Showing posts with label portugal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portugal. Show all posts

Saturday, 29 June 2024

Soulless England frustrate as Scotland fail again


🟥 EURO 2024 GROUP STAGE ðŸŸ¥

GROUP AWDLFAGDPts
(Q) GERMANY21082+67
(Q) SWITZERLAND
12053+25
HUNGARY
10225-33
SCOTLAND01227-51

14-June
20:00GERMANY5-1SCOTLANDMunich
ITV



Wirtz 10, Musiala 19
Havertz 45+1pen
Fullkrug 68, Can 90+3

Rudiger 87og



15-June14:00HUNGARY1-3SWITZERLANDCologne
ITV


Varga 66


Duah 12, Aebischer 45
Embolo 90+3

19-June17:00GERMANY2-0HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC

Musiala 22, Gundogan 67


19-June20:00SCOTLAND1-1SWITZERLANDCologne
BBC

McTominay 13
Shaqiri 26
23-June20:00SWITZERLAND1-1GERMANYFrankfurt
BBC

Ndoye 29
Fullkrug 90+2
23-June20:00SCOTLAND0-1HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC



Csoboth 90+10

Scotland failed to get out of the group at a major tournament for a record-extending 12th time after a last-gasp defeat to Hungary consigned Steve Clarke's men to yet another bottom-placed finish in Group A. 

Germany, as expected, topped the section - though only after Niclas Fullkrug scored a late goal to equalise against Switzerland - and it was the Germans, of course, who started off this latest Scottish nightmare.

Julian Nagelsmann's Mannschaft were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes and 3-0 up at half time on their way to a 5-1 hammering of the Scots on the opening night of the tournament as Ryan Porteous received a red card for a nasty foul on Ilkay Gundogan.

Scotland consoled themselves that they could not have faced a tougher start against the revved-up hosts - but their failure to get anywhere near Germany at any point during the game was a definite cause for concern.

The Germans even seemed to take pity on their opponents as a late Antonio Rudiger own goal put the Scots on the scoresheet - and own goals, along with timidity from the two British teams, have been notable themes of Euro 2024 so far.

At least Scotland started better in their second match against Switzerland - and their early pressure was rewarded when Scott McTominay smashed a shot from the edge of the box into the net off Fabian Schar.

It could have easily gone down as another own goal - but the original effort was deemed to have been on target so the Manchester United midfielder was credited.

Nevertheless, the Swiss rarely roll over nowadays and the Nati were back level before the break through a cracking strike by Xherdan Shaqiri following a terribly loose back-pass by Scotland right-back Anthony Ralston.

Both teams had chances late on to take the three points as Grant Hanley headed against the post from a McTominay free-kick - but a draw was probably a fair result.

In the meantime, Germany eased their way past Hungary to reach the Last 16 with a game to spare with a straightforward 2-0 win in Stuttgart which left the Magyars without a point.

That was enough for Scotland to feel confident heading into the third group game against the Hungarians of breaching the first phase of a major tournament for the first time in history.

But, despite dominating the ball, Scotland failed to get a single shot on target - and their lack of ambition seemed to stem throughout the competition from the coaching staff.

Head coach Clarke declared beforehand that he would be happy to scrape through with four points - and, while it obviously meant Clarke could not be accused of delusion, it hardly reeked of Braveheart and arguably belied a lack of confidence in the ability of his squad.

Of course, there was the usual dose of bad luck as neither Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini or the video assistant referee (VAR) determined Stuart Armstrong had not been fouled even though the replays suggested otherwise.

Then, as the clock ticked into stoppage time, the Scots' biggest chance fell to centre-back Hanley - before, moments later, a neat passing move on the break from the clearance of a Scotland corner reached its crescendo when Kevin Csoboth struck the ball past goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

In that moment, any remaining Scottish hopes were shattered. However, the fact is that Scotland had just 17 shots in the Euro 2024 finals overall, with no team having had fewer efforts in a group stage since groups were introduced at Euro 1980.

Now, frustratingly for the long-suffering Tartan Army, this was nothing new - in 21 matches in World Cup and European Championship finals since 1986, the Scots have won just three, and the last of those came back in 1996.

Moreover, in that time, Scotland have scored a pitiful 12 goals in total. So much indeed for Scotland the Brave...

■ GROUP BWDLFAGDPts
(Q) SPAIN30050+59
(Q) ITALY
1113304
CROATIA02136-32
ALBANIA01235-21

15-June17:00SPAIN3-0CROATIABerlin
ITV


Morata 29, Fabian Ruiz 32
Carvajal 45+2



15-June20:00ITALY2-1ALBANIADortmund
BBC
Bastoni 11, Barella 16
Bajrami 1
19-June14:00CROATIA2-2ALBANIAHamburg
ITV
Kramaric 74, Gjasula 76og
Laci 11, Gjasula 90+5
20-June20:00SPAIN1-0ITALYGelsenkirchen
ITV
Calafiori 55og


24-June20:00ALBANIA0-1SPAINDusseldorf
BBC


Ferran Torres 13
24-June20:00CROATIA1-1ITALYLeipzig
BBC
Modric 55
Zaccagni 90+8

Spain made light work of Group B as the only team in the competition to take maximum points by progressing with an unbreached defence against Croatia (3-0), Italy (1-0) and Albania (1-0). 

La Roja enjoyed an ideal start to their campaign, leading 3-0 against the Croatians at half time - before following it up with a far narrower success against the Italians in a tight affair settled by an unfortunate own goal off the knee of Riccardo Calafiori.

That was enough to seal top spot for Luis de la Fuente's side with a game to spare - and the head coach indulged in this freedom by making 10 changes to his starting line-up.

Ferran Torres hit an early goal to justify the shaken-up selection - but the Barcelona forward then missed a hatful of chances as Albania noticeably struggled for the first time in the tournament.

Until that point, the Red and Blacks had competed well - and, in fact, Nedim Bajrami now holds the record for the fastest goal in European Championship finals history.

Timed at 23 seconds, Bajrami intercepted a loose throw-in by Federico Dimarco before slamming a shot past the stunned Gianluigi Donnarumma.

However, the Albanians had a major weakness - they gave up a lead then fell behind in double-quick time against Italy and did exactly the same against Croatia.

At least in a chaotic encounter against Hrvatska, Albania were able to pick up only their fourth point in major tournament football as Klaus Gjasula kept his cool for a stoppage-time equaliser.

It was a case of redemption for Gjasula who had inadvertently scored in his own net less than 20 minutes earlier.

Nevertheless, Croatia v Italy always looked like the key tie in this section - and so it proved, although the first half was almost completely devoid of action.

Croatia - aware that a draw would be no good - showed their hand first and, following a series of attacks, the Azzurri eventually cracked as a clear handball by Davide Frattesi resulted in a penalty.

Up stepped 38-year-old Luka Modric - but Donnarumma made a fine save to his left and then made an even better stop from Ante Budimir in the very next attack.

Modric snaffled the rebound, however, to round off a crazy 33 seconds of football - and Croatia remained in control with the lead.

By contrast, Italy had to make-do with fleeting attacks and were not helped by the poverty of their set-plays - although, towards the end of the match, Alessandro Bastoni really should have done better with his header from a corner.

No matter. Winners always find a way - and, while Croatia maintained their remarkable all-time unbeaten record against Italy, Mattia Zaccagni's curling shot in the eighth minute of stoppage time ensured this one would be a draw.

It was virtually the last kick of the game - and a draw really was no good for Croatia.

Modric, standing helplessly on the sidelines having been substituted, cut a dejected figure as the final curtain fell on this special Croatian generation.

Holders Italy, though, march on - and, while Luciano Spalletti's charges have been far from convincing in any of their first three games, they will start their Last 16 tie against Switzerland as favourites.

 GROUP CWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ENGLAND
12021+15
(Q) DENMARK
0302203
(Q) SLOVENIA
0302203
SERBIA
02112-12

16-June17:00SLOVENIA1-1DENMARK
Stuttgart
ITV
Janza 77
Eriksen 17
16-June20:00SERBIA0-1ENGLANDGelsenkirchen
BBC

Bellingham 13
20-June14:00SLOVENIA1-1SERBIA
Munich
ITV
Karnicnik 69 
Jovic 90+6
20-June17:00DENMARK1-1ENGLANDFrankfurt
BBC
Hjulmand 34
Kane 18
25-June20:00ENGLAND
0-0SLOVENIA
Cologne
ITV




25-June20:00DENMARK0-0SERBIAMunich
ITV





England prevailed at the top of possibly the worst group ever played out at a major tournament with five of the six matches finishing as dull draws. 

In fairness, the Three Lions were the only team actually to win a match in a truly desperate section which featured three 1-1 results, two 0-0 stalemates, and only seven goals overall.

Jude Bellingham gave Gareth Southgate's men an ideal start to the campaign against Serbia, heading in a deflected cross from Bukayo Saka after just 13 minutes.

England quickly fashioned another chance down the right as Kyle Walker sent a teasing ball across the six-yard box - but, until Harry Kane clipped the bar with a late header, a much-vaunted attack showed little in the way of threat.

It was felt perhaps that England were just feeling their way into the competition - and any major criticism of the Three Lions was tempered by the three points on the board.

In the second match against Denmark, England took another relatively early lead as Kane stabbed home from close range following a couple of deflections on Walker's pull-back.

But the Danes are an all-round better team than Serbia and, by half time, were back level after Morten Hjulmand struck a long-range effort.

The results in the other matches - Slovenia v Denmark and Slovenia v Serbia, both 1-1 draws - made it possible for England to win Group C with a match to spare with a second victory.

If that was the ambition, though, the Three Lions showed little sign of fulfilling it, especially after the equaliser.

Remarkably, it was the 14th time in matches at major tournaments held since 2000 that England had taken the lead yet failed to win the match with most of the giveaways down to the adoption of the ultra-cautious approach bizarrely favoured by Southgate.

Ahead of the third match against Slovenia, results in other groups ensured England had qualified for the Last 16 - but the identity of the group winners remained unclear.

The runners-up knew they would face hosts Germany in the first knockout round, though, so there was still theoretically some level of pressure.

In practice, England infuriatingly produced yet more of the same slow, safety first football which has come to epitomise their campaign.

The balance of the team remained poor with Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden looking particularly uncomfortable down the left - although at least the experiment of playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield was thankfully ditched.

Still, though, there was no room in the starting line-up for either Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon despite both players boasting double figures for both goals and assists in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Palmer was eventually introduced in the 71st minute - while Gordon ridiculously kicked his heels until 88 minutes were on the clock.

Gordon, indeed, has spent many more minutes at Euro 2024 responding to questions from the media in interviews and press conferences than he has actually playing football.

Nevertheless, both made a positive impression against the Slovenians with a raking pass by Gordon finding fellow substitute Kobbie Mainoo whose flick to Kane set up Palmer in one of the very few moments of excitement across the 90 minutes.

All that was needed was a stoppage time Denmark winner in Munich to consign England to second place and a meeting with the Germans.

But the fact that it did not come - and the fact that Denmark and Slovenia were able to make it through without winning any of their games - rather summed up Group C quite neatly.

■ GROUP DWDLFAGDPts
(Q) AUSTRIA20154+16
(Q) FRANCE12021+15
(Q) NETHERLANDS1114404
POLAND01235-21

16-June14:00POLAND1-2NETHERLANDSHamburg
BBC
Buksa 16
Gakpo 29, Weghorst 83
17-June20:00AUSTRIA0-1FRANCE
Dusseldorf
ITV


Wober 38og
21-June17:00POLAND1-3AUSTRIABerlin
ITV


Piatek 30


Trauner 9, Baumgartner 66
Arnautovic 78pen

21-June20:00NETHERLANDS0-0FRANCELeipzig
BBC




25-June17:00NETHERLANDS2-3AUSTRIABerlin
BBC


Gakpo 47, Depay 75


Malen 6og, Schmid 59
Sabitzer 80

25-June17:00FRANCE1-1POLANDDortmund
BBC
Mbappe 56pen
Lewandowski 79pen

Austria caused a huge shock in Group D after beating Netherlands to finish ahead of France and the Dutch at the top of the section. 

Coming into the third set of group games, there appeared to be little scope for drama with Netherlands and France already through, and Poland already eliminated.

Meanwhile, the Austrians merely had to get a point or, at worst, ensure their goal difference did not suffer too much damage.

Straightaway, though, Ralf Rangnick's men showed greater ambition than that - picking up where they left off in their fine 3-1 win against Poland by taking an early lead as Donyell Malen slid the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Ronald Koeman's Netherlands hit back immediately after half time as a quick break concluded with Cody Gakpo curling in his second goal of the tournament.

But Austria were not disturbed out of their rhythm by the equaliser - and, just as Kylian Mbappe was putting France in front against Poland in the other game in Dortmund, Romano Schmid restored the Austrian lead in Berlin with a diving header.

The Dutch - who had started the day top on goals scored from France - dropped to third place, but then briefly went back top as Memphis Depay found a second equaliser and, concurrently, Robert Lewandowski was levelling for Poland against the French.

It was all too brief for the Oranje though, as Marcel Sabitzer finished a lovely passing move to send Austria in front for a third time and back to the top of the group with the Dutch demoted back to third again.

France - aware that, by scoring, the Dutch would need two goals to topple them - tried in vain to get a winner, as Poland completed another underwhelming campaign having at least avoided losing all three group games for the first time ever. 


Les Bleus - while never in danger of falling to progress - have also disappointed and head into the knockout stages via an own goal and an Mbappe penalty.

By contrast, an enterprising Austrian outfit found the net six times in their last two matches. 

Now, the impact of the unexpected finishing order in Group D was immediately apparent with France taking on Belgium in the Last 16 and unexpectedly falling into the side of the knockout stage bracket which also features Germany, Spain and Portugal.

Netherlands will face Romania in the Last 16 - while Austria will look to continue their excellent form against Turkey.


■ GROUP EWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ROMANIA
11143+14
(Q) BELGIUM11121+14
(Q) SLOVAKIA
1113304
UKRAINE11124-24

17-June14:00ROMANIA3-0UKRAINEMunich
BBC


Stanciu 29, R Marin 53
Dragus 57



17-June17:00BELGIUM0-1SLOVAKIAFrankfurt
ITV


Schranz 7
21-June14:00SLOVAKIA1-2UKRAINEDusseldorf
BBC
Schranz 17
Shaparenko 54, Yaremchuk 80
22-June20:00BELGIUM2-0ROMANIACologne
ITV
Tielemans 2, De Bruyne 80


26-June17:00SLOVAKIA1-1ROMANIAFrankfurt
BBC
Duda 24
R Marin 37pen
26-June17:00UKRAINE0-0BELGIUMStuttgart
BBC






None of the four teams in Group E could be easily separated as Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine all finished on four points. 

Ultimately though, Ukraine lost out on goal difference following their heavy defeat to Romania in the first round of group games.

The Romanians won their first match at a major tournament since Phil Neville injudiciously brought down Viorel Moldovan and Ionel Ganea dispatched the resultant penalty as goals from Razvan Marin, Nicolae Stanciu and Denis Dragus earned a stylish victory.

On the same afternoon, there was something of a shock as Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka kept a clean sheet despite a typically nervy performance.

Better still for the Slovakians, an early goal by Ivan Schranz gave them a wholly unexpected three points, albeit against an unsurprisingly underwhelming Belgium outfit.

Schranz scored again against Ukraine in the second round of group games - but, facing an early elimination, Serhiy Rebrov's men fought their way back through goals by Mykola Shaparenko and Roman Yaremchuk.

Yaremchuk's effort was outstanding as he took the ball down over his shoulder to finish, although he was helped by uncertain goalkeeping from Dubravka.

Meanwhile, Belgium recovered their form with goals from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne at the start and end of the match enough to bring Romania back down to earth.

Those results left all four teams on three points with one win and one loss - and really should have set up a classic third round of matches.

Instead, the afternoon turned into something of a damp squib with both matches finishing in draws.

Slovakia and Romania traded first half goals through Ondrej Duda and Marin respectively - but thereafter seemed satisfied with the 1-1 score which guaranteed both teams went through.

And so, it was left to Ukraine to try to provide any drama - a win would have sent the Ukrainians through at the expense of the Belgians.

But a breakthrough by the Blue and Yellow never looked too likely - Belgium had the better chances - as yet another promising set of circumstances dissipated into a non-event.

Consequently Romania retained top spot while Belgium's less than serene progress has landed them a tie against tournament favourites France.

■ GROUP FWDLFAGDPts
(Q) PORTUGAL20153+26
(Q) TURKEY2015506
(Q) GEORGIA1114404
CZECH REPUBLIC01235-21

18-June17:00TURKEY3-1GEORGIADortmund
BBC


Muldur 25, Guler 65
Akturkoglu 90+7

Mikautadze 32


18-June20:00PORTUGAL2-1CZECH REPUBLICLeipzig
BBC
Hranac 69og, Conceicao 90+2
Provod 62
22-June14:00GEORGIA1-1CZECH REPUBLICHamburg
BBC
Mikautadze 45+4pen
Schick 59
22-June17:00TURKEY0-3PORTUGALDortmund
ITV


Bernardo Silva 21, Akaydin 28og
Bruno Fernandes 55

26-June20:00GEORGIA2-0PORTUGALGelsenkirchen
ITV


Kvaratskhelia 2
Mikautadze 57pen




26-June20:00CZECH REPUBLIC1-2TURKEYHamburg
ITV
Soucek 66
Calhanoglu 51, Tosun 90+4

Georgia will continue their wondrous adventure at Euro 2024 on their major tournament debut after sealing a landmark win over 2016 winners Portugal in Group F. 

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put the Crusaders ahead inside two minutes with a good low finish before, in the second half, Luka Lochoshvili had his tapped ankle tapped by Antonio Silva, and was awarded a penalty.

Metz striker Georges Mikautadze made no mistake from the spot to become the first, and so far only, player to hit three goals in the group stages.

Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was the Georgians' other big star and he protected the lead with an important save from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Overall, though, Georgia must be commended most of all for their team spirit which has been clear from the start of the competition.

Defeat against Turkey in their first game was tough take for Willy Sagnol's men given that they were right in the game at 2-1 down and pushing for an equaliser.

But, having brought Mamardashvili up for a corner deep in stoppage time, a rapid Turkish break concluded with Kerem Akturkoglu rolling the ball into an empty net for 3-1.

It was a great start for Turkey but the Crescent Stars were unable to build on it in their second match against Portugal who moved into a higher gear in an extremely comfortable 3-0 win which could have been at least a couple more.

Of course, Roberto Martinez's men were helped along the way by an embarrassing own goal by Samet Akaydin after he blindly rolled a backpass into his own net having failed to check the position of his goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

The heavy defeat left Turkey vulnerable to being caught by Czech Republic - but another late Turkish goal on the break through former Everton and Crystal Palace striker Cenk Tosun meant it was the Czechs who bowed out early.

Ivan Hasek's Czechs finished with an extremely disappointing record of one point from nine - not that the Czechs could have really done much more to help themselves in that third game.

Reduced to 10 men after referee Istvan Kovacs made a rod for his back by booking Antonin Barak twice for a couple of fairly innocuous early fouls, large portions of the match denigrated into a nonsense.

Indeed, it finished in utter farce as the Romanian man in the middle ended up brandashing a European Championship record of 19 cards.

No doubt the Czechs will console themselves that the referee was a disaster and this may be merely a tough start for a squad with the youngest average in the tournament.

There is no place for them in the Last 16, though - and nor should there be for Kovacs. 

 THIRD-PLACED TEAMSGroup
WDLFAGDPts
(Q) NETHERLANDS[D]1114404
(Q) GEORGIA[F]1114404
(Q) SLOVAKIA[E]1113304
(Q) SLOVENIA
[C]0302203
HUNGARY[A]10225-33
CROATIA
[B]02136-32

 GOALSCORERS 81 goals in 36 matches (2.25 goals per game)
3 Georges Mikautadze (Georgia)
2 Jamal Musiala (Germany), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Niclas Fullkrug (Germany), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Razvan Marin (Romania)
1 Florian Wirtz (Germany), Kai Havertz (Germany), Emre Can (Germany), Kwadwo Duah (Switzerland), Michel Aebischer (Switzerland), Barnabas Varga (Hungary), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Fabian Ruiz (Spain), Dani Carvajal (Spain), Nedim Bajrami (Albania), Alessandro Bastani (Italy), Nicolo Barella (Italy), Adam Buksa (Poland), Wout Weghorst (Netherlands), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Erik Janza (Slovenia), Jude Bellingham (England), Nicolae Stanciu (Romania), Denis Dragus (Romania), Mert Muldur (Turkey), Arda Guler (Turkey), Kerem Akturkoglu (Turkey), Lukas Provod (Czech Republic), Francisco Conceicao (Portugal), Qazim Laci (Albania), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Klaus Gjasula (Albania), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Scott McTominay (Scotland), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Zan Karnicnik (Slovenia), Luka Jovic (Serbia), Harry Kane (England), Morten Hjulmand (Denmark), Mykola Shaparenko (Ukraine), Roman Yaremchuk (Ukraine), Gernot Trauner (Austria), Krzysztof Piatek (Poland), Christoph Baumgartner (Austria), Marko Arnautovic (Austria), Patrik Schick (Czech Republic), Bernardo Silva (Portugal), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Youri Tielemans (Belgium), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Dan Ndoye (Switzerland), Kevin Csoboth (Hungary), Ferran Torres (Spain), Luka Modric (Croatia), Mattia Zaccagni (Italy), Kylian Mbappe (France), Romano Schmid (Austria), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Marcel Sabitzer (Austria), Ondrej Duda (Slovakia), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey), Tomas Soucek (Czech Republic), Cenk Tosun (Turkey)
7 own goals Antonio Rudiger (Germany) for Scotland, Maximilian Wober (Austria) for France, Robin Hranac (Czech Republic) for Portugal, Klaus Gjasula (Albania) for Croatia, Riccardo Calafiori (Italy) for Spain, Samet Akaydin (Turkey) for Portugal, Donyell Malen (Netherlands) for Austria

 RED CARDS
Ryan Porteous (Scotland)
 v Germany
Antonin Barak (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Tomas Chory (Czech Republic) v Turkey

Monday, 4 December 2023

Another chance for England at Euro 2024

🟥 EURO 2024 FINALS ðŸŸ¥

GROUP A GROUP BGROUP CGROUP D
[A1] GERMANY[B1] SPAIN[C1] SLOVENIA[D1] PLAYOFF [A]
[A2] SCOTLAND[B2] CROATIA[C2] DENMARK[D2] NETHERLANDS
[A3] HUNGARY[B3] ITALY[C3] SERBIA[D3] AUSTRIA
[A4] SWITZERLAND[B4] ALBANIA[C4] ENGLAND[D4] FRANCE

GROUP EGROUP F

[E1] BELGIUM[F1] TURKEY

[E2] SLOVAKIA[F2] PLAYOFF [C]
[E3] ROMANIA[F3] PORTUGAL

[E4] PLAYOFF [B][F4] CZECH REP

ENGLAND avoided the non-seeded big-hitters in the Euro 2024 finals draw to provide hope that the Three Lions may yet deliver a long-awaited major trophy next summer.

Gareth Southgate's side will take on Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday 16 June (8pm), Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday 20 June (5pm), and Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday 25 June (8pm) in Group C. 

The Danes sit 19th in the current FIFA World Rankings - while Serbia are 34th and Slovenia are rated at a lowly 54th place.

So, on that basis, it really is a section which should prove pretty facile for a country which can call upon the likes of Bundesliga top goalscorer Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham. 

In particular, 20-year-old Bellingham has already made a huge impression in his debut season at Real Madrid with 15 goals and four assists in all competitions. 

An unused substitute as a teenager in the Euro 2020+1 Final at Wembley, the youngster genuinely could be the difference-maker this time if his overly-cautious head coach Southgate finally lets his players off the leash. 

Certainly, that tendency of Southgate to keep the handbrake on at vital moments remains the main concern for Three Lions supporters ahead of the tournament. 

Elsewhere, Scotland landed a far tougher-looking draw by being placed in Group A with hosts Germany, experienced tournament campaigners Switzerland, and a fast-improving Hungary side.

Indeed, the Scots will take centre stage in the tournament opener against the Germans in Munich on Friday 14 June (8pm) - before facing the Swiss in Cologne on Wednesday 19 June (8pm) and the Hungarians in Stuttgart on Sunday 23 June (8pm).

Some fine performances in qualifying - in which Scotland won their first five matches and beat Spain in Glasgow - provides hope north of the border that they might make it through the group stages of a major tournament for the first time ever. 

However, the Tartan Army will have definitely wanted a kinder result than that which was delivered at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. 

After all, Steve Clarke's men are - at 36th in the world - the lowest-ranked team in their section, behind Germany who are 16th, Switzerland who are 18th, and Hungary who are 27th. 

In terms of the rest of the draw, outright favourites France must contend again with the latent threat of the Netherlands in Group D. 

The pair actually came through the same qualifying section with Les Bleus completing a comfortable double over the Oranje including a 4-0 thumping of the Dutch in Saint-Denis. 

As such, French coach Didier Deschamps probably will not have sleepless nights about their next meeting in Leipzig on Friday 21 June (8pm) - while the Netherlands will concentrate on finishing above Austria and the winners of Playoff Path [A], which could be Wales. 

Defending champions Italy - a definite bogey to avoid after being placed in Pot Four following recent struggles - face Spain in Group B in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday 20 June (8pm) in a repeat of the Euro 2012 final

Croatia - who the Italians have never beaten in eight previous attempts - and surprise package Albania complete that set.

Finally, grossly-overrated Belgium and the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Euro 2016 winners Portugal will be pleased with their own kindly draws.

The Red Devils take on Slovakia, Romania and the winners of Playoff Path [B] in Group E - while the Portuguese have been pitted against Turkey, Czech Republic and the winners of Playoff Path [C] in Group F.

Frankly, both of those seeded sides have ageing teams which are past their peak - but, equally, both should have enough to get past their limited opponents.

The countdown can start to the finals properly now, with an all-important interlude in March to determine the sides to qualify from the three playoff paths.

In Path [A], Poland will expect to progress against minnows Estonia while Wales take on Finland in Cardiff.

Then, with the playoff final also scheduled in the Welsh capital, the draw could not have really worked out much better for Cymru who could only finish third in their qualifying group behind Croatia and Turkey.

Troublesome Path [B] features two countries at war with Israel taking on Iceland and Ukraine facing Bosnia-Herzegovina, leaving the venue unconfirmed for one of the semi finals and indeed for the final if the Ukrainians make it through.

Meanwhile, Euro 2004 winners Greece are by far the biggest name in Path [C] - though their need for this route is a measure really of how far Greek football has fallen recently.

The Greeks take on Kazakhstan in Athens at the same time as Georgia face a vastly-improved Luxembourg outfit in Tblisi, with the final staged by the winners of the latter tie.

The playoff semi finals are scheduled for 21 March, with the playoff finals expected to be held on 26 March, and the three winners of those matches will complete the identity of the 24 competitors at Euro 2024.

Euro 2024 itself will begin on 14 June with Germany v Scotland and will run for exactly a month until the Final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on 14 July.

GROUP A
14-June(8pm)GERMANY v SCOTLANDMunich
15-June(2pm)HUNGARY v SWITZERLANDCologne
19-June(5pm)GERMANY v HUNGARYStuttgart
19-June(8pm)SCOTLAND v SWITZERLANDCologne
23-June(8pm)SWITZERLAND v GERMANYFrankfurt
23-June(8pm)  SCOTLAND v HUNGARYStuttgart

GROUP B
15-June(5pm)SPAIN v CROATIABerlin
15-June(8pm)ITALY v ALBANIADortmund
19-June(2pm)CROATIA v ALBANIAHamburg
20-June(8pm)SPAIN v ITALYGelsenkirchen
24-June(8pm)ALBANIA v SPAINDusseldorf
24-June(8pm)  CROATIA v ITALYLeipzig

GROUP C
16-June(5pm)SLOVENIA v DENMARKStuttgart
16-June(8pm)SERBIA v ENGLANDGelsenkirchen
20-June(2pm)SLOVENIA v SERBIAMunich
20-June(5pm)DENMARK v ENGLANDFrankfurt
25-June(8pm)ENGLAND v SLOVENIACologne
25-June(8pm)  DENMARK v SERBIAMunich

GROUP D
16-June(2pm)PLAYOFF [A] v NETHERLANDSHamburg
17-June(8pm)AUSTRIA v FRANCEDusseldorf
21-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [A] v AUSTRIABerlin
21-June(8pm)NETHERLANDS v FRANCELeipzig
25-June(5pm)NETHERLANDS v AUSTRIABerlin
25-June(5pm)  FRANCE v PLAYOFF [A]Dortmund

GROUP E
17-June(2pm)ROMANIA v PLAYOFF [B]Munich
17-June(5pm)BELGIUM v SLOVAKIAFrankfurt
21-June(2pm)SLOVAKIA v PLAYOFF [B]Dusseldorf
22-June(8pm)BELGIUM v ROMANIACologne
26-June(5pm)SLOVAKIA v ROMANIAFrankfurt
26-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [B] v BELGIUMStuttgart

GROUP F
18-June(5pm)TURKEY v PLAYOFF [C]Dortmund
18-June(8pm)PORTUGAL v CZECH REPUBLICLeipzig
22-June(2pm)PLAYOFF [C] v CZECH REPUBLICHamburg
22-June(5pm)TURKEY v PORTUGALDortmund
26-June(8pm)PLAYOFF [C] v PORTUGALGelsenkirchen
26-June(8pm)CZECH REPUBLIC v TURKEYHamburg

LAST 16
29-June(5pm)[38]  RUNNER-UP A v RUNNER-UP BBerlin
29-June(8pm)[37]  WINNER A v RUNNER-UP CDortmund
30-June(5pm)[40]  WINNER C v THIRD PLACE D/E/FGelsenkirchen
30-June(8pm)[39]  WINNER B v THIRD PLACE A/D/E/FCologne
01-July(5pm)[42]  RUNNER-UP D v RUNNER-UP EDusseldorf
01-July(8pm) [41]  WINNER F v THIRD PLACE A/B/CFrankfurt
02-July(5pm)[43]  WINNER E v THIRD PLACE A/B/C/DMunich
02-July(8pm)  [44]  WINNER D v RUNNER-UP FLeipzig

QUARTER FINALS
05-July(5pm)(45)  WINNER [39] v WINNER [37]Stuttgart
05-July(8pm)(46)  WINNER [41] v WINNER [42]Hamburg
06-July(5pm)(48)  WINNER [40] v WINNER [38]Dusseldorf
06-July(8pm)  (47)  WINNER [43] v WINNER [44]Berlin

SEMI FINALS
09-July(8pm)WINNER (45) v WINNER (46)Munich
10-July(8pm)  WINNER (47) v WINNER (48)Dortmund



🟥 EURO 2024 QUALIFYING GROUPS ðŸŸ¥
Fifty-three teams were drawn into seven groups of five teams (A-G), and three groups of six teams (H-J). The top two teams in each group qualified directly for the finals.


GROUP APts
GROUP BPts
GROUP CPts
(Q)SPAIN21  (Q)FRANCE22  (Q)ENGLAND20
(Q)SCOTLAND17(Q)NETHERLANDS18(Q)ITALY14
3Norway11[C]GREECE13[B]UKRAINE14
[C]GEORGIA84Ireland64North Macedonia8
5Cyprus05Gibraltar05Malta0










GROUP DPts
GROUP EPts
GROUP FPts
(Q)TURKEY17(Q)ALBANIA15(Q)BELGIUM20
(Q)CROATIA16(Q)CZECH REP15(Q)AUSTRIA19
[A]WALES12[A]POLAND113Sweden10
4Armenia84Moldova104Azerbaijan7
5Latvia35Faroe Islands2[A]ESTONIA1










GROUP GPts
GROUP HPts
GROUP IPts
(Q)HUNGARY18(Q)DENMARK22(Q)ROMANIA22
(Q)SERBIA14(Q)SLOVENIA22(Q)SWITZERLAND17
3Montenegro11[A]FINLAND18[B]ISRAEL15
4Lithuania6[C]KAZAKHSTAN184Belarus12
5Bulgaria45Northern Ireland95Kosovo11



6San Marino06Andorra2










GROUP JPts





(Q)PORTUGAL30





(Q)SLOVAKIA22





[C]LUXEMBOURG17





[B]ICELAND10





[B]BOSNIA-HERZ9





6Liechtenstein0







🟥 NATIONS LEAGUE 2022-23 RANKINGS ðŸŸ¥


LEAGUE A
LEAGUE B
LEAGUE C
LEAGUE D
(Q)SPAIN[B]ISRAEL  [C]GEORGIA  [A]ESTONIA
(Q)CROATIA  [B]BOSNIA-HERZ[C]GREECE50Latvia
(Q)ITALY(Q)SERBIA(Q)TURKEY51Moldova
(Q)NETHERLANDS(Q)SCOTLAND[C]KAZAKHSTAN52Malta

(Q)

DENMARK

[A]

FINLAND

[C]

LUXEMBOURG
53
54
Andorra
San Marino
(Q)PORTUGAL[B]UKRAINE38Azerbaijan55Liechtenstein
(Q)BELGIUM[B]ICELAND39Kosovo

(Q)HUNGARY24Norway40Bulgaria

(Q)SWITZERLAND(Q)SLOVENIA41Faroe Islands

(Q)GERMANY26Ireland42North Macedonia

[A]POLAND(Q)ALBANIA(Q)SLOVAKIA

(Q)FRANCE28Montenegro44Northern Ireland

(Q)AUSTRIA(Q)ROMANIA45Cyprus

(Q)CZECH REPUBLIC30Sweden46Belarus

(Q)ENGLAND31Armenia47Lithuania

[A]WALES32Russia [banned]48Gibraltar

KEY
(Q)   Qualified directly for the Euro 2024 finals
[A]   Path A playoff competition
[B]   Path B playoff competition
[C]   Path C playoff competition
All other teams have been eliminated

SUMMARY
 The top four teams in League A, League B and League C shown above all won their Nations League group
 The Nations League overall rankings determined which of the 12 teams - who did not qualify directly - entered the three playoff path routes to qualify for Euro 2024
 However, almost all teams from League A qualified directly - except for Poland and Wales - leaving a shortage of teams to compete in Path [A] in the playoffs
 This shortage of teams for Path [A] provided a place for a team in League B which did not win their Nations League group - this was determined to be Finland in a random draw. The shortage also provided a place for the best-ranked team in League D, which was Estonia.
 Path [B] was taken up by the top four ranked teams in League B who had not already qualified directly and had not been selected to make up the shortage of teams competing in Path [A]
 Path [C] was taken up by the top four ranked teams in League C who had not qualified directly


🟥 PLAYOFF PATH DRAW ðŸŸ¥
Each of the playoff path winners will qualify for the Euro 2024 finals

PATH [A]
21 MarchPOLAND[SF1]ESTONIAWarsaw
21 MarchWALES[SF2]FINLANDCardiff
26 MarchWALES/FINLAND[F]POLAND/ESTONIACardiff/Helsinki

PATH [B]
21 MarchISRAEL[SF1]ICELANDTBC
21 MarchBOSNIA-HERZ[SF2]UKRAINEZenica
26 MarchBOSNIA-HERZ/UKRAINE[F]ISRAEL/ICELANDZenica/TBC

PATH [C]
21 MarchGEORGIA[SF1]LUXEMBOURGTblisi
21 MarchGREECE[SF2]KAZAKHSTANAthens
26 MarchGEORGIA/LUXEMBOURG[F]GREECE/KAZAKHSTANTblisi/Luxembourg City