Some of you may be wondering why would I do a focus on the groups of Euro 2024 but not on the upcoming Copa America? Actually I will do a focus on the upcoming Copa America in the United States. Looking back, I find it weird that I only did one set of blogs for a Copa America all the way back in 2015, but none since. About time I fixed that.
Ever since I first focused on the Copa America, which would become my only focus until now, there seemed to be a change every tournament. When I first did it in 2015, it was a twelve-team quadrennial tournament. The first major change came in 2016 when the Copa America decided to have a tournament to celebrate its centennial. And in the United States: a nation that’s not part of the CONMEBOL! In addition, a tournament of 16 teams!
For 2019, it looked like it would get back to normal returning to its quadrennial occurrence, hosted by Brazil and back to being a twelve-team tournament. Then the COVID pandemic happened. A Copa America returned in 2021, held in Brazil. This time, it was only the ten CONMEBOL teams competing in two groups of five.
Now it looks like the Copa America is to be contested in leap years, just like the Euro. After this year, the next Copa will be in 2028. Hard to believe the Euro final and the Copa America final are both on the same day! For the tournament of the Copa America, it will be a sixteen-team tournament with all ten CONMEBOL nations and six guest nations all from the CONCACAF. Fourteen stadiums across the United States will have games contested. It’s possibly because it can prepare itself for the World Cup in two years.
In Group A, we have the defending Copa champions, two more CONMEBOL teams and a CONCACAF team. So without further ado, here’s my look at the teams of Group A. Numbers in brackets are the latest FIFA rankings:
-Argentina (1): At long last, Messi has his Copa America and his World Cup. Over the last ten years, it became apparent that Messi can be a one-man team for Argentina. It needs to have other top players to be the best team in the world, and they’ve done it before in the past. The first breakthrough came when they won the 2021 Copa America against Brazil 1-0. That would pave the way for the Albiceleste’s win in Qatar. They’re still strong and they show little sign of slowing down.
Lionel Scaloni continues to be the manager of the team he’s managed since the 2018 World Cup ended. The squad for the Copa has not been announced, but Messi will definitely be there. Also anticipated to be named to the team is defender Nicolas Olamendi, midfielder Rodrigo de Paul, forward Angel di Maria and goalkeeper Dibu Martinez. Since their World Cup wins, they’ve won all but one game. Their only loss came from Uruguay back in November 2023. Argentina could have what it takes to do it again as long as their success doesn’t spoil them.
FUN FACT: Argentina’s win of the World Cup must have rubbed over to the other American teams. Seven of the teams at this Copa have an Argentinean coach!
-Peru (32):La Bicolor or Los Incas are an on-again off-again team. The current team is a far cry from their Golden Generation in the 1970’s and delivered a legend with Teofilo Cubillas. Nevertheless, they’ve shown a recent surge in prowess with a 4th place at the last Copa, runners-up at the Copa in 2019 and qualified for the 2018 World Cup.
Peru has been managed by Uruguayan Jorge Fossati for less than a year. The squad consists of top players like defender Luis Advincula, midfielder Christian Cueva, forward Pablo Guerrera and goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. In the past year and a half, Peru’s wins have all been outside the CONMEBOL: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and South Korea. They’ve endured draws to Venezuela, Morocco and Paraguay and losses to six teams including Brazil, Germany and Argentina. This Copa America is another chance for Peru to prove itself and their team’s strength.
-Chile (42): It’s hard to describe how good La Roja are at any given time. When they’re on, they’re on. When they’re off, they’re off. They’ve been in nine World Cups and their best finish is third, but they always have the bad luck of meeting Brazil in the World Cup knockout rounds who would eventually end their run. Also they hit it big in the mid-2010’s when they won their first-ever Copa in 2015, repeated in 2016, but have finished out of the Top 3 since and last qualified for a World Cup in 2014.
Since the beginning of this year, Chile has been coached by Argentinean Ricardo Gareca. Top players include defender Mauricio Isla, forwards Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas, and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. In the past year and a half, they’ve had wins against Cuba, Albania and Peru, a win and a draw against Paraguay, draws against Colombia and Bolivia, and losses to France, Ecuador, Venezuela and Uruguay. The Copa America is the arena for Chile to show how good they are and possibly chase another win.
-Canada (49):Les Rouges or the Canucks are one of the six CONCACAF teams here at the Copa America. Canada has struggled for a long time to be seen at a world level. In 2022, it qualified for its second-ever World Cup. The fun ended at the Cup as it lost all three of its matches and it finished second-last. Since then, Canada has been focused on getting serious as they will co-host the 2026 World Cup with the US and Mexico and want a team they can be proud of. Even here at the Copa, they will play the opening game against Argentina. You can bet they want to look good here too!
Since the beginning this year, the Canadian team has been coached by American Jesse Marsch. Canada’s squad for the Copa has not been named yet but it’s strongly believed the team will include defenders Alphonso Davies and Richie Laryea, midfielder Jonathan Osorio and forward Cyle Larin. Since Qatar 2022, Canada has achieved wins against Cuba and Panama, has had draws against France, a win and a loss to Jamaica, a draw and a loss to the United States, and losses to Japan and the Netherlands. Canada will get a good sense of where it’s at here at the Copa and just could surprise the Americas at all they can do.
My Predictions: While the 24-team Euro allows for the top two and third-placers based on a wild card system, the sixteen-team Copa America is strictly the top two. I think the two will be Argentina and Chile.
And there you have it. My introduction to Copa America 2024 and my look at Group A. Just when I thought my writing would take a break after my Euro 2024 group blogs ended, I was wrong!
It’s interesting there have been 22 World Cups contested but only eight nations have won the Cup. The Euro has been contested sixteen previous times and ten nations have won the Championship at least once. It’s a wonder who the winner will be this year. A lot of nations look poised to win but there can only be one winner.
For this my last blog before the start of Euro 2024, I will be focusing on the Group F teams as well as additional things about the upcoming tournament. So without further ado, here’s my focus on the teams of Group F:
-Turkey (40): It sometimes seems fair to assume the Ay-Yıldızlılar, or the ‘Crescent-Stars,’ are an on-again off-again team. They’ve only played in two World Cup and finished third in 2002, but never qualified again. Euro has seen better success as they’ve qualified for six tournaments, with this being their third straight Euro, and finished third back in 2008. Turkey do know how to come alive.
Turkey has been coached by Italian Vincenzo Montella, a 2002 World Cup player, after coaching a team in Turkey’s Adana League. Top players include defender Zeki Celik, midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and forward Cerik Tosun. The squad for Euro has eight members under 25 so it’s a very young team. They’ve had wins against Latvia and Germany. They’ve had a win and a draw against both Armenia and Wales. They’ve also had a win and a loss to Croatia and losses to Hungary, Poland and Austria. Euro 2024 is a chance for Turkey’s current team to prove itself and possibly go further than expected.
-Georgia (75): Here at Euro 2024, the Jvarosnebi will be the one debut team. How did they do it? Despite finishing fourth in Group A which saw Spain and Scotland qualify automatically, Georgia had enough Nations League points to be among the twelve teams in the playoffs for the last three berths. Georgia was drawn into Path C where they would have to face Luxembourg in the semifinal and Greece in the final. In the semi, Georgia defeated Luxembourg 2-0. In the final against Greece held in Georgia’s capital Tblisi, it went scoreless in added extra time. On penalty kicks, Georgia won 4-2 and became the first-ever nation from the Caucasus to qualify for a Euro!
The team is coached by Frenchman Willy Sagnol who played in the 2006 World Cup final. The team has various players who have played in various leagues around Europe and North America. Top players include Guram Kashia, midfielder Nika Kvekveskiri and goalkeeper Giorgi Loria. In the past year and a half, they’ve had wins to Cyprus, Thailand, Montenegro and Luxembourg. They’ve also had a draw and a loss to both Norway and Scotland and losses to Spain. Anything can happen in football and it’s possible Georgia can provide another big upset here in Germany.
-Portugal (6): Here in Germany, the Seleção das Quinas qualified for their eighth straight Euro and ninth in total. This has been an incredible time for Portuguese football as they achieved a win in 2016, a runner-up in 2004 as hosts and to third-places. Not all is smooth sailing. Portugal definitely wants to do better than their Round Of 16 finish from the last Euro where they really underplayed.
Since World Cup 2022 ended, the team is managed by Spain’s Roberto Martinez. This Euro looks to be the last you might see Cristiano Ronaldo play. There’s loads of talk of whether he’ll make this the sixth Euro he scores a goal in, extending the record he set in the last tournament. Portugal is more than Cristiano Ronaldo. There’s also goalkeeper Rui Patricio, defender Pepe and midfielder Bernardo Silva. Since the World Cup, they’ve had a 2023 of straight wins against Slovakia, Iceland, Luxembourg and Bosnia-Hercegovina. This year, they had wins against Sweden, Finland and Ireland but also losses to Croatia and Slovenia. Euro 2024 is another chance for Portugal to rise to the occasion and shine.
-Czechia (36): Back when they were part of Czechoslovakia, they only qualified for three Euros but won in 1976. Ever since the Czechs and Slovaks went their separate ways in 1992, Czechia has qualified for every Euro! They even finished runner-up in 1996 and third in 2004. The Narodak, which is not their official nickname, are known for strong play but they’re also known for inconsistency. The biggest notice is that since the Czechs split, they’ve only qualified for a single World Cup.
The team is coached by Ivan Hasek who was just hired this year and who played for the last-ever Czechoslovakia team in the World Cup back in 1990. Top players include midfielder Tomas Soucek, defender Vladimir Coufal and forward Patrik Schick. In the past year and a half, they’ve had wins against North Macedonia, Armenia and Norway. They’ve had a win and a draw against Moldova and Poland and a draw and a loss against Albania. Germany is the stage offering for Czechia to prove itself and again show how good they are.
My Predictions: This is easy to predict but there are no guarantees. I think Portugal and Czechia will qualify with Turkey qualifying via the wildcard.
EURO 2024 EXTRAS FOCUS
The Logo
The logo for Germany 2024 is a unique design. It’s an image of the trophy in a background full of a multitude of colors. The colors are not just arranged for fun but mixed together to show the unity of nations. If you look close enough, you’ll see many flags or flag colors in the arrangement. Bottom left is Germany, the three up above can be either Italy or Hungary, France or the Netherlands in the three after that, Belgium in the three after that. You get the idea. There are even colors in the pattern resembling flags of nations that didn’t make it like Estonia, Armenia and Ireland.
The Official Ball
Once again, Adidas is the maker of the official football of Euro. It was unveiled in November 2023 and its name is Fussballliebe, meaning ‘love of football.’ It’s pattern-designed with back wing shapes and shapes of red, orange, blue and green. The many colors are there to show the qualified nations’ vibrancy to the tournament. Technology also plays a part in this official ball. This is the first UEFA to feature ‘Connected Ball Technology,’ where it contains internal electronic sensors, detecting movements and assisting referees in making decisions.
The Official Song
“Fire” – Meduza, OneRepublic and Leony: The song is a collaboration of an Italian electronica group, an American pop-rock band and a German pop singer. The song is an upbeat melody. The lyrics make hardly any reference to football. Instead, the lyrics focus on unity and triumph.
And there you have it. That’s my look at UEFA Euro Group F. That also makes it my last look at the UEFA groups. Tournament starts on Friday June 14th. Who will win? Will it be a team that’s won before? Or will it be a new team? It will all be decided in a month’s time.
Before I dive into reviewing the Group E teams, I’ll say it’s interesting when UEFA did its Euro draw, it did the draw before the three playoff berths had their teams decided. This is not the first major tournament to do so. Both the men’s World Cup of 2022 and the women’s World Cup of 2023 also had draws before playoff teams were decided. This must be a new thing to do draws before playoff teams are decided. One of the three playoff teams will be here in Group E.
So here is my look at Group E. Interesting note is that Ukraine shares its border with two other nations in this group:
-Belgium (3): For a long time, the world has been dazzled by the Red Devils. Starting back in 2014, Belgium went through their greatest era ever showing teamwork like never before and leading the nation to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. Unfortunately, they choked in the Group Stage at the 2022 World Cup. Soon after, Eden Hazard, Toby Alderweireld and Dries Mertens retired from the national team and Roberto Martinez was sacked as coach.
Belgium’s success comes in waves. There’s a period when they’re one of the best and there’s a period where they slump. Their new coach Domenico Tedesco will assure the team isn’t heading into the slump phase. Despite a lot of retirees since Qatar 2022, veterans like Romelu Lukaku, Kevin DeBruyne, Axel Witsel and Jan Vertonghen will be in Germany. Since their World Cup disappointment, they have not yet lost a game. They’ve had wins to Estonia, Azerbaijan and Germany. They’ve had a win and a draw to both Sweden and Austria as well as draws to England and the Republic of Ireland. Euro 2024 is the opportunity for Belgium to redeem itself and possibly even chase their first-ever Euro win.
-Slovakia (48): It’s tempting to call the Sokoli an underdog team. Slovakia have only been to one World Cup back in 2010. This is their third consecutive Euro. Surely, they want to do better than their best-ever Round of 16 finish from back in 2016. It won’t be easy ever since their B status in the UEFA Nations League fell to a C.
The team is coached by Italian Francesco Calzona. The irony being Italy was the defending World Cup champions in 2010 but Slovakia ended all chances of Italy qualifying for the Round Of 16 with a 3-2 win! The team has stars like defender Peter Pekarik, and midfielders Juraj Kucka and Ondrej Duda. Play in the last year and a half has been off and on. They’ve had wins over Iceland, Wales and Bosnia-Hercegovina. They’ve had a win and a draw to Luxembourg, a draw to Norway and lost to Portugal. Germany is the opportunity for Slovakia to show Europe what they’re made of and possible deliver a surprise or two.
-Romania (46): It’s been a lot of difficulty for the Tricolorii to establish themselves in world football. Right after Communism was overthrown in Romania, their football came alive with three World Cup appearances in the 1990’s and even progressing past the Group Stage for the first time. Now it’s a struggle. Their last World Cup qualification was for 1998. Their last win of a Euro game was in 2000 despite participating in 2008 and 2016. Romani is hoping to get their reputation back after moving up to the B status in the Nations League.
Since 2022, the team has been coached by Edward Iordanescu. Their top players include midfielders Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin and forward George Puscas. They’ve had a win and a draw against Belarus, Switzerland and Israel. They’ve also had draws to Bulgaria, Liechtenstein and Northern Ireland and a loss to Colombia. Germany is the stage to show the world what the current Romanian team is made of.
-Ukraine (22): A war can sometimes hurt a nation greatly, or a war can inspire a pride in a nation like no other. The Blue and Yellow is one team that knows how to play strong even as their country is going through a devastating war. The war caused a delay in playoff games for the qualification for the 2022 World Cup. It was postponed until June of that year, but Ukraine won over Scotland and then lost to Wales in the last match needed.
The Ukrainian team is managed by Serhiy Rebrov who played in Ukraine’s first and only appearance at the World Cup in 2006. Top players include defender Mykola Matviyenko and midfielders Taras Stepanenko and Andriy Yarmolenko and forward Roman Yaremchuk. In the last year and a half, Ukraine has delivered wins against Iceland, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Moldova and North Macedonia. They’ve drawn against Germany, had a draw and a loss against both Italy and England, and lost to Poland. You can bet Ukraine is ready to play hard and do better than their quarterfinal finish from the last Euro.
My Predictions: For this group’s qualifiers, I predict they will be Belgium and Ukraine. Slovakia will have enough points for third but not enough to get a wildcard qualification.
EURO 2024 MASCOT: ALBART
Euro 2024’s mascot is a teddy bear named “Albärt” whose name was voted on by the general public.
World Cup 1974 mascots Tik and Tak are tacky by today’s standards. World Cup 2006 mascot Goleo was confusing because a lion is more associated with The Netherlands or England instead of Germany. For Euro 2024, the mascot is an anthropomorphic teddy bear with a full football uniform named “Albärt.” He was introduced at the Germany vs. Colombia game in June 2023 but was unnamed at first. After his introduction, a public poll was released to choose his name. Choices included “Albärt”, “Bärnardo”, “Bärnheart” and “Herzi von Bär”. The winning name was revealed on July 5, 2023 with “Albärt” receiving 32% of the votes.
And there you go. That’s my look at Euro 2024 Group E and a look at the Euro 2024 mascot. That means only one group left to review! It is catching up fast!
I’ll admit some of my talk outside the team talk in my last blog was pretty boring. For this blog, I will try something new. After my focus on the teams, I will give a focus on the ten venues that will be used to contest the games of this Euro. To save space and time, I will just talk about the venues with ‘fast facts.’
Anyways to start my blog off, here now is my look at the teams of Group D. Crazy thing is two teams in Group D played each other in the same qualifying group! Crazy that they meet again here! Who does these draws?:
– Poland (28): Poland is a team with a good reputation. The Orly or Biało-czerwon have finished third at two World Cups and weer Olympic champions in 1972. At Euro 2016, they made it to the quarterfinals for the first time. One of the problems with Poland is that the current team is big on talent but has a reputation of underperforming at big tournaments. They ended in the group stage at the last Euro and at the last two World Cups, they were out in group play in 2018 and out in the Round Of 16 in 2022.
Since World Cup 2022, the team has dropped Fernando Santos as coach and has gone back to a coach from their own nation: Michal Probierz. Robert Lewandowski, the most capped Polish player ever, is back, but Lewandowski can’t do it alone. The team has a lot of young talent 25 and under, but they also have some other established veterans like midfielders Kamil Grosicki and Piotr Zielinski and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. In play since the World Cup, they’ve had wins to Germany, Ukraine, Estonia, Turkey and Latvia. They’ve had a win and a loss to Albania and two cases of a draw and a loss to Moldova and Czechia. Here in Germany, it’s a chance to write another chapter for the Polish team.
-Netherlands (7): The Oranje are considered to be the best team in the world to never have won a World Cup. At the Euro, they won in 1988 and have finished third four times. Since 2020, they’ve been underperforming. Euro 2020 saw them lose their Round of 16 match to Czechia 2-0, and after winning all three of their group play games! The last World Cup saw them lose to eventual champions Argentina on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals. Even losses in their recent play are quite telling.
Since the 2022 World Cup, they’ve dropped Louis Van Gaal as coach and are now back to being headed by Ronald Koeman who has played in two World Cups and was a key part of Oranje’s win of Euro 1988! The team’s stars include defender Daley Blind, midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and forward Memphis Depay. Since World Cup 2022, they’ve had wins against Scotland, Greece, Canada and Ireland. They’ve also had losses to France, Croatia, Germany and Italy. Anything can happen at Euro. Germany offers the stage for a possible second win.
-Austria (25): There was a time The Burschen were one of the top teams in the world. They made the semifinals of World Cup 1934. World Cup 1954 saw them finish third. They last qualified for a World Cup in 1998. Austria only competed in their first Euro in 2008 when they hosted. Since then, they’ve worked to come back as a stronger team. At the last Euro, they made it to the Round of 16 for the first time ever.
Austria is coached by Germany’s Ralf Rangnick who was hired in April 2022. The team members mostly play in clubs with Germany’s Bundesliga or Austria’s own Bundesliga. Star players include goalkeeper Heinz Lindner, midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and forward Marko Amautovic, who is Austria’s most capped player. Since World Cup 2022 ended, they’ve had wins to Turkey, Slovakia, Sweden, Estonia and Serbia. They’ve also had a draw to Switzerland and a draw and a loss to Belgium. Anything can happen this month in June and Austria has the opportunity to prove themselves again.
-France (2): One thing about the lats ten years has been about the rebounding of Les Bleus. Sure, they’ve won the Euro before in 1984 and 2000, but their excitement these last ten years have ben remarkable. Finalists in Euro 2016 which they hosted, World Cup winners in 2018 and World Cup finalists in 2022. Their play in the final of the 2022 World Cup should be admired since many members were recovering from food poisoning.
The team is coached by Didier Deschamps, a former player for the 1998 World Cup winning team, who has coached since Euro 2012. His coaching has a lot to do with France regaining their form as the best in the world. Star players include defender Benjamin Pavard, midfielder N’Golo Kante and forwards Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe. Since the World Cup final, they’ve had wins over Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. They’ve also endured a win and a draw to Greece, a draw to Canada, and losses to Germany. It’s very possible France could win their third Euro here in 2024. It’s all about the team being all together.
My Predictions: That’s often it. Four great teams, but they will have to be ranked in the end. I think the qualifiers here will be France and The Netherlands with Poland being the wildcard qualifier.
VENUES OF EURO 2024
It should be no surprise that Germany should have the venues to host a twenty-four nation major football tournament on its own. A nation who Bundesliga could be a challenge to the Premier League can do it. Germany has ten venues. They range in age from a few years old to 101 years old! Of course some of the older venues have had renovations, even one completely demolished to rebuild, but they still stand strong. Four are in the North Rhine-Westphalia region (with very little travel time between them), one is in the former East Germany and one hosted an Olympic Games. For this Euro, all of them will have group play games and at least one knockout match as well. For most of them, their Euro capacity is smaller than their respective team’s game capacity because standing areas are not allowed in the Euro.
This focus here is a brief focus. My focus is only giving a brief telling of the venues and its main facts like which city, year first completed, capacity and tenant team. I’ll be starting with venues that will only go as far as the Round Of 16 progressing to venues playing additional knockout matches to the Grand Venue which is to hold the final for the cup:
Venues Up To Round Of 16
Cologne Stadium: City – Cologne (Koln) Year Opened: 1923 Euro Capacity: 46,922 Current Tenant: Viktoria Koln
Leipzig Stadium: City – Leipzig Year Opened: 2004 Euro Capacity: 46,635 Current Tenant: RB Leipzig
Frankfurt Arena: City – Frankfurt Year Opened: 1925 Euro Capacity: 48,057 Current Tenant: Eintracht Frankfurt
Arena AufSchalke: City – Gelsenkirchen Year Opened: 2001 Euro Capacity: 49,471 Current Tenant: FC Schalke 04
Venues For Further Matches
Dusseldorf Arena: City – Dusseldorf Year Opened: 2004 Euro Capacity: 46,264 Current Tenant: Fortuna Dusseldorf
Volksparkstadion: City – Hamburg Year Opened: 1953 Euro Capacity: 50,215 Current Tenant: Hamburger SV
Stuttgart Arena: City – Stuttgart Year Opened: 1933 Euro Capacity: 50,998 Current Tenant: V1B Stuttgart
Westfalenstadion: City – Dortmund Year Opened: 1974 Euro Capacity: 61,524 Current Tenant: Borussia Dortmund
Fussball Arena Munchen: City – Munich (Munchen) Year Opened: 2005 Euro Capacity: 66,026 Current Tenant: Bayern Munich
GRAND VENUE
Olympiastadion Berlin: City – Berlin Year Opened: 1936 Capacity: 70,023 Current Tenant: Hertha BSC
And there you go. This is my look at the teams of Group D as well as a look at the ten venues for Germany 2024. Only two more groups left to review.
Group C has an interesting allotment of teams. First, there are two Balkan teams. Second, there are two teams that met in the semifinals at the last Euro. I mentioned that Group B is commonly scene as the “group of death” because of having three of the best teams in the World, but this group looks like a group where anything can go. It’s possible any of the teams can be ranked anywhere in the end. So with our further ado, here’s a look at the teams from Group C:
-Slovenia (57): One thing about the Balkan nations is that they know how to pull surprises. Slovenia is one such team that knows how to surprise. From the tiny Balkan/Alpine nation of just slightly over 2 million comes a team that was last at the Euro in 2000 and has played in two World Cups. It’s even won against some big names like Italy and Portugal. Among the teams they’re playing here, they’ve never won against England or Denmark but have beat Serbia once.
The team, which is one of only two teams at Euro 2024 that doesn’t have an official nickname, has been coached by Matjaz Kek since 2018. Kek played with the very first Slovenian national team. The players play for various teams in Europe and North America. Stars are Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak, midfielder Jasmin Kurtic and striker Josip Ilicic. Over the past year and a half, they’ve had wins to Northern Ireland, San Marino, Portugal and Armenia. They’ve had a draw to Bulgaria, a win and a loss to Finland, and a draw and a loss to Denmark. Euro 2024 is a new chance for Slovenia to prove itself. They could be the minnows that break through!
-Denmark (21): If there’s one team that’s unpredictable, it’s Denmark: the lone Nordic team to qualify for Euro 2024. De Rød-Hvide were the surprise winner of 1992. They also delivered shockers in Euro 2020. The first was after teammate Christian Erikson suffered cardiac arrest. The team played on and ended up in the semifinals. Some say it was because of Eriksen that they had the spirit to go that far. The team would go on to return to the World Cup in 2022.
Denmark has been coached by Kasper Hjulmand since August 2020. Star players include goalkeeper Kaspar Schmeichel, midfielder Eriksen and defender Simon Kjaer. In the last year and a half, they’ve won against Finland, San Marino, Sweden and Norway. They drew to Switzerland and had a win and a draw to Slovenia. They’ve also had a win and a loss to both Kazakhstan and Northern Ireland. It’s possible Germany can be the place for Denmark to prove its team one of the best in Europe. A surprise win again like in 1992? Never say never in football!
-Serbia (33): It seems as though the Orlovi struggle to relive the glory days of Yugoslavia where they finished fourth twice at the World Cup and finished runner-up in two Euros. Ever since Yugoslavia split up in the 1990’s, it first started as Serbia-Montenegro which was a single Euro in 2000 and a single World Cup in 2006. On its own, Serbia has successfully qualified for three World Cups in four attempts but has only now qualified for its first Euro out of five tries.
The team has been coached by Dragan Stojkovic for over three years. The players play for various clubs in Europe and Arabia with most players playing for Greek teams. Their stars include midfielder Dusan Tadic and forward Aleksandar Mitrovic. The team has had wins to Lithuania, Cyprus, Sweden and the United States. They’ve had draws to Bulgaria and losses to Hungary, Austria and Belgium. It’s quite possible Serbia can make their Euro debut a bang and go further than most predict!
-England (4): People have a love-hate relationship with the Three Lions. They always bring the finest combined football talent in the world onto their team, but they often can’t play as a team. You figure a team as talented as England would have won a plethora of awards! One thing in the last eight years is England sure has changed as a team as there has been more team unity in play. The World Cup saw them in the semifinals in 2018 and quarterfinals in 2022. At the last Euro, England made it to their first-ever championship final. They scored five minutes into the game, but it was downhill from there as Italy equalized and it led to penalty kicks where England, of course, lost.
Despite their biting losses, the team has played with the most team unity it’s had in decades. You can thank coach Gareth Southgate for that ever since he became coach in 2016. All members play for Premier League teams except two, including captain Harry Kane who plays for Bayern Munich. England brings a team full of top players but it also brings in a lot of young talent too. Since World Cup 2022, they’ve had wins against Italy, Scotland, Australia and Bosnia. They’ve had a win and a draw against both Ukraine and North Macedonia. They only had two loss since the World Cup and they were against Brazil and Iceland. Euro 2024 could be another chance for England to clinch its first-ever win.
My Predictions: It never fails. At the end of play, all four teams will have to be ranked. I believe the qualifiers from this group will be England and Denmark. Serbia will be in third, but I don’t think they will have enough points to qualify.
And there you go. That’s another look at a Euro 2024 group. This time Group C. Hard to believe I’m halfway done! Well it’s in good time as Euro starts in a week!
It’s crazy how they arrange these groups. Sometimes you wonder how do they organize these draws? Especially if you look at Group B. Of all groups in this Euro, Group B is the one group that can best be called the “group of death.” Look at the roster of teams! Three of them are ranked in FIFA’s most recent Top 10! Not only that but three of those teams were also in Group C in Euro 2012! Coincidence? Hmmm.
For those curious about what happened in 2012, Euro 2012 was a case only the Top 2 qualified. Spain and Italy not only qualified, but they would go on to be the two finalists, which Spain won!
In the meantime, let’s see how the four teams of Group B stack up and which teams will be the qualifiers:
-Spain (8):La Furia Roja may often come across as the World Cup’s greatest underachievers but they do very little underachieving at the Euro. Just like Germany, Spain also has three Euro wins. They were also semi finalists in the previous Euro tournament. They continued their achievements last year as they won the UEFA Nations League. The two Nations League teams they played against last year, Spain will be facing again right here in group play! One thing to point out about Spain is they’ve had a habit of slacking off in the early stages of group play and they can’t afford to do it here!
Spain is currently managed by Luis de la Fuente who has managed the team since their Round Of 16 ouster at the 2022 World Cup. The team is a mix of young and old and most play in Spain’s La Liga. Since then, they’ve had impressive wins over Norway, Italy, and Georgia, drawn against Brazil and Croatia in the Nations League final (which they won on penalty kicks) , had a win and a loss to Scotland and lost to Colombia. Germany is another chance for Spain to excel and possibly win a record-setting fourth Euro trophy!
-Croatia (10): I don’t call Vatreni or The Blazers “the little nation that can” for nothing. A nation under 5 million people and they’ve finished in the Top 3 in three World Cups including third in the most recent World Cup of 2022! Euro play, however, tells a different story. Ever since their existence as their own nation, they’ve qualified for the Euro six out of seven times, they’ve progressed to the knockout round four times, but have never won a knockout match at the Euro. That’s something to take into account.
Croatia has been managed by Zlatko Dalic since 2017. The legendary Luka Modric is the team captain. He will be joined by greats like forward Ivan Perisic, midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Nikola Vlasic and defenders Domagoj Vida and Josko Gvardiol. Their play since the 2022 World Cup has included wins against Netherlands, Armenia, Portugal and Egypt, a win and a loss to Turkey and a draw and a loss to Wales. This Euro is a chance for Croatia to go further than they ever have at the tournament, and even possibly win. Don’t count them out.
-Italy (9): The Gli Azzurri have always been seen as a major powerhouse in football with their superb showings at the Euro and the World Cup. Now they’re an enigma. Ever since they won the World Cup in 2006, they followed it up with two straight outs in the Group Stage and they’ve failed to qualify for the last two World Cups. Their failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup was especially shocking since they won the Euro 2020 eight months earlier and they looked like they were on their way to redeeming themselves.
Since then, the Italian system had to reform itself and they hired Napoli’s Luciano Spalletti as the national coach back in September 2023. The lineup for Italy’s team for the Euro consists of all but three players who play for Italy’s Serie A, eight members who were part of Italy’s Euro-winning team from three years ago and only one from the last World Cup team Italy sent back in 2014! The focus as of late has been getting new talent to rise. Since World Cup 2022 ended, they’ve acquired wins against the Netherlands, Ukraine, Ecuador, Bosnia-Hercegovina and even got revenge against North Macedonia who ended their World Cup 2022 chances! They’ve also had a draw to Turkey and losses to England and Spain. Euro 2024 offers a chance for Italy to redeem itself and regain its reputation as a football great.
-Albania (66): It’s tempting to dismiss the Kuqezinjtë as the weakest link of this group. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions. They’ve won a Euro qualifying game against Portugal in 2014, a friendly against France in 2015, a friendly against Wales in 2018, and both World Cup 2022 qualifying match against Hungary in 2021. Even in their first Euro back in 2016, they achieved a win over Romania. Although they’ve always lost against Italy and Spain and has never played Croatia, history has proven Albania can deliver a shocker. Even their play in the last year helped them move from a C status in UFEA’s Nations League to a B status.
Maybe their recent success is because since the very beginning of 2023, they’ve been coached by a Brazilian: Sylvinho. His coaching has led the team to five wins in eleven games and qualifying for only their second Euro. None of Albania’s team play in teams in their own country and most play in teams for Italy’s Serie A. They’ve achieved wins against Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands, a win and a draw to Czechia and Moldova, a win and a loss to Poland, and a loss to Sweden. Germany 2024 is an opportunity for Albania to deliver a shocker of a result and even qualify. Never rule Albania out!
My Predictions: The crazy thing about a group called “Group Of Death” is that eventually predictors will still have to rank first from fourth. It will be a close one which I feel will have the most draws. In the end, I will have to go with recent Nation’s League action and I feel Spain will top, Croatia will be second. Italy will be third but will have enough points and stats to qualify.
And there you go. That’s my look at the four teams of Euro 2024’s Group B. It may be seen by most as the “group of death,” but don’t rule out the other groups. They could have tight rivals too.
The 2024 UEFA European Football Championships, commonly referred to as Euro 2024, will be starting very soon! There will be a lot of differences from that of the previous Euro 2020. For starters, there will be no full-year delay because of a pandemic and there will be no regulated seating like it was in some stadiums. Secondly, it has returned to a single-nation hosting format. This year, Germany hosts and it will be held in ten different venues. All of the stadiums have been built long before but the Stuttgart Arena and Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion went through renovations or expansions in time for this tournament.
THE GROUPS OF EURO 2024
Qualifying for Euro 2024 was no easy feat as it would involve team’s play for almost a full year for some, starting in late-March 2023. Twenty of the teams would secure their berths by November of 2023 with twelve more nations needing to play in the playoffs in March of this year to secure the last three berths. Drawings of the groups were done through a system of UEFA”s Nations League rankings that don’t make too much sense. Russia was banned from the tournament because of their role in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Even the system of qualifying didn’t make too much sense. The top two of each of the ten groups would qualify; that made sense. Finishing third, however, didn’t guarantee qualifying for the repechage playoff round as Nations League points would supersede it in some cases. Some groups didn’t have any teams qualify for the playoff route, some teams that finished lower than third in their group would advance to the playoff round, and Group J had their 3rd, 4th and 5th place teams advance! The playoffs were the most straightforward as the twelve qualified teams were drawn into three groups of four and it was a knockout tournament with the last team standing in its group advancing and completing the last three berths.
GROUP AFOCUS
After all that, the twenty-four teams competing in Euro 2024 have been decided. Nineteen of the teams are returnees from Euro 2020, one team will be in its first Euro since 2000 and one team is making their Euro debut! Now to start with my look at each group’s teams and my prediction of who will most likely qualify form the groups. FIFA rankings are in brackets:
-Germany (16): They may be known as the DFB-Team or The Mannschaft, but Germany has one of the biggest legacies among European teams. It’s not just their World Cup success with four wins but at the Euro, they’ve won three times and qualified for an additional three finals! Nevertheless, it all feels like a distant memory as Germany have struggled these past six years. Disappointments include going out in the Group Stage at the 2018 World Cup, a lousy ranking in the Nations League and an ouster in the Round Of 16 at Euro 2020. This led them to drop longtime coach Joaquin Low and take on former Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick. Troubles continued as Germany again was out in the Group Stage at World Cup 2022. After more lackluster results, Flick was dismissed in September 2023. To add further shock, it was announced this March the German team would switch their national kit supplier to Nike in 2027 from Adidas: a brand they’ve been with for seven decades.
Although Germany is going through tough times, this is not the lowest they’ve ranked on FIFA’s list. Their lowest ever is 22nd in March 2006, just three months before World Cup 2006 which Germany hosted. The team is now headed by former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann. The only members of the 2014 World Cup winning team that are still there are goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, midfielder Toni Kroos and striker Thomas Muller. The rest of the team consists of a lot of young rising talent with other established members. 2023 was a bad year with losing six of their eleven friendlies. Ever since Nagelsmann was made head, they’ve had struggles with a 3-2 loss to Turkey and a 2-0 loss to Austria. They’ve also had some wins with 3-1 against the USA, 2-0 against France and 2-1 wins against both the Netherlands and Greece. This tournament will give Germany a chance to rebuild its reputation as a major world football force in the world’s eyes.
-Scotland (39):The Tartan Army is commonly seen as the hard luck team in major tournaments. Not only have they played in the most World Cups without advancing past the opening Group Stage, but they’ve also played the most Euros without ever advancing to the Group Stage: three in total! I remember one Scottish comedian saying they have the most creative ways in getting eliminated from major tournaments.
The team has been coached by Steve Clarke since 2019. His success in getting Scotland to Euro 2020, their first Euro in 24 years, helped keep him coach despite the team not qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Most of the team’s players hail from either teams from the Premier League or the Scottish Premiership. They did an excellent job in their Euro qualifying play, winning all games except one to Spain. Play since has been troubling as they have drawn to Georgia, Finland and Norway and have lost to England, France, the Netherlands and Northern Ireland. Germany 2024 is another chance for Scotland to take its team to new heights and possibly their first-ever knockout round in a major tournament.
-Hungary (26): Sometimes it does seem like the days of the Magical Magyars are a thing of the past with being in two World Cup finals, winning three Olympic gold medals and finishing third at only the second Euro ever. As Hungary made the move from Communism to freedom in the late 80’s, it actually caused a decline in football as the fall of Communism caused financial problems for many Hungarian clubs including some of their bigger clubs declaring bankruptcy in the 90’s. The resurgence of Hungarian football started in the 2010’s with qualifying for the past three Euros starting in 2016.
The team has been coached by Italian Marco Rossi since 2018. The team has a wide variety of players that play for various leagues, but it has done a lot of promotion of its younger talent. In fact the team captain, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai who plays for Liverpool, is only 23 years old. Since 2023 began, Hungary has had a great record, achieving wins against Turkey, Serbia (twice) and Lithuania, and its only loss coming from Ireland. Euro 2024 can be another opportunity to bring Hungary’s past magic back!
-Switzerland (19): Switzerland is often seen by many as a sleeping giant. La Nati have not had that much of a legacy but the team shows potential to achieve greatness at any time. They’ve qualified for the last five World Cup and have made it to the Round Of 16 in four of them. The first Euro where they qualified for the knockout round was in 2016 and in 2020, they made it to the quarterfinals.
Switzerland is coached by Yurat Makin, who became their coach in August 2021, shortly after Euro 2020. Veteran greats like Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri will be returning, but the team will feature a mix of old and new talent. They were consistent in group play in Euro qualifying. They’ve managed wins against Israel, Belarus, Estonia and Ireland but they’ve also had losses to Romania and draws to Denmark, Austria and Kosovo. Germany could be the stage for the Swiss team to reach new heights.
My Predictions: And now is that hard part of the blog. Predicting the two or three teams that will qualify for the knockout round. I will say Germany and Hungary with Switzerland a wildcard.
And there you go! That’s my first blog for Euro 2024 where I do a group breakdown. More to come over the next two weeks.
I know that sometimes my predictions can be quite off. I got all eight of the Round of 16 winners right, I got three of the four quarterfinalists right, but I got none of the semifinalists right! That’s why I tell people not to completely trust my predictions if you’re placing bets!
HOST NATION KUDOS
First off, I would like to say that both New Zealand and Australia did an excellent job of hosting the Women’s World Cup here. I know there was a lot of concern from FIFA and the New Zealand tourism industry in trying to get game tickets sold. The group stage saw a lot of near sell-outs of the games involving New Zealand or the USA, but low crowds for some of the other less lauded teams. As the rounds got bigger, New Zealand began to improve in their ticket sales and attendance has been great. As for overall, attendance has been excellent. It has set a Women’s World Cup record of 1.85 million! Per game, it’s just very short of the 30,000-per-game mark but it will have no problem passing it with the attendance of these last two matches. In the process, it ill become only the third Women’s World Cup with an average attendance of 30,000 per game or more!
Third-Place Playoff:
Yes, I’m one of those that’s willing to make a prediction for the third-place match. Besides I’m sure there will still be people betting on that match. The most intriguing thing about this match is that both teams are coached by a Swedish coach! So here are my thoughts:
Head-To-Head Stats:
Australia and Sweden have faced each other fifteen times before. Sweden won nine times and Australia have won twice. Worth noting is the most recent meet-up, in Melbourne in November 2022. Australia won 4-0!
Team-By-Team Analysis:
SWEDEN: It is always tempting to feel sorry for Sweden. They almost always seem to have a team that can contend for the top, but constantly falls short. They won the first-ever Women’s Euro, but have yet to win a second after eight more Top 3 finishes since. They two two Olympic silver medals, losing on penalty kicks to Canada in Tokyo 2020. And here in the Women’s World Cup, they find themselves in their fourth bronze-medal match! No doubt they would’ve wanted to be in their second Final, but Spain was the better team.
The Blagult have shown themselves to be top-notch players. They went through the Group Stage with straight wins and did very well in the knockout round until Spain beat them 2-1. Turns out Spain exposed their weak side as Spain had more ball control and better attack. If Sweden wants to win this match, they will have to have the ball control over Australia.
AUSTRALIA: Despite losing to England, the Matildas delivered a team that the host nation should be proud of. I know being a Canadian, I’m not happy they had our team eliminated, but I’m proud of what they’ve done. Making it to the semi-finals, they became the first host-nation team since the USA in 2003 to do so.
Australia have really proven themselves in the games they played and the opponents they faced. Nevertheless there have been times in this WWC where their weaknesses have been exposed. It was Nigeria in group play that first exposed their flaws and almost paved their way for elimination. The game against England also showed the team’s glitches. Some say England played dirty, but Australia were noticeably off. Even with Sam Kerr’s wonder-goal, England was the better team. Australia knows they will face a tough rivalry from Sweden and they know they need to be dead-on if they want to win.
My Final Verdict: Sometimes you wonder who wins the third-place match? Is it the team that’s the least disheartened? Or the team that feels they have one last thing to prove? Interesting fact: Sweden has won all three of their previous bronze-medal games. For this, I will go with Australia to win 2-1.
THE FINAL
Here it comes. After 31 days and 63 matches, it all boils down to the Final for the Cup. Sydney’s Stadium Australia which was the host venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics will be the arena to decide who wins the Cup. Since the semifinals, it was known the winner of the Women’s World Cup would be a first-time Cup winner. Another interesting fact is that for both finalists, this is their first-ever Women’s World Cup final!
Past Head-To-Head Results: Spain and England have played each other sixteen times before. England have won seven times while Spain have won three times. Their last meeting was in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Women’s Euro which England won 2-1 in added extra time.
SPAIN:
La Roja came to this Women’s World Cup with a lot to prove. A team competing in only their third Women’s World Cup and only entering into FIFA’s Top 10 two years ago. Can Spain be that good of a team? Decisive wins over Costa Rica and Zambia already proved them worthy of the knockout round. A 4-0 to Japan had people questioning their chances. Then the knockout round came. In each of their matches, Spain delivered in ball control and attack. The round of 16 was a 5-1 win over Switzerland, the quarterfinal against the Netherlands was a 2-1 victory in added extra time and the semifinal was a surprise 2-1 win over Sweden! Their first-ever win over Sweden couldn’t have come at a better time!
You can thank coach Jorge Vilda for their success. He not only coaches the Spanish women’s national team, but he’s also the sporting director of the RFEF’s women’s national team system and coaches at the National Coaching School. Spain have been brilliant through most of the tournament. They have shown dominance through most of their play. Nevertheless it was Japan that exposed their weaknesses. Despite Spain delivering dominant play in the Knockout games, their luck could run out in the final.
ENGLAND:
This is a case of a long time coming. Hard to believe this is England’s first-ever trip to the Women’s World Cup final, but it is. You can best give credit to their Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman. Wiegman already had made a name for herself in her home country by coaching the Dutch national team to a Women’s Euro win in 2017 and then finalists in France 2019. In September 2021, Wiegman signed on to coach England. The team showed a duplication of success as they won the 2022 Women’s Euro and delivered a 3-1 win over Australia to make it to the final.
Now before you start singing “It’s Coming Home,” we should not rush in and say England are going to take it. The Lionesses have delivered a lot of excellent play during this Women’s World Cup. They have a good record of scoring 13 goals here and only conceding three, but they have played too conservatively at times and possibly underestimated their opponents. Preliminary play saw them have 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. The knockout round saw them open with a scoreless draw against Nigeria which they won on penalty kicks. They can’t afford to underestimate Spain. Not after the dominance they’ve been showing. Even though they really came alive during their 3-1 win over Australia, they’ve been accused of dirty play. It’s perfectly fine to want to win the Cup, but they need to watch it in the Final.
My Final Verdict: This is really hard to tell. Both teams pose a challenge to each other. England has a lot to prove being the reigning Women’s Euro holder, while Spain wants revenge for their early ouster. I predict the game to go to England 2-1.
And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the third-place match and the Grand Final of the Women’s World Cup. This will make for quite the Saturday and Sunday mornings for most of us. I’m sure the Europeans won’t mind having an early breakfast. I’m curious how many North Americans will wake up earlier than usual to watch it live! It starts at 3am Sunday morning for me! Nevertheless it’s worth it to watch history unfold!
Just when you thought the group play was loaded with shockers, the shockers of the 2023 Women’s World Cup didn’t end there. Starting with the Round of 16, one of the first shockers was Spain humiliating Switzerland 5-1. Spain was the favorite but that big of a margin was a shock. Possibly the biggest shocker of all was the US playing a scoreless game to Sweden and losing on penalty kicks with the last kick being conceded by a fraction of an inch! USWNT Tobin Heath put it best when she said “It may seem that we lost this game by a millimeter, but we lost this tournament by a mile.” Then came another favorite England also getting a scoreless draw, to Nigeria, and their top player Lauren James getting an instant red card. England sis win on penalty kicks but James will be out until the final or the 3rd-place match, whatever England qualifies for.
The quarterfinals also delivered their own shockers. The first quarterfinal, Spain vs. Netherlands, was expected to be a tough game and ended 1-1 in regulation. However added extra time provided the surprise as 19 year-old Spaniard Salma Paralluelo delivered the tie-breaking goal! Sweden’s 2-1 win over Japan wasn’t that surprising since the two are top-ranked teams and this would be a tight match. The shocker was just the fact of the game that Japan, the last former Women’s World’s Cup winner standing, was out! The following day, England’s win over Colombia wasn’t a shock but Australia achieving a scoreless draw over France and then winning on penalty kicks was. A delight for the host nation.
SEMIFINALS PREVIEW
Now onto focusing on the semifinals. One thing is certain before the semis begin. It’s clear we will have a first-time Women’s World Cup winner. The last to do so was Japan in 2011. Also these will be the first-ever semifinals of the Women’s World Cup without the U.S.A. present. Another surprising fact! For two of these nations, this is their first-ever semifinals qualification. All four have achieved a big win of some kind during this tournament but Spain is the only team to not need a win on penalty kicks in this Knockout Round. All four have shown off brilliant play but they’ve also shown some weaknesses in their WWC play too. So here’s a look at the four teams and my prediction for each semifinal:
SemiFinal #1: Spain vs. Sweden
Head-To-Head Stats:
Spain and Sweden have played each other eleven times before. Sweden won seven games. Spain has never won. Their most recent meeting has been a friendly in October 2022 which both teams drew 1-1.
Team-By-Team Analysis:
SPAIN: Up until a few years ago, Spain was not considered to be a major contender in women’s football. The men are known to shine, but their women were substandard. Sure, they may have finished in the semifinals of the 1997 Women’s Euro, but they were lackluster for a very long time. The turning point came a little more than ten years ago when the RFEF started taking the women more seriously. Starting with the 2013 Women’s Euro, the team made it to the quarterfinals. In 2015, they qualified for their first-ever Women’s World Cup, but it didn’t go well. They were out in the Group Stage and were the only European team that didn’t advance. Even after they were out in the quarterfinals of Women’s Euro 2017, they showed signs of improvement with a Round of 16 finish at the 2019 WWC. In the fall of 2021, La Roja ranked in FIFA’s Top 10 for the first time ever. Here in this Women’s World Cup, they made it to their first-ever semifinal. A big improvement over the last ten years!
La Roja have shown a lot of impressive play in this Women’s World Cup. They opened their group play with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a 5-0 win over Zambia. They did have a setback with a 4-0 loss to Japan. During the Knockout phase, they’ve been showing excellent teamwork and ball control with a 5-1 win over Switzerland and also rivaling Netherlands in the quarterfinal which they won 2-1 in added extra time.
Spain has blown past many people’s expectations and have won the respect of the world. The women can no longer be underestimated. Many people were surprised to see Spain rank in FIFA’s Top 10 but their play in the Cup have them proving they deserve it. It’s not to say Spain can’t be stopped. Don’t forget they lost 4-0 to Japan. Spain did an excellent job against the Netherlands showing they can win against top contenders. Now they’re onto Sweden who have played without a loss this Cup. Spain have to be just as strong as they were against Switzerland and the Netherlands if they want to win.
SWEDEN: If you want to talk about certain small nations and how impressive they are at football, you should talk Sweden. At the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, they finished third. The semifinals would become common to see Sweden qualify for. They’ve done it for the fifth time in this Women’s World Cup! Very impressive since Sweden has a population of less than 10 million and this is only the ninth Women’s World Cup to be held. The Blåguld also has an impressive record of winning the last two Olympic silver medals and making it as far as the semi finals in nine of the twelve Women’s Euros.
Throughout this Cup, the Blåguld have been showing some of the best team play of all teams. They won all three of their Group Stage games with eight goals and only conceding one against South Africa. Then came their Round Of 16 match against the United States; the seventh Women’s World’s Cup meeting of the two. Both teams played to a scoreless draw and then Sweden won the penalty kicks 5-4. The quarterfinals saw them play against Japan who, like Sweden, also won all three of their group play games. It started with a goal from Amanda Ilestedt in the 32nd minute and Sweden didn’t look back winning 1-2.
Sweden have done a very good job in showing itself as one of the top teams here. They’ve shown excellent play and knew how to handle both the Americans and Japanese. It’s easy to believe that they will be the team to win the Cup. I think the one thing that could stand in their way is if they misjudge Spain. Spain have done an excellent job in their play in this Cup of attacking and controlling the ball. Sweden could easily misjudge Spain and it could end up the Spaniards would end up winning the game. That’s something Sweden won’t want. Especially if they want to make it to their second Final ever.
My Prediction: This really gives me time to do a lot of thinking but I will have to predict Sweden to win 1-0 in added extra time.
SemiFinal #2: Australia vs. England
Head-to-Head Stats: The two teams have rivaled each other six times. England have won three, there was one draw, and Australia have won twice. Their most recent meeting is worth noting. It was a friendly in Brentford, England which Australia won 2-0!
Team-By-Team Analysis:
AUSTRALIA: Australia making it to the semifinals has been a slow and steady process. Hard to believe, but they weren’t in the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991. Australia have been in every Women’s World Cup since. Their breakthrough came in 2007 when they qualified for the knockout round for the first time and they’ve done so in every WWC since. In 2015, the Matildas won their first-ever knockout match. Here at this WWC, they took it one step further by achieving their first-ever semifinals berth! First host nation to do so since the USA did it in 2003. Australia have also excelled in other tournaments such as winning the last three OFC Women’s Nations Cups before Australia switched to the AFC. After the switch, Australia have made it to the finals four out of six times and winning in 2010.
The Matildas have delivered play at this Women’s World Cup with a lot of ups and downs. They started their trip to the Cup well with a 1-0 win over Ireland but soon feel into trouble with a 3-2 loss to Nigeria. They knew they needed to win their last game over Canada, which they did 4-0. In the Round of 16, they faced Denmark and won 2-0. In the quarterfinals, they were up against more favored France. The game went to a scoreless draw but Australia won on penalties 7-6. Of all teams, Australia has done the most to defy expectations. They’ve been playing really well here but their play has been inconsistent. Except for their big win over Canada, most of their play has been pretty close. They may have had a scoreless draw against France but they can’t afford to push their luck here if they want to go to the Final.
ENGLAND: You figure a nation as football mad as England would have their women excel quite far. It wasn’t always the case in the past. Until 1972, England was one of a multitude of nations that forbid women to play the sport. Even as national women’s teams were starting to be formed in the 70′ and 80’s and the first Women’s World Cup was started in 1991, England wasn’t there. 1995 showed promise as the team made it to the quarterfinals, but they wouldn’t return to qualifying for the Women’s World Cup until 2007. Since their return, it’s been all uphill from there. In 2007 and 2011, they made it to the quarterfinals. In 2015, the Lionesses made it to their first ever semi-final and have never missed a semifinal since. Their improvements have also shown at the Women’s Euro as they have not missed one since 2001, made the semifinals three out of the six times finalists in 2009 and winners in 2022!
The Lionesses have delivered play here that will make one convinced they’ll be singing “It’s Coming Home” for the first time in Women’s World Cup history. They started their group play with conservative 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. When it came to their last group game against China, they went all out and won 6-1. Their first knockout game was against Nigeria which led to a scoreless draw and England winning on penalty kicks 4-2. Their quarterfinal match was against Colombia which they won 2-1.
Playing conservatively worked well for England at the beginning of the Cup. Now they can’t take any more chances. It was evident after their scoreless game against Nigeria that they have to play like the Lionesses that dazzled everybody during the Women’s Euro of 2022. Besides they’re playing against Australia in the semifinal. They can’t forget their defeat to them because if they don’t play like they’re supposed to, they may lose again, and this is the worst time to lose.
My Prediction: This is too tough to say. Both teams know how to play well, but both teams have made their errors obvious during the Cup. I think this game will be a 1-1 draw with Australia winning on penalty kicks.
And there you go. These are my predictions for the semifinals of this Women’s World Cup. Hard to believe the final is less than a week away! Will the semis provide shockers of their own beforehand?
can you believe all the group stage games of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup have already been played and they’re now into the knockout stage? It went by faster than I thought! Before I give my predictions for the first set of knockout games, I’ll give my overview of the group play.
GROUP PLAY OVERVIEW
The Women’s World Cup has always had surprises but I don’t think there’s ever been a WWC with as many surprises as this! Did the change from a 24-team tournament to a 32-team tournament pave the path for all these surprises? Or would they have happened anyways?
I’ll mention the major surprises and shockers group by group. Starting with Group A, hosts New Zealand beat heavily favored Norway in their opening game. Then they’d lose in their next game to the Philippines! In Group B, Nigeria was more consistent than expected. Their consistency also included them beating hosts Australia 3-2. Australia’s comeback win of 4-0 over Canada meant Canada out! Group C was mostly expected with Japan and Spain qualifying. The unexpected was Zambia’s win over Costa Rica. Group D went mostly shock-proof until the end when England beat China 6-1. That also meant an unexpected early ouster for China!
Group E’s biggest shock was the USA not topping and giving less-than-spectacular play. The scoreless draw between the US and Portugal was the most shocking result. A Group F surprise was Jamaica qualifying. And they only scored a single goal! The bigger shock was Brazil not qualifying! Group G had the surprise of South Africa playing better than expected and their win over Italy helping them qualify. And to think the last group – Group H – had arguably the biggest shocks. Most notable Colombia’s 2-1 win over Germany and Morocco’s 1-0 wins over South Korea and Colombia. In the end it was Morocco and Colombia that advanced leaving favorites Germany and South Korea out!
What can I say? The group play gave us a mix of highlights and lowlights. Starting with lowlights, Vietnam and Haiti lost all three of their games and didn’t score a goal, the five red cards at this Women’s World Cup are already the most ever, Canada failed to advance for the first time since 2011, Brazil for the first time since 1995, and both China and Germany failed to progress for the first time ever! Yes, it’s something how three teams currently ranked in FIFA’s Top 10 are now out. Now onto the highlights. This Women’s World Cup so far has a goal average of 2.63 per game and crowd attendance averaging over 25,476 per game. For those that did qualify, Denmark qualified for the first time since 1995 and three nations, Jamaica, Morocco and South Africa, qualified for the knockout stage for the first time ever. This is also the first World Cup, men’s or women’s, that has three African teams in the knockout round and a Caribbean team for the first time ever at a Women’s World Cup! Even for those that didn’t qualify, there were seven nations that achieved their first-ever win of a Women’s World Cup game. Joining Morocco, Jamaica and South Africa as first-timers are hosts New Zealand, Philippines, Zambia and Portugal. And to think of all the teams at this Women’s World Cup, Zambia, Morocco and South Africa had the lowest FIFA rankings of them all!
ROUND-OF-16 FOCUS
Now onto focusing on the Knockout Round. The complicated thing about this Round of 16 round is that it’s not like your typical Round of 16. Every World Cup the Round of 16 sets up the path of the whole knockout round leading to the final. Whenever a single nation hosts a World Cup, the path is organized so that group play opponents don’t meet again until the Final. Now that two nations are hosting, that will make it hard to do so since the knockout round brackets are organized differently. It’s quite possible that group play opponents could meet as soon as the semi-final. And it’s happened before when Japan and South Korea co-hosted the men’s World Cup of 2002 and group opponents Brazil and Turkey did end up meeting again in the semifinal. Let’s hope we don’t get a similar situation here.
ROUND-OF-16 PREDICTIONS
Now that 48 matches have been played and the qualifiers for the knockout rounds have been decided, the only thing for me to do is now make predictions for which team will win which Round-Of-16 match. So here we go with my predictions! Matches will be in chronological order and my prediction for the winner will be bolded:
Switzerland (Group A winner) vs. Spain (Group C 2nd): Switzerland clinched to top of Group A through lackluster play. They started well with a 2-0 win against the Philippines, but was only able to do scoreless draws against Norway and hosts New Zealand. Spain had already secured their qualification with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a 5-0 win against Zambia. Their last game, against Japan, was there to decide first place in the group, which Japan won 4-0.
Now for the game, Switzerland and Spain have met only three times before. Spain winning twice and Switzerland the other time. I will have to say that Spain’s aggressiveness in their games may give them the advantage. Switzerland has given nothing away in the Cup but they’ve lacked in the scoring. I think that will hurt them in the end and that Spain will win.
Japan (Group C Winner) vs. Norway (Group A 2nd): Admit it. We all like it when a team wins all three of their group play games. Japan is that: 5-0 against Zambia, 2-0 against Costa Rica and 4-0 against Spain. Then again, we also like teams that come from behind and deliver. That was Norway. They started with a shocking 1-0 loss to hosts New Zealand and had a scoreless draw against Group A winners Switzerland. Game three was a case where the former champions from 1995 needed a win and nothing less to qualify. In their game aganst the Philippines, they delivered: 6-0!
This ia unique game. Two teams that have won the Women’s World Cup at least over ten years ago. The only previous time they met at the Women’s World Cup, in 1999, Norway won 4-0. In the nine previous times they met, Japan have won more often: 6 wins to Norway winning three times. Although I’m happy to see Norway come alive again, I pick Japan to win. They’ve been playing more solid.
The Netherlands (Group E Winner) vs. South Africa (Group G 2nd): This is one Round of 16 match consisting of two shockers. The first shocker is the Netherlands topping Groups E. The funny thing is that this match was anticipated to have the U.S. top Group E and was scheduled such so it would be at 10pm Eastern Time on Saturday for US viewing time. There are no guarantees in sport! The Netherlands proved that by beating Portugal 1-0, drawing against the U.S.A. 1-1 and beating Vietnam 7-0! The right stuff to top Group E. The second shocker is South Africa qualifying for the first time ever. They slowly but surely showed off their previously untapped strength starting with a 2-1 loss to Sweden, a 2-2 draw to Argentina and ending with a 3-2 win over Italy!
The Netherlands and South Africa have met eight times before. in all eight cases, the Netherlands won. Even though this is the best I’ve seen of South Africa, I still feel the Netherlands will win. Nevertheless it’s possible South Africa can make it go into added extra time.
Sweden (Group G Winner) vs. U.S.A. (Group E 2nd): Sweden topping Group G was a foregone conclusion. Even winning all three games against Italy, South Africa and Argentina was not unexpected. The U.S.A. finishing second in Group E was unexpected. They started with a decent 3-0 win over Vietnam, had a respectable 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, but the scoreless draw against Portugal was a shock and has fans nervous for the team.
Now don’t think that just because the U.S. finished second in their group, they will be out of the WWC soon. They finished second in their group in 2011 and would go on to play in the final. Now onto this match. Sweden and the U.S. are big-time rivals. They’ve met 43 times. Sweden won eight times. The U.S. won 23. As for the World Cup, the two have clashed at the Women’s World Cup six times before, including every WWC since 2003! Previous results are 4 U.S. wins, one Sweden win and one draw. This is a tough decision but will have to say Sweden. The U.S. can beat Sweden if they’re on. At this WWC, the US have been playing lackluster. If the U.S. are not on the ball in this match, it will be over sooner than they hoped and sooner than we all expected.
England (Group D Winner) vs. Nigeria (Group B 2nd): England continued to show why they’re ones to watch by topping Group D with nothing but wins: 1-0 over Haiti, 1-0 over Denmark and 6-1 over China! Nigeria proved themselves the surprise team of Group B starting with a scoreless draw against Canada, a surprise 3-2 win against Australia and a scoreless draw against Ireland to secure qualification. This makes it the third time Nigeria advance to the knockout stage here.
England and Nigeria have met three times before. The first time was at the 1995 Women’s World Cup which England won. The other two times, Nigeria won. The last time being in 2004. I give this to England. They’ve been playing better and delivering a better attack. I think this is theirs for the winning.
Australia (Group B Winner) vs. Denmark (Group D 2nd): Australia really felt the pressure of being the host nation. They started well with a simple 1-0 win against Ireland, then endured a shocking 2-3 loss to Nigeria. Australia knew they had to defeat Canada to stay alive and they did: 4-0! Denmark secured their qualification starting with a 1-0 win over China, then endured a 1-0 loss to England, but a 2-0 win over Haiti assured itself qualification.
The most interesting thing about this match is we have two teams that both had two wins and a loss in group play. The two teams have played each other a total of six times. Denmark won three times and there were two draws. Australia may have won only once but their win was back in October! I give this to Australia.
Colombia (Group H Winner) vs. Jamaica (Group F 2nd): Here’s a case of two teams that didn’t have high expectations but made it! Colombia started off with an unexpected 2-0 win over South Kore and then came and even more shocking 2-1 win over Germany! Their 1-0 loss to Morocco didn’t interfere with them topping their group. Jamaica is another surprise qualifier. They start with a scoreless draw against France, a 1-0 win over Panama and a scoreless draw against Brazil. That’s all they needed to qualify for the first time ever! They may have scored only one goal but boy does their defense speak volumes!
For my prediction for the win, Colombia and Jamaica have met only twice before. Their first meeting in 2018 was Jamaica winning. Their second meeting, at the 2019 Pan Am Games, was Colombia winning. For this I’ll predict Colombia. They’ve been scoring better better and playing harder. Jamaica appears to have a great defense but Colombia’s better scoring ability will eventually prevail in the end.
France (Group F Winner) vs. Morocco (Group H 2nd): France’s qualification is not a surprise. They did start with a surprising scoreless draw against Jamaica, but wins of 2-1 against Brazil and 6-3 over Panama was just what they needed to top Group F. Morocco is one of the biggest surprises of the whole Cup. They started with a disappointing 6-0 loss to Germany, but 1-0 wins over both South Korea and Colombia was just the right stuff to make them a surprise qualifier! Of the eight nations making their debut at this Women’s World Cup, Morocco is the only one that advances!
In searching for head-to-head stats of France and Morocco, I have been unable to find any information of them meeting before in the past. In the end, I will have to give it to France. They’ve been attacking and scoring better. Morocco has been a delightful surprise, but I think the surprise will end here.
QUARTERFINAL PREDICTIONS:
Provided the Round of 16 winners end up being exactly who I predicted, here are my predictions for the quarterfinals. I won’t do too much rambling with my quarterfinal predictions. Especially since the teams playing haven’t been decided. I’ll keep it brief:
Spain vs. Netherlands: Provided my predictions go right, I say Spain. Spain and the Netherlands have met ten times before with Spain winning five times and the Netherlands winning two. The Netherlands’ prowess seems to be fading a bit while Spain’s prowess has grown. That’s why I say Spain.
Japan vs. Sweden: This should be interesting. The two have met fourteen times before, including three at the Women’s World Cup. Japan has won five times. Sweden six. This could be tight as both teams have played strong but Japan has conceded nothing so far. I think Japan will win on penalty kicks.
Australia vs. France: Australia have done a better job at playing than expected, but France has shown better consistency. In the past, they’ve met eight times before. Australia winning four times and France winning three. I predict France to take this, but on added extra time.
England vs. Colombia: The only time England have ever played Colombia was in a Canada 2015 group game, which England won 2-1. The Colombian team has changed a lot since they met, but England has too. I think this will be a case of England winning in added extra time.
And there you go! Those are my predictions for the first two sets of knockout matches of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Will the knockout matches be as unpredictable as most of the group play results? We’ll just have to see!
Jon The Blogcentric 