Euro 2024 participants: an overview of the national teams and their chances of success

The 2024 UEFA European Championship kicks off in Germany on 14 June, where the hosts will host the Scottish national football team at the Allianz Arena. A total of 24 teams will compete for the main trophy in six groups.

This year’s European Championship in Germany is expected to feature bright teams and familiar tournament teams. Sportbet offers you an overview of the national teams and their chances of winning the competition.

The bookmaker Vbet has announced its odds on the likely victory of the national teams. The odds of winning Euro 2024 are as follows:

• England – 4.5
• France – 5
• Germany – 6.5
• Portugal – 8.5
• Spain – 9
• Netherlands – 15
• Italy – 17
• Belgium – 17
• Croatia – 41
• Denmark – 41
• Turkey – 51
• Serbia – 67
• Switzerland – 67
• Austria – 81
• Scotland – 81
• Hungary – 81
• Ukraine – 101
• Poland – 151
• Czech Republic – 151
• Romania – 201
• Slovenia – 251
• Slovakia – 501
• Albania – 501
• Georgia – 501

The three predicted favourites are England, France and Germany. It should not be forgotten that Spain, Belgium and Portugal can also have their say. The Italian team, a regular favourite, looks too inexperienced this year.

Georgia

The Georgian national team is considered the most unexpected participant in Euro 2024. “The Crusaders” finished fourth in their group with only eight points from eight matches. Nevertheless, they made it to the play-offs through the Nations League.

Budu Zivzivadze helped the team beat Luxembourg in the semi-finals of Group C with two well-placed strikes, and Nika Kwekveskiri converted a penalty shootout against Greece to send the Georgian national football team to its first major international tournament. This sparked celebrations in Tbilisi.

In Germany, the Georgian players will not be expected to win much. French coach Willy Sagnol’s team is in Group F, along with Portugal, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

Hvicha Kvaratskhelia is the team’s hope. The midfielder plays for Italian side Napoli.

Albania

“The Red and Blacks” were the opener of the qualifying tournament, getting the necessary point in Moldova last November. The team from the Balkans managed to reach the finals of the European Championship for only the second time in its history.

“The Eagles”, coached by former Arsenal and Barcelona defender Silvino, were defeated in their first qualifying match, losing to Poland 1-0. Subsequently, the Albanian national team managed to get 15 points out of 21 possible points, and the sensational 3-0 defeat of the Czech Republic proved to be the undisputed culmination of a historic seven-match unbeaten run in Group E.

Berat Gimshiti, Christian Asllani and Armando Broja are talented players who the fans have high hopes for. In Group B, they were drawn with Spain, Italy and Croatia, making it almost impossible for them to advance.

Back-to-back defeats against Chile and Sweden in March did not raise positive expectations. Sokol Cikalesi, one of the key players, will be unavailable for the Euros.

Slovakia

“The Falcons” were lucky with the draw in the qualifiers. Italian coach Francesco Calzona has done an incredible job since taking over in November 2022.

Slovakia scored 22 points in qualifying, although they lost to Portugal at home and away, both times by just one goal. In addition, while Slovakia is unlikely to be able to scare any of its opponents in Germany, it can count on two quality players from Paris Saint-Germain – defender Milan Škrinjar and Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka.

The draw was not too bad for the final part of Euro 2024 either. Belgium is set to drop out of Group E, leaving Slovakia to fight with Romania and Ukraine for second place.

Serbia

The Serbian national football team was in one of the weakest groups in the qualifiers. The players from the Balkans scored only 14 points out of 24 possible, were defeated twice by Hungary, and conceded nine goals in eight matches. They still managed to secure second place in Group G after Srdjan Babic’s late strike snatched a 2-2 draw at home to Bulgaria.

It is also a historic achievement for a country that has not qualified for the Euros since Serbia was renamed in 2006. Fans also believe that the team is capable of beating Denmark and Slovenia in Group C, given the presence of quality attacking players such as Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dušan Vlahović and Dušan Tadić, as well as Sergej Milinković-Savic.

Dragan Stojković’s team surprised in a friendly match against the Swedish national team. The team won 3-0, but lost in matches against Russia and Austria earlier in the year.

Slovenia

The Slovenes managed to take second place in the Euro qualifying group. The team scored more goals and conceded fewer goals than Denmark, which was ranked first.

The European Championship in Germany will be only the second for the Balkan team. Benjamin Sheshko is the main hope for success for the fans. The Leipzig striker scored five times in qualifying and will make a big impact in the tournament.

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak is likely to be even more important for Slovenia’s chances of advancing from their group, which includes England, Denmark and Serbia. A friendly victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in March proved that Matjaž Kek’s side should not be underestimated.

Romania

The Romanian national football team drew four of the first eight qualifying matches. Edward Iordanescu’s team defeated Israel 2-1 to book a ticket to Germany and then defeated Switzerland, which took second place. This allowed the Tricolorii to secure first place in Group I.

Romania failed to score in either of their last two warm-up matches, drawing 0-0 with Bulgaria and Liechtenstein, suggesting a weak attack.

Denis Alibek, Valentin Michele and captain Nicolae Stanciu scored three goals each in the qualifiers. At the same time, the team’s defensive line was impeccable, breaking through only five times in 10 games.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic qualified with a fairly routine 3-0 win over Moldova. Just 24 hours before kick-off in Olomouc, coach Jaroslav Silhavy sent three players home for breaking curfew and visiting a nightclub. Then, immediately after the Group E match, he announced that he and the rest of his coaching staff were resigning due to the pressure.

Consequently, the team played erratically in the qualifiers, picking up four points in Poland and only one in Albania. The team was forced to look for a new manager seven months before the start of Euro 2024. The search ended on 4 January, when Ivan Gashek returned to the position of manager for the second time, having previously led the national team for five matches more than a decade ago.

His tenure got off to a good start with three consecutive friendly wins, including a victory over Norway in Oslo. Despite the previous upheaval, the Czechs are calmly assessing their chances of qualifying from the group containing Turkey, Portugal and Georgia.

Poland

The Polish national team will host the fifth Euro in a row. Robert Lewandowski and Co. had a long way to go, as the Eagles advanced from third place in the group to the playoffs, where they played against Estonia and Wales.

Juventus veteran Wojciech Szczesny became the hero of the penalty shootout in Cardiff, saving the team from Dan James’ shot. It is likely that he will have to do a significant amount of work for the championship, even if Poland can attract Arsenal’s Jakub Kiewicz to the defence.

Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski, who will soon join Inter as a free agent, is a class player who poses a real scoring threat to opponents. At the same time, the legendary Lewandowski will lead the attacking line, which scored only three times during the qualifying campaign. The head coach of the Polish national team, Michal Probiez, considers the absence of Juventus centre-forward Arkadiusz Milik, who was forced to withdraw from the Euros due to injury, to be a problem.

In general, it is hard to imagine that the Biało-czerwoni will leave the group, as the Polish national football team will face the Netherlands, France and Austria, possibly the most difficult group in the entire tournament.

Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has forced the national team to work harder. “The Blue and Yellows” made it to Germany after qualifying from a tough group, where they faced England and Italy. In the play-offs, Serhii Rebrov’s team beat Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.

The team’s victories helped to raise the spirit of the Ukrainian people, who are defending the freedom of Europe from Russian aggression. Ukraine has every chance to advance from the group where it will compete against Belgium, Romania and Slovakia.

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who scored the winning goal against Iceland, Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, Arsenal’s famous player Oleksandr Zinchenko and Girona’s sensation Artem Dovbyk are the main hopes of the fans for positive results. The attacking potential of the Ukrainians is one of the brightest.

Hungary

There’s no denying the incredible progress Hungary has made since missing out on the 2022 World Cup. Marco Rossi’s men qualified for the third European Championship in a row, drawing 2-2 in Bulgaria thanks to Alex Petkov’s last-minute penalty.

In the final group match, Dominic Soboslaj showed real style as the Liverpool midfielder scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Montenegro to end an unbeaten campaign. Magyarok (Hungarian: Magyar) certainly doesn’t have the strongest squad, but they perform quite consistently. The team had a 14-match unbeaten streak, which was cut short in a match against Ireland earlier this month.

In the end, the team has nothing to fear from Scotland, unimpressive Switzerland or even the tournament hosts, Germany. “The National Eleven” (Hungarian: Nemzeti Tizenegy) can go further.

Austria

Under Ralf Rangnick, Austria has taken on a completely different look and qualified for the third consecutive European Championships in October. “Das Team” defeated Azerbaijan 1-0 thanks to a penalty by Marcel Sabitzer.

The Austrians lost their captain David Alaba to injury and got only one point from two matches against Belgium. This suggests that they are unlikely to be title contenders in Germany. However, Rangnick is now being praised not only for the results he has achieved, but also for the interesting and expansive approach he has taken. As a result, the fans have fallen in love with the team they had grown tired of watching under former coach Franco Foda.

Exit from the group consisting of France, the Netherlands and Poland. Such teams may be beyond the power of the revived Austrians, but they will certainly do their best to succeed.

Scotland

The entry to Euro 2024 was secured thanks to Spain’s victory in Norway, but Steve Clarke’s team fully deserved it by beating Fury at home. Then the players made a sensational comeback, winning 2-1 in Oslo. Scott McTominay became the unexpected star of the campaign, scoring seven goals, while captain John McGinn also played well alongside the Manchester United midfielder.

The Tartan Army have nothing like enough quality or strength in depth to compete for the Henri Delaunay Trophy. The team from Great Britain has virtually nothing up front, and left-back Andy Robertson is the only world-class player. In this context, the loss of Lewis Ferguson to injury is a disaster, given that the attacking midfielder was in great form during his time with Bologna.

Even just getting out of a fairly competitive group will be difficult for the team. It’s worth remembering their 4-0 defeat by the Netherlands and 1-0 loss to Northern Ireland at home during the last international break before the Euros.

The Scots may disappoint their opponents in Germany, but they have only won one of their last nine matches – and that one was against Gibraltar earlier this month. According to analysts, it will be a big surprise if the Tartan Army doesn’t fly home on the first flight.

Switzerland

The Swiss national team, which, according to qualification experts, has not participated in one major international tournament (Euro 2012), booked a ticket to Germany after drawing 1-1 with Kosovo in Basel. The Swiss were not particularly impressive in the qualifiers, drawing five of their six matches after opening their campaign with three straight wins and then losing 1-0 to Romania in the play-off match to reach the final part of the tournament.

Goalkeeper Jan Sommer was the best goalkeeper among the Big Five European leagues last season. Fabian Schar and Manuel Akanji are excellent defenders, while the midfield, led by Granit Xhaka, is nothing short of experienced. Xherdan Shaqiri and Zeki Amdouni can give the fans some hope.

The national team, Nati, will certainly not win the Euros, but the players from the Alpine country are likely to be a chore for Germany, Hungary and Scotland, who they will play against in Group A, which looks even and balanced.

Turkey

Turkey’s hopes of reaching their third consecutive Euros were in real danger of being dashed after a 1-1 draw with Armenia. However, the decision to dismiss Stefan Kunz as coach after a 4-2 friendly defeat to Japan proved to be the right one. Vincenzo Montella led his new team to a 1-0 victory over Croatia in Osijek.

After the “Moon Stars” (Turkish: Ay-Yıldızlılar) thrashed Latvia 4-0, this allowed them to advance by one game as Montella became the first foreign coach to lead his team to a major tournament. A 3-2 friendly victory over Germany in Berlin in November only added to the excitement around the team.

However, this was overshadowed by a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Austria in March, which even led some journalists to ask Montella if he was going to resign. Common sense prevailed, and the Italian’s team proved its strength.

Turkey is unlikely to overtake Portugal for the top spot in Group F, but with talented midfielders Orkun Koccu and Hakan Çalhanoglu and young players Arda Güler and Kenan Yildiz, they still have a chance to finish second ahead of the Czech Republic and Georgia.

Denmark

The emergence of Rasmus Goylund has gone a long way to helping Denmark overcome the bitter disappointment of a shameful first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup. The Scandinavians were widely touted as dark horses, but they scored just one goal to earn their only point in Qatar.

Getting into an incredibly soft qualifying group was a gift for the Red and Whites (Danish: De Rød-Hvide). They still suffered defeats against Kazakhstan and Northern Ireland.

The painful defeat in the final group match against the British was the reason why no one is talking about Kasper Hulmand’s team ahead of Euro 2024. Recent victories over Sweden and Norway have shown that the Danes should, at least in theory, finish second to England in a weak Group C, where they will again play the Slovenes and Serbia.

Croatia

Things looked bleak for the Croatian national football team after two consecutive defeats to Turkey and Wales in October. However, Zlatko Dalic’s team is resilient and they have won their last two matches, against Latvia and Armenia, to move into second place in Group D.

Doubts remain, mainly because many of Croatia’s most influential players are in their 30s, including Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, who plays football in Saudi Arabia, and Andrej Kramarić, the team’s top scorer in qualifying with four goals.

However, Modric, Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic will form one of the best midfield trios to be seen in Germany, while Joschko Guardiola has come into his own in the second half of his first season at Manchester City and a friendly win over Portugal’s Kockasti has boosted morale.

Euro 2024 will mark the end of a golden era for one of the world’s best teams. “The Flames” (Croatian: Vatreni) are in the same group as two other top 10 teams, Spain and Italy.

Belgium

Belgium’s campaign at the 2022 World Cup was a complete disaster, and the performance of the team’s star Kevin De Bruyne caused a lot of controversy. The inevitable split in the locker room played a big part in the Red Devils’ humiliating exit from the group stage, as did Romelu Lukaku’s poor performance.

However, the Roma forward is back in good form. In qualifying, Lukaku scored a record 14 goals. New coach Domenico Tedesco is also doing a great job of rejuvenating the team: the Belgians are undefeated since he replaced Roberto Martinez after the Qatar debacle. Although the “Red Devils” were disappointed to fail to beat England at Wembley in a friendly in March, their performance was extremely encouraging.

This time, De Bruyne is determined to win the tournament in Germany. Belgium is in a very winnable group with Romania, Ukraine and Slovakia.

Italy

The reigning champions won the right to defend their title, but only partially. Italy needed one point in their final match against Ukraine to stay ahead of England in Group C. They managed to earn it with a 0-0 draw in Leverkusen. However, the Azzurri were extremely lucky that the VAR system inexplicably refused to intervene after what looked like a clear foul by Bryan Cristante on Mykhailo Mudryk in the penalty area.

Luciano Spalletti, of course, did not care. As he rightly pointed out, qualification was all that mattered to Italy after missing out on last year’s World Cup in Qatar. He also took over under difficult circumstances: Roberto Mancini, the man who led the country to glory at Euro 2020, sensationally resigned in the summer of 2023 to take over the Saudi national team.

Spalletti is well aware that Italy is not considered one of the favourites – especially after being grouped with Spain and Croatia – but he has some great players: Nicolo Barella, Federico Chiesa, Federico Dimarco and Alessandro Bastoni, Gianluca Scamacca.

The most important thing is that Spalletti showed with his historic triumph at Napoli that he is capable of working wonders with underrated teams. Injuries to players such as Francesco Acherbi have hindered Italy. Fans are growing concerned that this tournament may not be the best for the team.

Netherlands

The 4-0 defeat in Paris and the 2-1 defeat at home to France, inspired by Kylian Mbappe, once again highlighted the fact that this Dutch team is not very strong. These results raised questions about whether the decision to bring Ronald Koeman back as coach for a second time was the right one. In the end, the main goal was qualification, and it was achieved with one match to spare thanks to a 1-0 victory over Ireland.

The Dutch have no shortage of quality – Cody Gakpo was outstanding at the World Cup, Javi Simons is one of the most exciting talents to come out of the Netherlands in the last 10 years, Jérémy Frimpong is back after a stunning season at Bayer Leverkusen and captain Virgil van Dijk looks to be approaching his best.

However, there are concerns about the centre forward. Memphis Depay certainly has a great record at international level, but his club form has been in doubt for some time now and Wout Weggorst has never been a reliable scorer at the highest level, so we will only find out in Germany, where the Netherlands will again face France, Austria and Poland, if Koeman’s boys are really capable of beating strong opponents.

Spain

Luis de la Fuente should be commended for the way he managed Spain’s qualifying campaign. Some fans and experts argued that the former Under-21 coach lacked the top-level experience to lead the national team after a shocking 2-0 defeat to Scotland, which Rodri and countless other players did not take too well.

After winning the Nations League trophy in June, the “Red Fury” (Spanish: La Furia Roja) went on to win six games in Group A and qualified with a revenge win over the Scots and a 1-0 victory in Norway. It is fair to say that De la Fuente’s credibility has now been restored.

Spain is far from perfect. A 1-0 friendly defeat to Colombia and a 3-3 draw with Brazil in March contributed to the negative. “The Reds” (Spanish: La Roja) were in a group with reigning champion Italy, always dangerous Croatia and the unexpected surprise of qualifying, Albania.

The loss of Gavi to a season-ending injury is an easily avoidable disaster, but Spain will still travel to Germany with an exciting team that should include future superstars Pedri and Lamin Yamal, the incomparable Rodri, Mikel Oyarzabal and captain Alvaro Morata, who is enjoying one of the most productive periods of his career.

Portugal

After replacing Fernando Santos with Roberto Martinez following a disastrous World Cup campaign, Portugal did much better. The “Team of the Chosen” (Portuguese: A Seleção das Quinas) won all 10 matches of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, scoring 36 goals (Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes scored 16 between them) and conceding only twice. Given their attacking capabilities, Portugal simply must be considered a serious contender for a triumph in Germany, especially now that they are in one of the weakest groups, with no real top-flight rival.

While Portugal should go through without a problem, it’s worth noting that their qualifying group was absolutely dreadful, and recent friendly defeats to Slovenia and Croatia suggest that they may not be at the right level. The victory over Ireland changed the situation somewhat.

It remains to be seen whether Martinez is capable of proving himself at a major tournament, given the way he missed out on the Belgian Golden Generation. However, with an incredible combination of experience (Ronaldo, Rui Patricio and Pepe), youth (Nuno Mendes and João Neves) and top talent (Bruno Fernandes, João Felix, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, Rafael Leão and Diogo Jota), Portugal has what it takes to win the title.

Germany

To say that Germany’s preparations for Euro 2024 were not perfect would be a huge understatement. After an unfortunate elimination at the play-off stage of the 2022 World Cup, the German national team suffered a complete collapse, losing four of their first six matches in 2023, leading to Hans-Dieter Flick’s dismissal as coach after a 4-1 defeat to Japan on home soil.
Acting coach Rudi Feller led Germany to a friendly win over France that boosted morale, and Julian Nagelsmann won against the United States and drew with Mexico in his first two matches as the new head coach, but the National Eleven subsequently suffered defeats to Turkey and Austria.

Despite all the recent setbacks in major tournaments, the “team” (German: Die Mannschaft) still has several quality players. Nagelsmann may decide to leave Mats Hummels at home, but they will not lack experience.

Antonio Rüdiger, Joshua Kimmich and Ilkay Gundogan are proven performers at the highest level, with Toni Kroos joining them again, and Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz are potential superstars. However, while Nicklas Fulkrug has a good record for his country – 11 goals in 16 games – and Kai Havertz has found some form of late.

France

France’s recent form has raised many questions. The second consecutive defeat against Germany and a 0-0 draw with Canada indicate that Les Bleus are not too focused on the result ahead of the Euros.

However, France is currently the highest-rated European team in the world, and for good reason. Didier Deschamps’ team has some weaknesses (the coach’s pragmatism is probably one of them), but the Blues boast a deep pool of players, a powerful combination of extremely interesting youngsters and veterans who have seen it all.

Striker Olivier Giroud may not have been very consistent in his results, but he showed his strength in the 3-2 friendly win over Chile in March. Marcus Turam and Randall Kolo Mouani provide an attractive alternative at the top of the pitch.

Elsewhere, goalkeeper Mike Mainian has been working wonders, and William Saliba has developed into one of the best central defenders in world football. The already formidable midfield has been strengthened. Antoine Griezmann is probably in the best form of his life, and Kylian Mbappe is simply the most fearsome striker in the game today. Deschamps is even convinced that the recovered Kante is back to his best.

England

Gareth Southgate’s team is unlikely to win in Germany. The players have the talent and, at this stage, the experience, as they reached the final of the last Euro, but the endurance is failing them.

After ending the campaign with two terrible matches against Malta and North Macedonia, there are still some doubts about stability. The coach has poor results in big games against strong opponents, as evidenced by a friendly defeat to Brazil and a draw with Belgium in March.

Southgate has long been criticised for his conservatism and he himself has admitted that England were not at their best during the selection process, which is a concern. They also look weak in defence, with Harry Maguire already out through injury. There are also doubts about the availability of left-back Luke Shaw.

However, if Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are fully fit, the Three Lions should at least make it to the semi-finals thanks to the softest possible draw. This will give them a serious advantage over their opponents, who will be more tired from other confrontations.