France and England as favourites downgraded, Croatia at the end of the cycle, Spain and Germany carried by their young talents… here are the tops and flops of the Euro-2024 group stage.
. Favorites, really?
Announced among the big favorites of the competition, France and England, finalist and semi-finalist of the 2022 World Cup, suffered from the same ills: broken offensive animation, a lack of efficiency in front of goal, and few certainties about their playing patterns.
The two teams nevertheless qualified for the round of 16, but with only 5 points each (one victory, two draws) and a slightly worrying general impression compared to the enormous expectations surrounding them, to the immense talents which make up their squad.
Worse, they have only managed to score twice in three games, despite having some of the best attacking players in Europe, including the two top scorers of the season Harry Kane (45) and Kylian Mbappé (44), who returned masked after breaking his nose in the first match against Austria.
. Croatia on the mat
This is surely the most striking scene of this first round: the eternal Luka Modric, 38 years old, who thought he had scored the qualifying goal against Italy after a missed penalty, watched helplessly as the « miracle of Leipzig ».
The Croatians, Luka Modric (C) in the lead, remain in disbelief after Italy’s late equalizer in Leipzig, June 24, 2024 / Odd ANDERSEN / AFP/Archives
Standing with his jersey between his teeth, the Croatian captain watched from his bench as Lazio striker Mattia Zaccagni crucified his team with a curling shot into the top corner in the last second of the match (90th+8), before collapsing.
Because this goal, which then qualified the Nazionale but still left a little hope for the Vatreni of reaching the eighth, perhaps signaled the end of the aging Croatian golden generation, which seemed totally overwhelmed against Spain (3-0) and too feverish against Albania (2-2). Even if Modric, who was probably playing his last international tournament with his country at almost 39 years old, seemed to push back the deadline a little further.
“I would like to continue playing forever, but there will come a time when I will have to hang up my boots”he declared after the meeting, his face closed. “I’m going to keep playing, I don’t know how much longer”.
. Musiala, Williams, Yamal… youth already in power
In groups A and B, other nations that observers placed a little below France and England made their mark.
Spain, the only team to have won its three matches in the toughest group, against Croatia (3-0), Italy (1-0) and Albania (1-0), won established as a serious contender for the title with collective strength and an attractive game, transformed by the contribution of the two young wingers from FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao Lamine Yamal, 16 years old and Nico Williams, 21 years old.
Young German attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala scores against Hungary in Stuttgart, June 19, 2024 / DAMIEN MEYER / AFP/Archives
Same observation for Germany, host country on a mission to win back its public after years of successive failures, stabilized by the return of its metronome Toni Kroos, 34, and reinvigorated by the rise of the two biggest German talents Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, 21 years old.
The Bayern Munich attacking midfielder was one of the most prominent players in this first round, with two goals scored, always incisive hooks and a great influence in the combination play of the Mannschaft.
. The beautiful Georgian surprise
And what about Georgia, which boldly qualified for the round of 16 for the first international tournament in its history?
Surprising Georgians display their happiness after George Mikautadze’s goal (from the front) against Portugal in Gelsenkirchen, June 26, 2024 / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP
The 74th nation in the Fifa ranking, beaten from the start by Turkey (3-1) despite a full match, stood up to the Czech Republic (1-1) before beating Portugal (2-0), each time thanks to its three key players: goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia), phenomenon Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Naples) and striker Georges Mikautadze (Metz).
With three goals in three matches, Messin is the top scorer in the competition, while its goalkeeper is currently applying for the title of best goalkeeper, with 21 saves in three matches, including 11 to maintain the draw against the Czech Republic. The Neapolitan, coveted by Paris Saint-Germain, was decisive against Portugal to send Willy Sagnol’s men into the eighth.
