EURO 2020 MY PREDICTIONS… | With Eisha Acton
Today I will be predicting the whole Euro 2020 tournament, who wins it, top scorer, most assists, etc etc. The tournament is getting closer and closer by the day and with all the squads announced, I’ll try to make what I think is a reasonable prediction but at the end of the day, this is football and anything can happen. Let’s get started.
GROUP STAGES/KNOCKOUTS/WHO WINS THE WHOLE TOURNAMENT:
Firstly, let’s talk about who makes it out of each group
SUMMARY
GROUP A: I expect Italy to top the group as they’ve been in very good form leading into the tournament and they haven’t lost a game since 2019. Turkey are a bit of a dark horse this tournament and I expect them to go the quarter final, maybe even nab a semi final spot depending on the opponent. They have a few decent players, Yilmaz from Lille, Celik also from Lille, Soyuncu and Under from Leicester and Çalhanoglu from AC Milan. Keep an eye out. Switzerland will draw against Turkey and beat Wales and I think that’ll be enough for a third placed finish. I reckon will have a tough time getting points from Italy and Turkey and that’s the reason why I think they’ll both be out.
GROUP B: Belgium will storm this group I reckon. They have too many stars in their team not to and the group is quite easy for them. They also have Lukaku going into it in some of the best form of his life and I expect him to bag a couple in the group games and get the early lead in the golden boot race. Denmark I think will finish second because they are more defensively sound compared to Russia in my opinion. Schmeichel at the back is the leader and is very good at organising them to keep them compact. Eriksen has been on better form this season and looks to be on the up again. They made it to the round of 16 in the 2018 World Cup and only lost on pens to Croatia so they are a decent team. Russia is the first third place team to qualify and that’s because this will be a tight call between Russia and Denmark for second and third. I think they’ll both beat Finland but Denmark will draw with Belgium and Russia will lose to Belgium and that’s why Denmark will edge them. Russia still have the main core of the 2018 World Cup squad that got to the quarter finals. Finland will finish bottom of ultimately quite a tough group but I reckon they’ll put up a good account of themselves.
GROUP C: This is quite an interesting group once you dive into it. I do think Netherlands will top the group but not as comfortable as you think. Van Dijk is a colossal loss for them and they do have star quality in each third of the pitch but not as much as you think. De Ligt hasn’t been outstanding this season but he has been solid, same can be said for De Jong but Depay has had a very good season, scoring 20 goals. Bar those players Netherlands don’t really have that star quality that they once had. So I reckon they’ll finish top but not by that much. North Macedonia are my surprise package. They’re going into the tournament on a big high and full of confidence. They also do have some very exciting players, Elmas from Napoli, Pandev from Genoa, Bardhi from Levante, Alioski from Leeds and Stefan Ristovski at Dinamo Zagreb. A good hybrid of youth and experience which beat Germany shows they can beat anyone. Another underdog to keep an eye out for. Ukraine are the second third placed team to go through. Ukraine are a very good defensive side, and with Shevchenko coaching Yaremchuk while also having Zinchenko and Malinovskyi in the team, it’s a well balanced team and I think they will just pip Austria to third. Austria I feel will narrowly miss out on third, I thinkl the quality of Alaba and Sabitzer won’t be enough to beat the unit of Ukraine to third and they’ll just miss out.
GROUP D: England will top the group. I have very little doubt about it. We have too much quality for that group and we will beat everyone, maybe not comfortably but they’ll grind out results. I do also think Croatia will finish second ahead of Scotland, because of their previous experience. They’ve been in a international tournament before so I think the experience and the technical ability of their squad puts them ahead of Scotland who I say still qualify. I think Scotland draw to England, lose to Croatia and beat Czech Republic. Their first Euros since 1996 and they’ll want to make it a memorable one so I think they’ll make it out of the group in third place. Czech Republic in my eyes don’t have the quality to compete in this group unfortunately. They’re an okay team and in any other group I’d give them more of a chance but in this group, they won’t make it out.
GROUP E: Another interesting battle for second. I think Spain top the group although they are lacking an elite striker to lead the line, their goals will come from the midfield and their strong defence, especially with the addition of Laporte will add that solidity and grit that they need. Sweden and Poland will battle it out for second and I think it’ll be battle of the strikers. Lewandowski has had the best season of his career and there will be a lot of expectation placed on him but I feel he will be let down by Poland again and his team mates (Klich and Zielinski are the only real quality players) won’t provide enough for him and he won’t get the chances he needs. On the other hand, Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad for Sweden who will be leading the line has also been in fine form. 17 goals in 34 games for a 21 year old is quite good. Sweden also have more quality around him to help him, Dejan Kulusevski, Emil Forsberg and a name who you may not have heard of Jordan Larsson. 20 g/a in 29 games for Spartak Moscow. Can play either in the 10, on the right or up front, he can help score goals and help accommodate Isak.
GROUP F: The group of death. The top two teams could go and win the whole thing. Hungary do not have a chance at all in my opinion. Szoboszlai, their star player will miss the tournament and that’s a massive blow for them. An influential cog already gone and I think it’s over before it’s begun. Germany will also miss out I think. With Werner leading the line, I have very little faith in them. Their defence isn’t as strong as it used to be as well, bar maybe Neuer who’s probably the best keeper in the tournament. They have an unreal midfield but it won’t be enough to get them out. Portugal and France will be decided by who beats who in that match, if someone does win it of course. Both of the countries are filled with outrageous talent and it’ll be a tossup between the two for first and second but I think France get it because of Benzema and he’ll kick them up another gear.
KNOCKOUT STAGES/WINNER:
SUMMARY
I think this Euro will play out like the table above and in the final I think we’ll get a repeat of the 2016 Euro final. I also don’t think there will be any major upsets because the quality in the round of 16 is just so good now that I find it hard to envision one but if I was to say what would be the closest game, I’d say Italy be North Macedonia won’t be a whitewash and there will only be one goal in it. The rest are all self explanatory. France vs Italy will be an interesting semi final and a good battle between the best defence versus one of the best attacks in Europe but I do see France edging it. Portugal have a tricky semi final tie against Turkey but I think a Ronaldo brace sends them through. In the final I think France will win it this time. They’ll want to show everyone they are capable of winning the whole thing and will use the last loss as extra motivation to go out there and win it this time.
AWARDS:
TOP SCORER: 1st Lukaku 2nd Mbappe 3rd Ronaldo
I think because of the easy group Lukaku has, he’ll take the lead early on and then a tie against not a very solid Swiss side will see him score another goal or two. Mbappe will miss out by 1 or 2 goals but I feel Lukaku will carry on his hot form into this tournament.
BEST PLAYER: N’golo Kante
Kante this season has been immense for Chelsea and will be integral to this France team if they are to go on and win it. He’s the hardest working on any pitch he sets foot on and will be key to shutting down Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes in the final. I also think his efforts will be recognised and he will score 1 or 2 goals as well to cement himself as the best player of the tournament.
TOP ASSISTER: Kevin De Bruyne
The top assister being from the same team as the top scorer won’t be a coincidence. The linkup between De Bruyne and Lukaku will be lethal this tournament and could be the most deadly duo. He may miss the first game due to the injury he suffered in the Champions League final but I still expect him to race ahead of the competition and deliver the most assists.
BEST GOALKEEPER: Gianluigi Donnarumma
One of the younger keepers in the tournament but is easily one of the best. Has made over 200 appearances for AC Milan at just 22 years old shows his maturity and levels of experience he already has. 14 clean sheets in 37 games the joint most in Serie A and on average makes 2.5 saves per game. He will also play a key part in my next award.
MOST CLEAN SHEETS: Italy
To keep clean sheets, you need a world class goalkeeper and Italy have that. You also need world class defenders which they also have. A CB pairing of two iconic legends, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci is one of the best pairings in the word and will be extremely tough to break down. Add Manuel Locatelli, who will also help protecting them with his 2.4 tackles per game and you have maybe the most solid defensive side in international football.
And there you have it. My prediction for the whole Euro 2020 tournament and how I think it will pan out. Of course these are just my predictions and I could be horribly wrong but I feel looking at everything that it will go like this. Thanks for reading and do follow my account for more football content.