Euro Cup 2020 — Predictions for the Group Stage
With only a couple of days more left until the long-awaited EURO Cup 2020 competition kicks off, our experts at Roanuz Football API sat down to analyse the six groups and debate their strengths and weaknesses. This post is a short summary of the long discussion which our team had.
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Group A
Turkey wouldn’t certainly be hoping to stage miracles. At best, they can expect to upset a few teams and if lucky, can even replicate the success they had in the 2008 season where the team reached the semi-finals. Turkey emerging as a black horse indeed will add some spice to the tournament.
After Italy lifted the World Cup in 2006, things have pretty much been on a downward spiral for them. The team even failed to qualify for the 2018 World cup. This time around, the coach Roberto Mancini has a huge task of lifting the spirits of his team and taking the team to its lost glory. The team heads into the competition with a well-known defence contingent and a relatively new attack after comfortably winning the qualifying matches with a 9–1 record.
Switzerland, who have never won a knockout match in the Euro Cup, this time will be relying on their 24-yr old forward Breel Embolo. It’ll be interesting if Switzerland manages to qualify to the Round of 16 despite the presence of teams like Italy and Wales.
Wales had a tremendous run in the 2016 season where the team reached the semi-finals. Apart from veteran striker Gareth Bale, the 20-yr old Ethan Ampadu will also be a player to be watched closely.
Group B
The Belgium National team is in its golden generation. The team even managed to climb to the top of the FIFA World Rankings and stayed there for a brief period. Yet, they have however failed to transform this ability into winning a championship. Despite the presence of players like Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, the ageing squad would find it hard to succeed in the knockout rounds. On the other hand, Denmark has been emerging stronger as a team year after year, and the team will pose a tough competition to Belgium for claiming the top spot. It’ll be interesting to see if Russia manages to upset any of the top teams like their win over Germany in the 2018 World Cup.
Group C
The Netherlands are arguably the only major team that is put into an extremely easy group. Though the team will miss van Djik, his absence is not certainly going to cost them in the group stage. North Macedonia is the lowest-ranked among all the 24 participating teams. With both Austria and Ukraine losing their form in recent years, it’ll be interesting to see which team makes it to the knockout stage.
Group D
The talented squad of Croatia made it to the Finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018 competition. The team would be hoping to replicate their previous success, despite boasting a relatively old squad and recent poor performances. The English team is a great team on paper, but they would have hoped to find themselves in other groups. Czech Republic & Scotland would be mainly eyeing to play the role of the dark horses of the group.
Group E
Spain boasts an excellent array of midfielders including the likes of Thiago, Busquets and Koke, but they lack a world-class striker who can convert scoring opportunities into goals. The team still hasn’t found a replacement for Iniesta, and it is evident from their matches. Poland’s chances are amplified thanks to the presence of Robert Lewandowski. Sweden has all the potential to put up a tough fight but whether or not they will make it to the knockout stage depends a lot on that particular day.
Group F
Our team at Roanuz Football API is looking forward to all the fixtures of the Group of death. The Portugal squad of 2020 is much stronger when compared to the 2016 squad. The fact that Portugal managed to win the Championship in 2016 makes it clear that Portugal are one of the strongest contenders for the crown this time.
The World Champions France are an equally strong team, boasting world-class athletes in all their departments. It’ll be an interesting contest amongst Portugal and France to see who tops the group.
After being handed an embarrassing defeat at the hands of North Macedonia in their last International fixture, Germany would be trying to turn their fortunes around this time. Germany is a team that is always hard to write off. The team finding their lost rhythm would make matches in this group all the more interesting.
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