and a healthy dose of bias. Will the star-studded England side finally get their hands on some silverware, or will we yet again miss out to a fancy European team with a much more exciting playstyle? Here’s what we’re predicting going into Euro 2024.

Euro 2024 Winners – Portugal

You could argue that at previous major tournaments, Portugal somewhat underperformed. They lost to Morocco in the 2022 World Cup Quarterfinals, to Belgium in the 2020 Euro RO16 and to Uruguay in the 2018 World Cup RO16 – all three being games that they, with the quality of their squad, were very much expected to win. Portugal however, have already achieved a European Championship win in the not too distant past when they beat France 1-0 in 2016. They go into Euro 2024 on great form having dominated the qualifiers and looking very exciting in international friendlies.

The reason we’re backing Portugal over the likes of England, France and Germany is due to the quality of their squad and the numerous options they have in each position. The star power of Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, AC Milan forward Rafael Leao, Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, as well as a little-known player that goes by Christiano Ronaldo, set Portugal up with one of the most dangerous attacks in the whole competition. Throw in a couple of high-profile defenders such as Manchester City’s Ruben Dias, Barcelona’s Joao Cancelo and Bayern Munich’s Raphael Guerreiro and you have a squad that’s very much capable of beating anyone in the world.

Questions might be asked of new manager Roberto Martinez who is widely regarded as the man who failed to utilise Belgium’s golden generation. However, his early days in the Portugal job have been very positive winning over fans with an exciting offensive-minded style. A 9-0 result against Luxemburg in September 2023 was Portugal’s largest ever international win and following subsequent wins in the Euro 2024 group stages, this marked their fastest ever qualification to a major tournament. There will be plenty of top sides at the 2024 European Championships, but it’s hard to bet against Portugal at least making it into the late knockout stages. 

Finalists – England

England are an interesting side to try and predict since they never quite do as well as you feel that they should. In the past, legendary squads have been knocked out of major competitions by hungrier and harder-working sides; something that has been a source of great disappointment for a country that knows it’s players can do far better. Since Gareth Southgate took over consistency has been on the up and premature group stage exits have become a thing of the past. Silverware may still be eluding us, but appearances at a quarter final, semi final and final in the last three major competitions seems to indicate that the squad is moving in the right direction.

Football is never quite as simple as better players always win against worse players; it would be very boring if it was. As far as individual quality goes, there aren’t many sides that can match England, I would even go so far as to say that on paper, this England side might very well be the best in the world. There are few strikers better than Harry Kane of Bayern Munich and alongside Bukayo Saka of Arsenal and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham there is plenty of goalscoring ability in the side. There’s also a healthy mix of experience and youth in the squad with players such as Kyle Walker of Manchester City and Marcus Rashford of Manchester United having represented their country at multiple tournaments compensating for the likes of breakout stars such as Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill.

As is the case for Portugal, much of the debate around the expected performance of this England side will be around the pedigree of the manager. Southgate took the England job at a period of major uncertainty and managed to mould the team into a competitive prospect – his impact in ushering out the old and bringing in the new has been integral in giving England an international future at the highest level. After almost eight years in charge, many fans are starting to question Southgate’s methods with his clear favourites in the squad as well as tactical inexperience in key games having let the team down previously. Whether Southgate finally wins over the fans or not, it’s hard to argue with the sheer quality of this England side and you can’t help but feel that anything less than a place in the finals would be a disappointing outcome.

Are we being overly optimistic? Probably.

Ones to Watch – Switzerland

As a bit of a wildcard pick, we’ve singled out the exciting Switzerland team. We’re certainly not expecting that they’ll go all the way, but a spot in the last 16 in the 2022 World Cup shows that they’ve got more than enough ability to compete with some of the best international football has to offer. Star players such as Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka give the Swiss team a strong spine and a reputation for being hard to beat.

A Disappointing Campaign – Netherlands

The Netherlands international team of old was home to countless legendary players. Teams used to be frightened of coming across the Dutch and while they’re still a very decent side, they no longer command anywhere near the level of respect that they used to. The quality of the Netherlands team has been waning for years and an inability to replacing their ageing talents has led to somewhat disappointing lineups in recent times. Major questions are being asked about their quality in the goalkeeping and striking departments with their defence being the only part of the squad that looks good enough to compete with that of other top European sides. Additionally, manager Ronald Koeman has plenty of experience leading Barcelona, Everton, Ajax and more but has been unable to turn that know-how into performances on the pitch. As a bit of a personal favourite, I would very much like the Netherlands to do well in Euro 24, however, I can’t see them coming anywhere close to the likes of Portugal, England, Spain, Germany or France – all the teams that they desperately want to be grouped beside.

Where to Watch Euro 2024

The Euro 2024 tournament will be broadcast on ITV and on the BBC. Exact times and dates have already been confirmed and are available on our Euro 2024 on TV schedule at WheresTheMatch.