With the Euro 2024 tournament beginning on Friday there is just enough time to go through all of the groups before a ball is kicked in the competition and the best place to start is in Group A which gets the event underway.
This is a competitive looking section where the host nation will look to entertain the German crowds but with three possibly going through the other three sides in the group will all fancy their chances of making it into the knockout stage.
The Teams
Germany
Previous Best: Winners 1972, 1980 & 1996
How Qualified: Host nation
Qualifying Record: N/A
Tournament Odds: 11/2 General
Germany are a renowned tournament team in that they usually deliver on the big stage but their recent record in events hasn’t been the best having bombed out to England in the round of 16 at this competition three years ago and failed to come out of their group at the World Cup in Qatar. Julian Nagelsmann is the man given the responsibility of leading the Germans into battle on home soil and there is no doubt that he has a good young squad at his disposal with plenty of creative quality but there are question marks about how strong Germany will be at the back and whether they have a good enough number nine to do the business. If those doubts are answered in the affirmative a fourth European title is very much on.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern München), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Emre Can (Dortmund), Benjamin Henrichs (Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern München), Robin Koch (Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstädt (Stuttgart), David Raum (Leipzig), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Leverkusen)
Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Leverkusen), Chris Führich (Stuttgart), İlkay Gündoğan (Barcelona), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern München), Leroy Sané (Bayern München), Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Füllkrug (Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Müller (Bayern München), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)
Hungary
Previous Best: 3rd 1964
How Qualified: Group G winner
Qualifying Record: P8 W5 D3 L0 F16 A7 GD+9 Pts 18
Tournament Odds: 125/1 Spreadex
Hungary could be considered the dark horses of the tournament for many, not just because they went through qualifying unbeaten and prior to that did a double over England in the UEFA Nations League but also because this group has a kind path in the knockout stages if you come out of it in the top two. Hungarian football has improved a lot under Marco Rossi and with a poster boy in Dominik Szoboszlai they have a player who could light the tournament up. Hungary aren’t afraid to go at sides and prior to a recent friendly loss to Ireland they were unbeaten in 14 games. They’ll fancy their chances.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Dénes Dibusz (Ferencváros), Péter Gulácsi (Leipzig), Péter Szappanos (Paks)
Defenders: Botond Balogh (Parma), Bendegúz Bolla (Servette), Endre Botka (Ferencváros), Márton Dárdai (Hertha Berlin), Attila Fiola (Fehérvár), Miloš Kerkez (Bournemouth), Ádám Lang (Omonoia), Zsolt Nagy (Puskás Akadémia), Loïc Négo (Le Havre), Willi Orbán (Leipzig), Attila Szalai (Freiburg)
Midfielders: Dániel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union), Mihály Kata (MTK Budapest), László Kleinheisler (Hajduk Split), Ádám Nagy (Spezia), András Schäfer (Union Berlin), Callum Styles (Sunderland), Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)
Forwards: Martin Ádám (Ulsan HD), Kevin Csoboth (Újpest), Kristofer Horváth (Kecskemét), Roland Sallai (Freiburg), Barnabás Varga (Ferencváros)
Scotland
Previous Best: Group Stage 1992, 1996 & 2020
How Qualified: Runner Up Group A
Qualifying Record: P8 W5 D2 L1 F17 A8 GD+9 Pts 17
Tournament Odds: 200/1 General
Scotland are back at the Euros for a fourth time and they will be hoping that this is the time they can finally make it into the group stages. Optimism would have been extremely high had this tournament taken place 12 months ago when the Scots were in a really rich vein of form but that has petered out a touch in 2024 and they head into the competition without the focal point of their attack in Lyndon Dykes, who picked up an injury in training early in the camp. Scotland beat Spain in qualifying which shows that they can be a threat but they will need to find some form very quickly else they will be home earlier than the rest for a fourth time in four outings.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Zander Clark (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Norwich), Liam Kelly (Motherwell)
Defenders: Liam Cooper (Leeds), Grant Hanley (Norwich), Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), Ross McCrorie (Bristol City), Scott McKenna (Copenhagen), Ryan Porteous (Watford), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool), Greg Taylor (Celtic), Kieran Tierney (Real Sociedad)
Midfielders: Stuart Armstrong (Southampton), James Forrest (Celtic), Billy Gilmour (Brighton), Ryan Jack (Rangers), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Kenny McLean (Norwich), Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Lewis Morgan (New York RB)
Forwards: Ché Adams (Southampton), Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Tommy Conway (Bristol City), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts)
Switzerland
Previous Best: QF 2020
How Qualified: Runner Up Group I
Qualifying Record: P10 W4 D5 L1 F22 A11 GD+11 Pts 17
Tournament Odds: 80/1 General
Switzerland have become regular visitors to the tournaments but probably haven’t made that massive breakthrough that they would have hoped for. They were quarter finalists three years ago and came out of their group at the World Cup and have a really strong spine to their side with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji champions in the Bundesliga and Premier League respectively. There are some lively attacking players in this Swiss squad and if they can shine then there is no reason why Murat Yakin’s men can’t emulate their efforts of three years ago if not go slightly better.
Squad: Goalkeepers: Gregor Kobel (Dortmund), Yvon Mvogo (Lorient), Yann Sommer (Inter)
Defenders: Manuel Akanji (Manchester City), Nico Elvedi (Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Rodríguez (Torino), Fabian Schär (Newcastle), Leonidas Stergiou (Stuttgart), Silvan Widmer (Mainz), Cédric Zesiger (Wolfsburg)
Midfielders: Michel Aebischer (Bologna), Remo Freuler (Bologna), Ardon Jashari (Luzern), Fabian Rieder (Rennes), Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire), Vincent Sierro (Toulouse), Renato Steffen (Lugano), Ruben Vargas (Augsburg), Granit Xhaka (Leverkusen), Denis Zakaria (Monaco), Steven Zuber (AEK Athens)
Forwards: Zeki Amdouni (Burnley), Kwadwo Duah (Ludogorets), Breel Embolo (Monaco), Dan Ndoye (Bologna), Noah Okafor (AC Milan)
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Group Betting
As you would imagine, Germany are pretty warm favourites to win Group A but I’m always a little reluctant to take short prices about group winners because in this tournament with four third placed sides going through a number of teams will have qualified with a match to spare and after a very long, hard domestic season big names could get rested and you get done at the winning post. I wouldn’t really want to take on the Germans but I’m happy to let them win if they are good enough.
The bet that I do like in this group though is for Scotland to finish bottom. They will give it all they’ve got but the problem for them is they don’t have enough goals for my liking. Their top scorer in qualifying was a midfielder in Scott McTominay and that always puts up the red flags in my mind and even the next best was another in John McGinn. They also face Germany in the opening game and if that goes wrong they will need to come out and attack the last two games which might cause issues. I think the other three are much better balanced and have that added quality in the attacking areas to resign the Scots to bottom spot.
Team Betting
I like a couple of teams in the lowest scoring team market at this tournament and Scotland are one of those. Even before Dykes got injured this wasn’t a Scotland side who were free scoring, although they did score more than going into this tournament three years ago but I just get away from the fact that a player who played centre-back in the last Euros at times was their top scorer in qualifying and the three teams in this group will all know that threat and make sure it is minimised. I don’t see Scotland coming out of the group and with no natural scorer in the side goals could be at a premium for the Tartan Army boys.
If there are goals for Scotland in this tournament I certainly think they will come in short supply so it could be worth backing a big price in the top Scotland goalscorer market. Their forward options look to be Che Adams, who missed the end of the season for Southampton with injury, Lawrence Shankland who plays at Hearts and Tommy Conway who has one cap. If goals do come I think they could come from behind them and it might be worth taking Ryan Christie at 12/1. The Bournemouth midfielder plays further forward for Scotland than he does for his club and will be tasked with getting in and around the second balls on the edge of the box. He opened the scoring in a friendly with Gibraltar in the warm up to this tournament and in a market where one goal might land a payout of some kind that price is of interest to me.
The other bet I like in this group is for Switzerland to score more than 4.5 goals in the tournament. They averaged more than two goals per game in qualifying and they are much more forward thinking these days with Granit Xhaka much higher up the pitch and a front three that certainly has goals in them. There isn’t what you would call a watertight defence in Group A and were Switzerland to come out of the group, which I think they will, they will be guarantee at least four games to get those five goals. If they are second in the section they will face another runner up in the round of 16 so a fifth game could easily come along. I think Switzerland can score more than this line suggests.
Tips
Back Scotland to finish bottom of Group A for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Bet365
Back Scotland Lowest Scoring Team for a 1/10 stake at 12.00 with Sky Bet
Back R.Christie Top Scotland Goalscorer for a 1/10 stake at 13.00 with Coral
Back Switzerland – Over 4.5 tournament goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
