football

2026 FIFA World Cup – Group L Focus

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
The Group Stage will be 48 teams in 12 groups playing a total of 72 matches to decide the qualifiers for the Round Of 32.

Many of you will be wondering with all these teams and groups, will that World Cup flow normally as it has in the past? FIFA has done a great job of planning the times out on the matches. In the past, it would always be a case that the first second-game of Group A wouldn’t be held until the first-game of the last group was finished playing. Same for the third and final game, Group A wouldn’t play it until all others were done their second-game. FIFA made it work for this. The time span for teams to play their first and second games may have increased from five days to six or seven but FIFA made it work. They even made it work so that all 48 teams and twelve groups will all play their third and last Group Stage match within a period of four days!

So just before you all sit back, relax and enjoy watching the World Cup games, here is my look at the teams of the very last group of FIFA World Cup 2026. Interesting to see that the very first match of the final group will be a rematch of a semifinal of the 2018 World Cup! Anyways enough trivia talk. Here’s my review of World Cup Group L:

-England (4): The last ten years has been a big change about for the Three Lions. For so long, the team was known for being loaded with talent but could not play as a good team unit. Then in 2016 softer an embarrassing Euro, they got a new coach in Gareth Southgate. Under Southgate, the Lions played more like a team unit than they had in decades. In 2018, they made it as far as the World Cup semifinal for only the third time and they also made the Euro final for the first time ever! And they did it twice! It’s not to say they don’t have their own difficulties. The last World Cup, they again found themselves out in the quarterfinals.

After Euro 2024, they hired a German coach, Thomas Tuchel, to be head coach of the team. Under Tuchel, England became the first European team to secure qualification for this World Cup. All but six players play for Premier League teams. Stars include goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Everton, defender John Stones from Manchester City, midfielder Jordan Henderson from Brentford and striker and captain Harry Kane who plays for Bayern Munich. Their play in the last twelve months have been strong. They’ve had wins against Serbia, New Zealand, Wales and Costa Rica. They had a single draw to Uruguay and losses to Japan and Senegal. Chances are England can deliver one of their best World Cup performances ever in North America.

-Croatia (11): It’s ironic that the US mascot is named Clutch and we have Croatia as the ultimate World Cup clutch-performer! Vatreni or Kockasti have competed in six World Cups since their independence in 1991 and they finished in the Top 3 three times, including the last two! We shouldn’t forget that Croatia has a vulnerable side too. The other three World Cups they competed in, they were out in the Group Stage. Also they have never won a knockout game at the Euro ever. The last Euro was an embarrassment as the team was out in the Group Stage and didn’t even achieve a single win!

The majority of the Croatian team’s coaching staff is Croatian and head coach Zlatko Dalic has been head coach of the team since 2017. Most of the team plays for teams in European leagues. Stars include goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic from Dinamo Zagreb, defender Josko Gvardiol who plays for Manchester City, midfielder and captain Luka Modric who plays for AC Milan and striker Ivan Perisic who plays for PSV Eindhoven. Their play in the last twelve months has been mostly strong. Notable wins include against Colombia, Montenegro and Slovenia. They’ve had a win and a draw against Czechia and they’ve endured losses against Brazil and Belgium. Chances are the chessboard boys could deliver another clutch performance at United 2026.

-Ghana (73): Ghana’s football has come of age this Century. The first World Cup for the Black Stars was back in 2006 and they’ve only missed qualifying once! They’ve made the knockout round twice and even made the quarterfinals in 2010. Their success appeared to take a downturn after 2010. They have not qualified for the knockout round of a World Cup since and their play in the African Cup of Nations since 2017 has been lackluster. In 2025, they didn’t even qualify!

Ghana’s coaching staff come from around the world and their current head coach is Portugal’s Carlos Queiroz who has also coached South Africa, Portugal and Iran at past World Cups. Most of the team’s players play for major teams in Europe and around the world. Top players include goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi who plays for Switzerland’s St. Gallen, defender Abdul Rahman Baba who plays for Greece’s PAOK, midfielder Thomas Partey who plays for Villareal and striker and captain Jordan Ayew who plays for Leicester City. Their play in the last twelve months has been a challenge. They’ve had wins against Mali, Central African Republic and Trinidad And Tobago. They’ve endured draws against Chad and Wales, and their losses include Mexico, Austria, Japan and South Korea. Chances are Ghana can come together here at the World Cup and defy expectations.

-Panama (34): It’s is something how Panama’s second World Cup will have them play their third and last group match in the United States. Especially since the Panama Canal is American-run and American controlled! Nevertheless it will be another chance for Los Canaleros or La Marea Roja to prove themselves on the world stage! They’ve had other opportunities to prove themselves such as being runner-up at the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and runner-up at last year’s CONCACAF Nations League.

Panama’s coaching staff is a mix of Panamanian and European coaches and the head coach is Spanish/Danish coach Thomas Christiansen. Most of the team’s players play for professional teams throughout the Americas. Top players include goalkeeper Luis Mejia, defender Eric Davis, midfielder and captain Anibal Godoy and striker Jose Fajardo. All of them were part of Panama’s 2018 World Cup team. Their play in the last twelve months has been a mixed showing. Notable wins include against Jamaica, Dominican Republic and twice against El Salvador. They had a win and a draw against South Africa as well as draws against Bosnia, Bolivia and twice against Surinam. Their two losses these past twelve months were to Brazil and Mexico. Chances look good that Panama could take their football status to a whole new level here in North America.

My Qualifier Predictions: This is it. The last group to predict the qualifiers to the knockout round! I predict Croatia to top it with England second. I predict Panama to be third and to qualify via the wildcard system.

And there you have it. There’s my look at Group L of this year’s World Cup! I never thought I would complete my blogs of all twelve groups! Looks like I can even surprise myself!

WORK CITED:
“2026 FIFA World Cup.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2026. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup>

2026 FIFA World Cup – Group I Focus

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

I know I haven’t focused too much on the controversies with this World Cup. My biggest focus is on the teams and the play happening. Nevertheless they are hard to ignore.

More controversies? First, the war in Iran proved difficult for the players of Iraq to play their intercontinental playoff game against Bolivia. Political tension was so tight, FIFA sent the players a chartered jet to bring them into Mexico. Second, FIFA decided to declare one match as a ‘Pride Match’ It was to be decided by draw and it ended up being Iran vs. Egypt: two nations with a terrible record of LGBT rights (if any). Third, there’s talk of a halftime show right in the middle of the Final. That goes against game protocol for most FIFA members.

I’m sure if you go to Wikipedia, you will see all of the controversies about this year’s World Cup. I won’t talk about them anymore. Let’s get back to focusing on the groups of the Group Stage. I’d rather focus on the teams about to play rather than the controversies.

Group I is a unique set of four. Two teams competed last Cup and both made the Round Of 16. One team is in their first World Cup in 28 years and another their first in 40 years and their second only! Also the first match of France vs. Senegal should be interesting because it was the very first match of World Cup 2002 and France was shocked by Senegal with a 1-0 loss! Should be interesting. Anyways enough with the trivia. Here’s my look at Group I:

-France (3): These last thirty years has been about the meteoric rise of Les Bleus. No other nation has been in four World Cup finals nor has won twice. They’ve had rough spots back in 2002 and 2010, but they would come back. They even proved the ‘curse of the defending World Cup champions wrong by making it to the final in the last World Cup. Although their success at the Euro isn’t as big, it’s still consistent, like semifinalists in the most recent tournament in 2024.

The team’s coaching staff is completely French and the head coach is Didier Deschamps who has coached the team since 2012. The players part of the World Cup roster play for teams all over Europe. Top stars include goalkeeper Mike Maignan who plays for AC Milan, defender Lucas Digne who plays for Aston Villa, midfielder N’Golo Kante who plays for Turkey’s Fenerbahce, and striker and captain Kylian Mbappe who plays for Real Madrid. France’s play in the last twelve months has been strong. France has had notable wins including against Brazil, Germany and twice to Ukraine, a draw against Iceland and their only loss being to the Ivory Coast earlier this June. Chances are France can rise to the occasion again and win the world over in 2026.

-Senegal (15): Many people would describe either Cameroon or Nigeria as the best African team in history. Neither qualified for this World Cup. One team to look out for is Les Lions de la Teranga. They made the quarterfinals in their first World Cup in 2002 where they defeated defending champions France in the opening game. They qualified again in 2018 and they made the Round Of 16 back in 2022. Adding to their glory, they won the African Cup Of Nations in 2021 and could have won again in 2025, but their walkout in the final caused the AFC to overturn their win.

Senegal’s coaching staff is completely of Senegalese coaches and head coach Pape Thiaw was part of Senegal’s first-ever team at the World Cup back in 2002. The players play for various teams in Europe but most of them in France’s Ligue 1. Top players include goalkeeper Edouard Mendy who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli, defender Kalidou Koulibaly who plays for Saudi team Al-Hilal, midfielder Idrissa Gueye who plays for England’s Everton and striker Sadio Mane who plays for Saudi team Al-Nassr. Senegal’s play in the last twelve months has been a mixed showing. Notable wins include against England, Sudan, Egypt and the United States. They had a win and a draw against DR Congo, a draw against Saudi Arabia, and they’ve had losses to the United States and Brazil. If Senegal is all there in North America, they could deliver another shocker result.

-Iraq (56): The last time the Lions Of Mesopotamia played in the World Cup was their debut tournament in 1986. Since then, the nation of Iraq has gone through a lot of turmoil with the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, two American-led wars, Saddam’s overthrow and retaliation from his supporters. This has affected their football as well. In recent years, they made progress. They were AFC Champions in 2007 and runners-up in 2015. For qualification to the World Cup, they played well enough to be relegated to an intercontinental playoff berths. Training and preparing was difficult as Iraq was in the crossfire of the War In Iran. The team had to train in the United Arab Emirates for safety reasons and had to fly in a jet chartered by FIFA to get them to play the match. In that match, they faced Bolivia and won 2-1!

Iraq’s coaches are a mix of Iraqi coaches and coaches from other nations and head coach Graham Arnold is from Australia and is Australia’s coach from 2022. Most of Iraq’s team plays for teams in the Iraq Stars League and European teams. Top players include goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, defender Rebin Salaka, midfielder Ibrahim Bayesh and striker Aymen Hussein. All of their wins have been against Asian teams except for Bolivia and Andorra both this year. They had three draws, against the UAE, Spain and Saudi Arabia and had losses against Algeria, Jordan and Venezuela. It’s very possible Iraq could defy people’s expectations and become one of the tournament’s biggest surprises.

-Norway (31): Norway is a nation not entirely known for its football. More often, Norway is known for winter sports athletes. The best Norway ever did at the World Cup was the Round Of 16 in 1998. Very rarely do their footballers deliver big on the world stage, but things are changing for the Rode Hvite Bla. They qualified for their fourth World Cup by topping their UEFA group (and beating out favorites Italy) and Erling Haaland was the top scorer of the World Cup qualifiers! Haaland is also UEFA’s 2022-23 Men’s Player Of The Year.

Norway’s team is coached by coaches from around the world but most are from Norway and head coach Stale Solbakken is from Norway’s 1998 World Cup team. The team plays for various clubs from around Europe. Stars include goalkeeper Orjan Nyland who plays for Sevilla, defender Kristoffer Vassbakk Ajer who plays for England’s Brentford, midfielder and captain Martin Odegaard who plays for Arsenal and striker Erling Haaland who plays for Manchester City. Norway’s play in the last twelve months has been mostly strong. Notable wins include Sweden, Israel and twice against both Estonia and Italy. They’ve also had draws against Switzerland, New Zealand and Morocco and their only loss was against the Netherlands back in March this year. The stage is ready in North America and Norway can prove itself to be a delightful upsetter at this World Cup.

My Qualifier Predictions: Many of the teams are tough rivals and this is one of the groups many are labelling the ‘Group Of Death.’ I predict France to top with Senegal second. Norway will be third and they will play well enough to qualify for the knockout round.

And there you have it! That’s my look at World Cup Group I. Isn’t it something about World Cup group play? You have the favorites and can make all these predictions but it’s their three games that will decide if they’re worth advancing or not!

WORK CITED:
“Concerns: 2026 FIFA World Cup.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2026. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup#Concerns>

2026 FIFA World Cup – Group F Focus

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

With each group, you get a mix of teams and how much they’ve achieved in the past. Two teams of Group F have been finalists, one has only made it as far as the Round Of 16 and one has never made it out of the Group Stage. We’ll see what this World Cup has in store for them. Here’s my review of the teams for Group F:

-Netherlands (8): Event though this will be their twelfth World Cup, the World Cup does not feel complete if Oranje is not present. Known for finishing runner-up at the World Cup three times and known for having beloved players like Cruyff, Bergkamp and Rijkaard, Oranje have become beloved around the world. Recent play in the last ten years have shown difficulties in creating a new Dutch team. They failed to qualify for Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018. Also in the past twenty years, they appeared to make a move from graceful play to overly aggressive play. That’s been noticed as they gave played in the three most carded World Cup games including the 2010 Final: the most carded final in World Cup history. A recent third-place at the 2024 Euro has improved their reputation.

The Netherlands’ coaching staff is completely Dutch and their head coach is Ronald Koeman who has coached the team since their 2022 World Cup quarterfinals defeat. Most of the team plays in teams for the Premier League. Star players include goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen who plays for Brighton & Hove Albion, defender and captain Virgil van Dijk who plays for Liverpool, midfielder Marten de Roon who plays for Atalanta, and striker Memphis Depay who plays for Brazil’s Corinthians. The team’s last defeat was against Germany in October 2024. In the past twelve months, they’ve had wins against Finland, Lithuania, Norway and Uzbekistan. They’ve drawn against Ecuador and both games against Poland. Chances are Clockwork Orange can deliver a winning performance for the Cup if they all do things right.

-Japan (18): Samurai Blue made their first World Cup appearance in 1998 and they haven’t missed since. Their first World Cup appearance would lead to a boom in football in Japan. The unfortunate thing is that they have not been able to make it past the Round Of 16: something they’ve done four times. To their achievement, they have won the Asian Cup four times. Their last win being in 2011. Japan comes to the Americas with something to prove.

Japan’s coaching staff is completely Japanese and their head coach Hajime Moriyasu once played for the Japanese team, but retired from the national team before their first-ever World Cup appearance (1996). Star players include goalkeeper Zion Suzuki who plays for Italy’s Parma, defender Yuto Nagatomo who plays for FC Tokyo, midfielder and captain Wataru Endo who plays for Liverpool and striker Ayase Ueda who plays for the Netherlands’ Feyenoord. Their play in the last twelve months have mostly been wins and their most notable have been against England, Scotland, Brazil and South Korea. They’ve endured draws against Paraguay and Mexico, and losses against the United States and Australia. If there’s one team that can pull a surprise at United 2026, it’s Japan. Only the tournament will tell.

-Sweden (38): Sweden are an on-again, off-again nation in football. This is the thirteenth World Cup for the Blagult and their best finish is finalists when they hosted in 1958. Unfortunately they have missed qualifying for the last World Cup and the last Euro. Just as they did for qualifying in 2018, they know how to luck out in qualifying this time around too. They didn’t win a single game in their qualifying play but their UEFA status helped them qualify for the playoff rounds. What happened next? It was there when they finally started winning, beating Ukraine and Poland to qualify.

The Swedish coaching staff is made up of Swedish coaches except for the head coach, Graham Potter, who is from England. Most of the team plays in teams from all over Europe but are most common with England’s Premier League. Star players include goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeld who plays for Sweden’s AIK, defender Viktor Lindelof who plays for Aston Villa, midfielder Mattias Svanberg who plays for VfL Wolfsburg and striker Alexander Isak who plays for Liverpool. Their play in the last twelve months has been a case of mixed results. They won their playoff games against Ukraine and Poland as well as against Hungary and Algeria. They drew twice against Slovenia and once against Greece, and also lost to Norway, Kosovo and Switzerland. It’s very possible their play at the World Cup can prove their naysayers wrong.

-Tunisia (46): One team that seems to have one of the most frustrating World Cup careers happen to be the Eagles Of Carthage. It’s easy to see why. Six previous World Cup participations starting in 1978 and never qualifying for the next round. The 21st Century has given them feats to be proud of like winning the 2004 African Cup of Nations and finalists for the 2021 Arab Cup but they have a record of inconsistency. There’s no doubt Tunisia is hoping this will be their breakthrough year.

Tunisia’s coaching staff is a mix of Tunisian and French coaches and their head coach Sabri Lamouchi was born in France to Tunisian parents. Top players include goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen, defender Montassar Talbi who plays for France’s Lorient, midfielder Ellyes Skhiri who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt and striker Elias Achouri who plays for FC Copenhagen. For their play in the last twelve months, most of their wins have been to African teams but they also won against Haiti, Qatar and Jordan. They’ve had draws to Canada, Palestine and Brazil, and they’ve had notable losses to Nigeria, Syria, Austria and Belgium. 2026 could finally be the breakthrough year Tunisia has been waiting for.

My Qualifier Predictions: Predicting the Top 2 is easy. I think Netherlands will top it with Japan second. However, I feel my third-place pick, Tunisia, will not be a wildcard qualifier.

FUN FACT: The June 20th game of Tunisia vs. Japan at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe will be the 1000th World Cup match ever!

And there you go. That’s my look at World Cup Group F. Hard to believe I’ve done six blogs of this and I’m only half-finished! Did they have to expand to 48 teams?

2026 FIFA World Cup – Group D Focus

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Of the three nations hosting, it’s the United States that will have the most cities and venues contesting with 11 stadiums: 2/3 of the stadiums of this Cup. That number is two more than when they hosted the 24-team World Cup of 1994.

Here’s a brief description of the stadiums:

  • Dallas’s AT&T Stadium, which is actually in Arlington, is a 94,000-sest stadium opened in 2009.
  • MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey was opened in 2010 and seats 82,500.
  • Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta opened in 2017 and it seats 75,000.
  • GEHA Field at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium can seat 73,000 and was opened in 1972.
  • Houston’s NRG Stadium was opened in 2002 and seats 72,000.
  • Levi’ Stadium in Santa Clara, California opened in 2014 and can seat 71,000.
  • SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is a 70,000-seat stadium that’s actually in Inglewood and was opened in 2020.
  • Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field was opened in 2003 and can seat 69,000.
  • Lumen Field in Seattle can seat 69,000 and was opened in 1998.
  • Boston’s Gilette Stadium is a 65,000-seat stadium that’s actually in Foxboro and was opened in 2002.
  • Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was opened in 1987 and can seat 65,000.

Anyways enough of this stadium talk. Let’s now focus on the teams of World Cup Group D:

-United States of America (16): Where to start? The United States is not the joke in football they used to be. They now field a talented team that knows how to play well in international tournaments. They still have a lot of well-known struggles. The last time they got as far as a World Cup quarterfinal was back in 2002. Their last three appearances have found them out in the Round Of 16. The Stars And Stripes have shown recent prowess. They finished runner-up at the most recent CONCACAF Gold Cup and they’ve won three of the four CONCACAF Nations Leagues.

When they were the sole host in 1994, they only went as far as the Round of 16. To prepare themselves for a good showing as hosts, the US Team’s coaching staff is completely of foreign coaches and their head coach is Argentinean Mauricio Pochettino. The players come mostly from either MLS or European teams. Stars in the team include goalkeeper Matt Turner from the New England Revolution, defender Tim Ream from Charlotte FC, midfielder Weston McKenzie form Juventus and striker Christian Pulisic from AC Milan. Their play in the last 12 months has been a mixed bag. They’ve had wins against Australia, Japan and Senegal. They’ve had draws to Costa Rica and Ecuador. Their biggest losses came to Switzerland, Belgium and Portugal. I’m sure that the United States will rise to the occasion and give a performance the host nation can be proud of.

-Paraguay (40): Paraguay is not normally known for their athletes but La Albirroja have been known to perform well. They’ve won two Copa Americas, won an Olympics silver in 2004, and they’ve competed in eight previous World Cups with their best finish being the quarterfinals in 2010. They have struggled to qualify since. As for the Copa Americas, the last four have been either out in the quarterfinals or the group stage.

The coaching staff is mostly Argentinian and the head coach is Argentina’s Gustavo Alfaro. Star players include goalkeeper Gatito Fernandez from Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno, defender Gustavo Gomez from Brazil’s Palmeiras, midfielder Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United and striker Oscar Romero from Argentina’s Huracan. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved wins against Uruguay, Mexico, Nicaragua and Greece, they’ve drawn against Japan and Ecuador, and they’ve lost to Brazil, Morocco, the US and Mexico. This World Cup looks to be the perfect stage for Paraguay to stage their comeback to the football world.

-Australia (27): It’s looks as though since their World Cup return in 2006, The Socceroos have made it a mainstay to be part of the World Cup. That comes from the help of switching from Oceania’s OFC to Asia’s AFC. They’re on some years, off other years. At the last World Cup, they made the Round Of 16 for the second time ever. Australia hopes to make up for the disappointment of their quarterfinals finish at the 2023 Asian Cup.

Australia has an all-Australian coaching staff with head coach Tony Popovic being a former national team player who was part of Australia’s breakthrough at the 2006 World Cup. Top players include goalkeeper Mathew Ryan from Spain’s Levante, defender Milos Degenek from Cyprus’ APOEL, midfielder Ajdin Hrustic from the Netherlands’ Heracles Almelo and striker Martin Boyle from Scotland’s Hibernian. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved notable win against Cameroon, Canada and Japan, a draw against Switzerland, and they’ve endured losses to the United States, Mexico and Colombia. Chances are the Socceroos could just surprise the world again with their play.

-Turkey (22): Turkey have always been known to have a talented team but the biggest challenge for Ay-Yildizlilar is World Cup qualifying. They have been successful for qualifying for six Euros since 1996 but this will only be their third World Cup. Their last World Cup in 2002 helped them establish themselves with a third-place finish. Here, they will be coming just after a quarterfinals finish at the Euro.

The current team has a coaching staff that’s a mix of Turks and Italians and Italian Vincenzo Montella is the head coach. Most of the players play for teams in Turkey’s Super Lig and other European teams. Top players include goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir, defender Merih Demiral who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli, midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu who plays for Inter Milan and Kerem Akturkoglu who plays for Fenerbahce. In the past twelve months, they’ve achieved notable wins against the United States, North Macedonia, Venezuela and Georgia. They’ve only had a single draw against Spain. They also had a loss to Spain months earlier and a loss to Mexico. 2026 marks a return for Turkey to show the world what they’re made of!

My Qualifier Predictions: This is is. Predicting the Top 2 and the possible wildcard. For the Top 2, I predict Turkey to top with the United States second and my third-place prediction, Australia, to qualify.

And there you have it! That is my look at Group D of the World Cup. With the US having 11 of the 16 host stadiums, hopefully this should be a smooth ride, despite Trump’s politics and all that’s happening.

WORK CITED:
“2026 FIFA World Cup.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2026. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup>

UEFA Euro 2024: My Prediction For The Final

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Will Spain win its record-setting fourth Euro?
Or will England win its first ever?

In the last while, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about continental championships and some people going as far as saying some are jokes of tournaments. Continental or confederation championships are not jokes. I think it’s a good idea that the continent’s best play each other. Also they can be challenging competitions themselves. The opponents from your confederation know your team better than other teams in the world. You could win your continental championship one year but fail to qualify for the World Cup another year. They’re a tough competition all themselves.

The Euro has been one tough competition. The defending champions went out in the Round of 16, the bronze medalists from the World Cup went out in the Group Stage, the hosts went out in the quarterfinals and a finalist from the World Cup went out in the semifinals. 114 goals have been scored in the 50 matches, ten of them own-goals, seven red cards have been handed out as well as a total of over $1,000,000 in fines to national teams for bad fan behavior. Now it’s time for the dust to settle and for the final to be played. One team has won the Euro three times before and played in one additional previous final. The other team makes it their second consecutive Euro final which is also their second ever! So let’s have a look at the two Euro finalists. Spain and England: same two finalists as in the Women’s World Cup last year!

Head-To-Head Statistics:

They’ve met 27 times before in the past, including three past Euro games. Spain was won ten games, England won fourteen and three were ties.

Team Breakdown:

SPAIN:

We’ve seen a lot of teams who gave bad performances at the 2022 World Cup or teams that failed to qualify for Qatar continue to give a lackluster performance. On that same token, we also saw teams that did well in Qatar 2022 fall short here in Germany. There are also some teams that either did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup or did bad in Qatarthat have shown considerable improvement since. The most noticeable is Spain. La Furia Roja didn’t live up to their name at the 2022 World Cup as they were ousted in the Round Of 16 by eventual semifinalists Morocco. Immediately after, they hired a new coach: Luis de la Fuente. De la Fuente is a coach who likes to focus more on the young or on rising talents. A grassroots approach. It has paid off noticeably as last year, Spain won the UEFA Nations League final. Germany 2024 would show Spain had more to prove. Here in Germany, they’ve won every game without having to resort to a penalty shootout, scoring thirteen goals and only conceding three. Sure, their win over Germany in the quarterfinals came in added extra time but so far, Spain has had the best record of all teams at Euro 2024.

It’s obvious de la Fuente has assembled quite the tram for this Euro. We’ve seen excellent performances from defender Jesus Navas, midfielders Dani Olmo and Rodri, and the young gun of Lamine Yamal, who turns 17 the day before the Euro final! Judging by their play, Spain doesn’t appear to have any faults that would give notice of them losing the final. Mind you this is football and anything can happen. I’ve seen cases where the team with the more superior play before the final would end up losing. Basically Spain needs to play as consistently as they’ve been playing in Germany and not underestimate their opponent if they want to win their record-setting fourth Euro Cup. Besides I’ll bet Spaniards don’t want to hear any singing of “It’s Coming Home” at the end of the game!

ENGLAND: Before Euro 2024 started, the strength of the Three Lions were in question. It was here in his eight-year tenure as head manager of Team England that Gareth Southgate came under his biggest criticism. Even many of the veteran players like Harry Kane and Phil Foden were under question. Most critics would eventually be silenced as England did work its way to becoming finalists for the second Euro in a row. Despite topping Group C upon delivering the group’s only winning game, England has delivered by coming from behind each knockout game. First was the Round of 16 match against Slovakia that first appeared to end as a loss until Bellingham equalized near the end and Kane delivered the winner in added extra time. Then came the quarterfinal against Switzerland that ended as a 1-1 draw and England won on penalties. Then came the semifinal where what appeared to end as a 1-1 draw became a case of Ollie Watkins delivering the game winner in the 90th minute!

Southgate and Team England have done a lot to silence their critics and showcase a new English team. Over the eight years of Southgate, England has delivered a team with the most team unity in decades. Even their penalty kick results are a surprise. Before Southgate, England had only won a single penalty kick round in a major tournament. Since Southgate has taken over, they’ve won three. No doubt they want to win their first ever Euro. One thing Southgate, Kane, Bellingham and Bukayo Saka need to do is play better than they have in previous Euro games. In each of their knockout games, their opponent would score first. Their two winning games were a case of suddenly coming from behind. They can’t afford to do tricks like those in the Euro final. It’s too risky against a team like Spain. If they want to win, they need to be the most in control from the start. Also they can’t take the chance of drawing and going to penalty kicks. They may have won their quarterfinal but we all remember what happened in the last Euro final.

My Final Verdict: So many predictions from others. So many guesstimates. Yet nothing in football is guaranteed. I feel this will be a case where Spain will win 2-1.

And there you have it! That’s my prediction for the final of the 2024 European Championships. Expect it to be one intense evening!

2024 Copa America: My Semifinals Predictions

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Just four teams are left in the running for the Copa America.

Some of you may wonder why I didn’t do a Copa America blog for the groups with a game to go or a quarterfinals prediction blog. Firstly, blogs are too tiring. I like the Copa America but my hands can only take so much typing and I can only have so much inspiration. I’m not a professional blogger. Secondly, I was on vacation in my city of birth. So naturally, I will embrace my rest and relaxation while I have it.

Now that my vacation is near ending, it’s time to focus on the semifinals of Copa America 2024. The group play has been something. Argentina was great as expected, but Canada progressed even though they scored just a single goal in group play! Also Canada’s more lauded CONCACAF rivals of the USA and Mexico didn’t qualify for the quarterfinals! Even Panama qualified thanks to their 2-1 win over the USA! Venezuela, who has never won a Copa or even qualified for a World Cup, topped Group B with straight wins! The tight rivalry of Colombia and Brazil was expected to pour over into group play and it did!

Then the semifinals! Interesting that the CONMEBOL have it there’s no added extra time and goes straight to penalty kicks. It’s something because that was the case for three of the four quarterfinals! Only Colombia’s 5-0 win over Panama was a decisive game.

Now we have the semifinals. Like the Euro, they will also be contested on the Tuesday and Wednesday. Only one CONCACAF team still stands. Chances are it will again go to a CONMEBOL team. A CONMEBOL team has always won the Copa and that’s how it should be. In the meantime, here’s my look at the two semifinals:

SEMIFINAL #1: ARGENTINA vs. CANADA

Head-To-Head Stuff:

Aside from Argentina’s 2-0 win over Canada in the very first game of this Copa, their only other time meeting was in 2010 where Argentina again won, but the score was 5-0.

Team-By-Team Analysis

ARGENTINA: When you are the current World Cup Holder, a lot is expected from you. The Albiceleste did not disappoint in the Group Stage. They began the Copa with a 2-0 win over Canada, followed it with a 1-0 win over Chile and capped it off with a 2-0 win against Peru. All three games won, nothing conceded. It’s when they got into their quarterfinal against Ecuador that the challenge began. They conceded for the first time at this Copa and drew 1-1. It was after the penalty shootout that they won.

No doubt they intend to repeat as Copa champions. In the past few years, they built up a full top-notch team instead of relying on just Messi. Actually here at the Copa, the top scorer has been 26 year-old Lautaro Martinez! For their semifinal, I can’t really see them having much of a chance of losing. I think the only way they can is if they underestimate their opponent. It’s highly unlikely they will but I have seen big-name teams underestimate opponents and then lose.

CANADA: It’s easy to underestimate The Canucks. Most of the other teams here at this Copa have had bigger renown and are way more lauded. Canada came with something to prove and they did a good job of proving it. They may have opened with a 2-0 loss to Argentina but they came back with a 1-0 win over Peru and a scoreless draw against Chile. It is possible to qualify for the knockout round by scoring a single goal! That’s football for you!

Their quarterfinal win against Venezuela was a game where Canada showed both its strengths at the right time, but also their weaknesses. It’s obvious Canada intends to send a top team to the World Cup when they co-host two years from now. Their first time ever to a Copa America semifinal is a feat all its own. Nevertheless they will need to improve more if they want to go far. As for their upcoming semi, they should not let their group stage loss get to them. Argentina is a tough team but they’re beatable. It’s up to Canada to deliver well.

My Final Verdict: I thought tournaments organize themselves so that teams that play each other in group play don’t meet again until the final. I know the World Cup does it. Despite the two clashing again so soon, I think Argentina will take it 3-0.

SEMIFINAL #1: URUGUAY vs. COLOMBIA

Head-To-Head Stuff:

The two have dueled each other 45 times before. Uruguay won 20 times, Colombia won 14 times, there were 11 draws.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

URUGUAY: Here in the USA, La Céleste have put on quite a show. At a time when one wonders who the successors for Suarez and Cavani will become, in come new stars like Darwin Nunez, Maximiliano Araujo and Mathias Olivera who have dazzled during the Copa. Uruguay opened with a 3-1 win over Panama, followed it up with a 5-0 win over Bolivia and then delivered a 1-0 win over the hosting Americans.

Despite the stellar play in the Group Stage, they followed it with a scoreless draw against Brazil in the quarterfinals that was won on penalty kicks. Many complained it was lacklustre play from two top teams. A team like Uruguay will have to get itself together. Especially since Colombia had a big win in their quarterfinal.

COLOMBIA: Most people originally thought Group D was Brazil’s for topping, but Los Cafeteros had other plans. They began with a 2-1 win over Paraguay, followed it with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and followed it with a 1-1 draw to Brazil. Their consistency took them to the top of Group D. They also followed it up in the quarterfinal with a 5-0 win over Panama. They were the only team to actually win their quarterfinal match!

The team have it together and they have what it takes to win. It’s a matter of them delivering at the moment. As they face Uruguay, they know it can go either way. They’ve been brilliant this whole tournament. They will have to continue their brilliance to get into the final.

My Final Verdict: They’ve had fierce rivalries before. The winning team is usually the one with the better World Cup chances. I think this will play to a 2-2 draw and Uruguay will win on penalty kicks.

And there you have it! Those are my predictions for the semifinals of the Copa America. Interesting this is while the Euro doesn’t have a third-place game, the Copa America does. I’m undecided if when I do my blog predictions for the final, I should predict the third-place match. Only time will tell.

UEFA Euro 2024: Predictions For Knockout Rounds

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

The image above shows the flags of the sixteen nations still in the running. The whole point of those 36 games of group play is to reduce the field of 24 to the 16 most worthy of advancing. After that, each round is a knockout match to pare down the field to the two to square off for the Euro Cup. The group play was quite interesting. A hat trick wasn’t scored but a lot of brilliant goals. There were four 0-0 games. I hate 0-0 games! There were a lot of controversial referee calls. Also a lot of shockers from teams one wouldn’t consider a favorite but made it through. For all the teams, none of the teams had a case of losing all three games. One group was a case of only a single win and the rest draws to decide. Another group was a case all four teams had a win, a loss and a draw. It must have been tough to decide the finishing order, which they eventually did.

On Saturday the 29th starts the knockout rounds. After all that group play to narrow the 24 to 16, the upcoming Round Of 16 is just a single game for each team to narrow the field of 16 to 8. The layout for the Round of 16 doesn’t make the same clear sense as the Round of 16 in a 32-team World Cup, but this is how UEFA arranges it. I just hope the tournament ends up with the right two in the final. In the meantime, here are my predictions for each match. Matches are in chronological order and my prediction for the winner will be bolded:

ROUND OF 16

Switzerland (Group A 2nd.) vs. Italy (Group B 2nd.): Switzerland finished 2nd in Group A without a loss. It all started with a 3-1 win to Hungary, then 1-1 draws to both Scotland and Germany. Italy opened well against Albania 2-1, lost to Spain 1-0 thanks to an own-goal and drew 1-1 against Croatia in the stoppage time at the end. For this match, I predict Switzerland to win on penalty kicks. The last time Switzerland lost to Italy was 1993.

Germany (Group A 1st.) vs. Denmark (Group C 2nd.): Being the host nation, Germany knew they had to deliver, and deliver well! They did just that opening the Euro with a 5-1 win over Scotland and a 2-0 win over Hungary. Their qualification guaranteed, they could afford to draw 1-1 against Switzerland. Denmark had the good fortune of drawing all three games in their group: 1-1 draws to Slovenia and England and ending with a scoreless draw to Serbia. For this game, I predict Germany to win because they’ve been better at delivering this tournament and making wins happen.

England (Group C 1st.) vs. Slovakia (Group D/E/F 3rd.) Group C was the group where five of the six games were draws. England delivered the only win: 1-0 against Serbia. With their scoreless draw to Slovenia and 1-1 draw to Denmark, that was enough to make them top Group C. Slovakia was in a group that was just as tight. All four Group E teams had a win, a draw and a loss. Slovakia’s win was to Belgium 1-0, their loss to Ukraine 2-1, and their draw to Romania 1-1. For this game I predict England. England has never lost to Slovakia in the six times they played. A single draw at Euro 2016 but never lost.

Spain (Group B 1st.) vs. Georgia (Group D/E/F 3rd.): Spain had it’s win of Group B guaranteed after the second game! They opened 3-1 against Croatia and did 2-1 against Italy. Their 1-0 win over Albania just was a bonus for straight wins. Georgia went from the surprise of qualifying to the surprise of this tournament. They lost their opener to Turkey 3-1, came back to draw against Czechia 1-1 and then win to Portugal 2-0. For this match, I predict Spain. The two have met head-to-head seven times and Spain only lost to Georgia once. Spain won the rest of the times..

France (Group D 2nd.) vs. Belgium (Group E 2nd.): A classic match! France finished second in Group D starting with a 1-0 win over Austria, the only Group F team to beat Austria, a scoreless draw to the Netherlands and a 1-1 draw to Poland. Belgium started their Group E play with a surprise 1-0 loss to Slovakia, then came back with a 2-0 win to Romania and ended with a scoreless draw to Ukraine. For this, I think this will go to a draw with France winning on penalty kicks.

Portugal (Group F 1st.) vs. Slovenia (Group A/B/C 3rd.): Portugal not only clinched qualification after their first two games, but they also clinched first place in Group F in the process! A 2-1 win over Czechia and a 3-0 win over Turkey is all it took. They could afford to lose to Georgia 2-0 and still top Group F! Slovenia was straight draws with 1-1 to Denmark, 1-1 to Serbia and ended with scoreless against Denmark. Despite the same goal differentials as Denmark, their extra yellow card caused them to finish third in the group. Portugal look on target but I think the game will go to Slovenia. Why? In the one time they ever met, a friendly just three months ago, Slovenia won 2-0.

Romania (Group E 1st.) vs. The Netherlands (Group A/C/D 3rd.): Romania began Group E with a 3-0 win over Ukraine, then endured a 2-0 loss to Belgium and ended it with a 1-1 draw to Slovakia. The Netherlands also had their own win, loss and draw in Group D. They began with a 2-1 win over Poland, a scoreless draw to France and a surprise 3-2 loss to Austria. The two have met 13 times and Netherlands have won nine times. I predict Netherlands to win again.

Austria (Group D 1st.) vs. Turkey (Group F 2nd.): Nobody expected Austria to go too far at Euro 2024. Even their 1-0 to France thanks to an own-goal didn’t help. Then came their 3-1 win over Poland and their 3-2 win over the Netherlands en route to topping Group D. Maybe Austria is a stronger team than we thought! Turkey began Euro 2024 with a 3-1 win over Georgia, endured a 3-0 loss to Portugal and came back to a 2-1 win over Czechia. The last time Austria and Turkey met was three months ago and Austria won 6-1. I expect Austria to win again.

QUARTERFINALS

Why do I predict quarterfinals before I even know who the quarterfinalists are? Do you know how tiring writing is? Anyways as in past years, I plan to take a short break and not publish my next Euro blog until just before the semifinals. With that in mind, I’ll go as if my predictions for the Round of 16 matches actually came true. So here are my thoughts:

Spain vs. Germany – They frequently meet and the results alternate: 26 previous meetings; 8 Spain wins; 9 Germany wins; 9 draws. I think this will be a tight match leading into a penalty kick round which Germany will win.

Slovenia vs. France – They’ve met three times in the past and France has won each time. Even though their last previous meeting was over 20 years ago, I don’t think much has changed. I expect France to win again.

Netherlands vs. Austria – It’s possible two teams that clashed in the Group stage could meet again this soon. If they do meet again, I anticipate a draw game with Netherlands to win on penalties.

England vs. Switzerland – They’ve met 27 times before but England has won nineteen times. I’m not expecting much to change this time so I think it will be a win for England again.

And there you have it. Those are predictions for the Round of 16 matches and my ‘estimates’ for the quarterfinals. All we have to do is wait for the games to play to see who really wins. In the meantime, you’ll get my next blog where I predict the semifinals.

2024 Copa America: Group A Focus

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

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!

UEFA Euro 2024: Group C Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

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!

UEFA Euro 2024: Group B Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

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.