Euro 2024: Six favourites to win the tournament

The 17th edition of the UEFA European championship is set to be held in Germany as an illumination of lights and fireworks at the Allianz Arena will kick-start the tournament on Friday, 14 June 2024.

The tournament will be a battle among 24 teams, as heavyweights will look to finally lay their hands on the coveted trophy, first-time winners will look to add a second, while three-time record-holders will aim for a historic fourth title triumph.

Furthermore, second-time participants will look to stamp their foot in the competition and make a bold statement of intent, reminiscent of Wales’s 2016 underdog story where they reached the final four of the competition.

As preparations and friendlies are taking place ahead of kick-off on 14 June, Football Talk delves deep into an analysis of all 24 participating teams to highlight the six favourites to clinch the trophy.

Here is a preview of the six favourites to win Euro 2024:

Portugal

Eight years after conquering Europe with an inspiring fairytale in France, Portugal will aim for another triumph when they arrive in Germany for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament. New head coach, Roberto Martinez has brought a sense of upliftment to the team after a bizarre 2022 World Cup outing under former head coach, Fernando Santos.

In just a year and a half since taking over the reins of the Selecao, Martinez has won all ten qualifying matches, scoring a whopping 36 goals while conceding a meagre two goals.

They head into this competition in sparkling form and could be rightly tagged as the most in-form team in this tournament after accumulating 30 points during the qualifying stages – more than any other team.

The Selecao will use the Euro to salvage their abysmal FIFA World Cup campaign and are one of the favourites to reach the apex of the competition.

France

France will be aiming for a record fourth UEFA Euro trophy when they take the 872.08 km flight to Germany.

They played in one of the last two UEFA Euros finals where they lost on home soil to Portugal at the Stade de France. They also had a disappointing outing in the 2020 edition of the tournament after being knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16.

However, Les Blues have rejuvenated since then and are once again the powerhouse they once were. Didier Deschamps’ side is renowned for always going the distance in major tournaments as vividly shown in their two successive World Cup finals.

With key players like Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud all part of the squad, France are tipped to go the distance in this competition and are on course to clinch a historic fourth European title.

Spain

Spain are heading into this competition as Champions of another European tournament– the UEFA Nations League.

Since the appointment of Luis de la Fuente, Spain has been transformed into not just a ball-playing, possession-heavy side, but they’ve also become more lethal in competing with any opponent.

The surge of Rodri in midfield has added a blend of physicality and combativeness to La Roja’s midfield while the emergence of young sensations like Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal has added much more flair to Spain’s attack.

They have a plethora of talents and are outrightly spoilt for choice. Spain are tipped to add another European silverware to the previous three they accomplished – and the 2024 tournament presents the perfect opportunity to achieve a clean sweep of all European tournaments – after clinching the Nations League in 2023.

England

England will be aiming for their first-ever UEFA Euro championship title when they head to Germany for the 2024 edition of the tournament.

The Three Lions were unfortunate to lose to Italy in the last final of the competition in penalty shootout. They have been leaning closer to the final four of major tournaments and this could be the time when they finally clinch one. Thousands of England fans are expected to head to Germany to support the team with many trying to buy tickets from a secondary market as tickets from official channels are sold out.

Gareth Southgate has a plethora of options in his side with the English boys dominating their respective Leagues. The likes of Jude Bellingham who recently won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, Harry Kane who clinched the Bundesliga top scorer, Cole Palmer who finished the Premier League with the most goal contributions and Phil Foden who clinched the Player of the Season Award – are all expected to spearhead the Three Lions attack later this month.

Southgate will aim to lead the present generation of England’s best elite talents to seal a historic triumph and will hope to be on the podium at the Olympiastadion on 14 July where the champion will be crowned.

Belgium

In what looks to be the penultimate dance of the remaining elements of Belgium’s golden generation, before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there’s no better chance of archiving their very first silverware than the 2024 UEFA Euros championship.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Jan Vertonghen, Axel Witsel and Yannick Carrasco are some of the veterans of the team who were part of an exciting generation of Belgian talents that took the world by storm but failed to clinch a trophy.

Domenico Tedesco, who took over the reins as the Red Devils’ head coach in 2023 will look to guide Belgium to a fairytale triumph in Germany in what could spell the end of some of Belgium’s veteran stars who may not be available for the next World Cup tournament.

Belgium also possesses an array of young exciting stars including Wout Faes, Dodi Lukebakio, Johan Bakayoko Charles De Ketelaere etc.

The in-form Leandro Trossard on the wing and Thomas Kaminski who is set to deputise for Thibaut Courtois in goal presents Tedesco with the opportunity to utilise some of Belgium’s best talents to clinch the coveted European tournament.

Germany

Die Mannschaft are just one of three countries to win this tournament thrice, having done so in: 1972, 1980, and 1996.

A historic fourth win is on the cards as the hosts of the tournament will look to bounce back in style from what has been a disappointing outing post-2018 World Cup win.

The 2017 Confederations Cup win was the last monumental feat the Germans achieved before going on to record underwhelming performances in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, both being knocked out on the group stages.

The appointment of Julian Naglesman has spurred hope and resurgence back to the side as they’re now back to playing the quick, fast-passed football they were known for.

Naglesman will look to blend emerging exciting stars such as Maximilian Mittlestadt, Benjamin Henrichs, and Nico Schlotterbeck with experienced players like Antonio Rudiger, Manuel Neur and Joshua Kimmich to give Die Mannschaft supporters a feel of the ‘German machine football they’ve longed missed since the 2014 World Cup.