France, Austria, the Netherlands and Poland are the four teams in Group D of Euro 2024, which will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14.
Be careful, complicated group for the Blues. Didier Deschamps’ men, finalists of the last World Cup, are of course favorites in this group D of Euro 2024, but it will undoubtedly not be a cakewalk. This was already the case during the last Euro, where France had to battle against Germany, Portugal and Hungary, releasing a lot of energy, which was lacking during the round of 16 against Switzerland.
France, 2nd in the FIFA rankings
Favorites in the competition with England according to the bookmakers, the Blues are naturally also the favorites in this group. They qualified without trembling with 7 victories and a draw to finish, narrowly missing the Grand Slam. With 29 goals scored and 3 conceded, the French team achieved the second best performance in these qualifiers, behind Portugal. The Euro remains an unfinished story for Didier Deschamps who failed in overtime in the final in 2016 then experienced a surprise elimination against Switzerland on penalties in 2021, while the Blues still led 3-1 10 minutes from the end . Kylian Mbappé himself said it, if the Blues gave their best in the World Cup, they still have everything to prove at the Euro.
Netherlands, 7th in the Fifa rankings
They will therefore find an old acquaintance in Germany, the Netherlands who were in the Blues qualifying group. For two defeats for the Oranje, including a severe 4-0 at the opening of qualifying. But since then, Ronald Koeman’s men have recovered well and beat Canada 4-0 in a preparation match (them). Only one absent from the Netherlands, Dortmund full-back Maatsen. Otherwise, all the entertainers of the season are there and in particular the Bayer Leverkusen winger, Jeremie Frimpong.
Austria, 25th in the Fifa rankings
Be careful, scarecrow. It’s not the most high-sounding name in European football, but Austria is in full swing. Ralf Rangnick also refused Bayern Munich in order to remain at the head of the red and white national team, which had a very good qualifying campaign (only one draw and only one defeat, each time against Belgium) . The Austrians even managed six victories in a row before finally stalling in a preparation match (1-1 against Switzerland). Lensois Kevin Danso’s teammates do not have big stars, in particular because Rangnick ultimately did not retain Alaba, too narrowly. Clermontois Muhammad Cham also did not make the cut. The midfield, including the Munich player Laimer and the Dortmund player Sabitzer, both former teammates at Leipzig where Rangnick officiated, is the strong point of a very homogeneous group.
Poland, 28th in the Fifa rankings
The last guest in the group, Lewandowski’s Poland had to go through the play-offs to qualify, on penalties, against Wales, after a sad 0-0. But the essential thing, the qualification, was there and Poland joined a very homogeneous group. Qualified for all major tournaments since 2016, the Polish national team relies on the same framework around a spine Lewandowski, Zielinski, Grosicki, Szczesny. No Milik on the other hand, who was injured during a friendly match against Ukraine on June 7. Since their elimination in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup against the Blues, the Poles have changed coach and are now led by Michal Probierz, who spent most of his career in Poland and who previously coached the Espoirs.
Group D schedule
- Poland-Netherlands, June 16 at 3 p.m.
- Austria-France, June 17 at 9 p.m. (TF1)
- Poland-Austria, June 21 at 6 p.m.
- Netherlands-France, June 21 at 9 p.m. (M6)
- France-Poland, June 25 at 6 p.m. (TF1)
- Netherlands-Austria, June 25 at 6 p.m.
