Poland
At 35, Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski will captain Poland to their fifth appearance at the European Championship hoping for the country’s first international honour since winning gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Despite finishing in third place twice at the World Cup, Poland have failed to impress at the Euros with their best outing being reaching the quarterfinals at France 2016.
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Head coach Michał Probierz will look at the squad at his disposal and believe matching that Mark at least, is not mission impossible in Germany.
However, they have to navigate their way past a tricky Group D that has two of the most talented teams in the tournament.
Austria
Austria have a very humbled history at the European Championships.
Das Team did not qualify for the continental showpiece until 2008 when they co-hosted the event with Switzerland.
Since then, they have won only two out of ten games and have only made it past the group stage once.
That is a lowly record for a team that has been to seven editions of the World Cup and reached the semifinals twice.
Head coach Ralf Rangnick will want to right that wrong at Germany 2024, especially with key stars Inter Milan’s Marko Arnautović, Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer, and Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer now in their prime.
Austria have a decent record against Poland (three wins, five defeats), France (nine wins, 13 defeats), and the Netherlands (six wins, 10 losses) and the Burschen will target at least one victory against at least one of these teams to advance out of Group D.
Netherlands
The Netherlands boast one of the most gifted squads at Euro 2024, including Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt, RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons, and Atlético Madrid Memphis Depay to mention a few.
Blending these incredible talents into a formidable team will be the biggest headache of head coach Ronald Koeman, who was a member of the only Dutch squad to win the European Championship in 1988.
The Netherlands have been poor at this tournament in recent years, exiting the Euros at the Round of 16 in the last edition, failing to qualify in 2016, and bowing out at the group stage four years earlier.
However, they will want to turn the corner in Germany, following their fine run at the 2022 World Cup when they reached the quarterfinals before eventual winners Argentina ended their run.
France
France have been one of the most outstanding nations in football in recent times, lifting the 2018 World Cup, finishing as runners-up in Qatar, and winning the 2021 UEFA Nations League.
However, Les Bleus’ dominance has not stretched to the European Championships, which they have not won in 24 years, coming agonisingly close in 2016.
This could be the year France end their long wait, though, as head coach Didier Deschamps remains in charge to weave his magic on the bench for Kylian Mbappe and co to replicate the same on the pitch.
Unsurprisingly, France are the heavy favourites to lift the trophy in Germany. While there are two or three teams capable of testing their title credentials, none of those are in Group D, which should be a walk in the park for them.
Likely Group C winners: France, Netherlands
Likely third-place qualifier: Poland
