Dan’s Euro 24 predictions Group C – Analysis of England, Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia’s chances

Dan’s Euro 24 predictions Group C

So, Three Gooners will be wearing the Three Lions on their chest this summer. It would have been 4 had Ben White asked not to be selected.

You could argue Rice is England’s most important player as any injury to him means Southgate has zero cover in the DM position (that’s already asking Rice to play deeper).

The question is will our Gunners be facing a future teammate when they square off against Slovenia?

Gooners will get the chance to scout Sesko, with Arteta rumoured to be a huge fan of the striker.

England – 1st

Okay, taking the emotion out of my opinion England should be considered one of the favourites to win the Euros based on our attacking options taking part in an open tournament. As you may have heard, the Three Lions have arguably the player of the season from the Premiership, La Liga and the Bundesliga.

Now though …. time to put that emotion back in.

It’s very rare (outside of the last World Cup) a team lifts trophies without a great defence and leadership.

As I write this, the English first choice centrebacks and left back are not fit while we don’t have a DM option if anything happens to Rice (who himself is being asked to play deeper).

Then in knockout football where the line between success and failure is tiny, how many of the squad believe they can get over the line?

How many trusts Southgate in a semi-Final to tactically do something inspired?

A Deschamps for example has never been pressured into dropping Giroud or won’t start Saliba just because the media says he should.

He sticks to his convictions.

In the short term, even if we play poorly and the attitude is not correct, I can’t see how we don’t at least finish this group as one of the best third place teams.

I hate this format.

 Slovenia 2nd

One of my outside bets of the Group stages?

I won’t go as far as calling them dark horses, but I don’t think they are going to make up the numbers like some assume.

Quite simply they are in better form and more settled then their first two opponents in Germany, yet to lose this year.

That makes them dangerous when they don’t have the pressure of expectations on them.

While Serbia and Denmark are in transition and have some talent ageing, Slovenia are a settled team.

I think qualifying with the same points as the Danes could be mentally huge helping them believe they can get a result in their opener. Beating Portugal in a recent friendly has also been an injection of self-belief.

They have one the best keepers in the world in Oblak, and Sesko has to play even if only 70 percent fit. If he doesn’t play, they won’t qualify as there isn’t the squad depth to lose their best players.

It might be a case of the Dragons not being good enough, but if anyone takes them lightly (and that might be the case) they will cause a shock.

The format makes this their best chance of getting to the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time in their history.

At the very least, a first ever win at the Euros.

Denmark – 3rd

Some suggest that Denmark over the years have been less conservative, but I will challenge that.

3 years ago, we feared Christian Eriksen might never play again yet alone at another Euros so it will be emotional a week Sunday. Might be an advantage that they got 4 points in qualification against Slovenia.

Yet in the last European Championship they got through their group based on this silly format where they lost their first two games but one win in their final group game was enough.

In the last World Cup, they got one point in the group, when not being able to score against Tunisia and Australia.

That’s how I views the Danes, preferring to be underdogs but not comfortable being favourites. For instance, in qualifying lost to Northern Ireland and Kazakhstan!

So of course, they can lose to any of their opponents in Group C!

So don’t be shocked if they are England’s toughest opponents in the group but their other two games are banana skins.

Spirit in the squad can never be questioned having been together for a while but possibly in transition? Key names are either ageing or not playing enough.

Hojlund is their next big thing but even he (like Eriksen) has mostly been on Man United’s bench recently. Schmeichel is 37, captain Kjaer 35, Erickson, 32.

So, either one tournament too many or they use game management to get through group.

Nothing stunning though

Serbia 4th

Listening to a lot of Serbians their country might be involved in some of the more entertaining games in the group stages, yet they don’t all mean that as a positive.

Since their independence, this is their Euros debut although their manager did play the last time, the former Yugoslavia were at this stage.

Yugoslavia were also in Slovenia’s group then in 2000.

Dragon Stojkovic is being questioned how he hasn’t fixed the defence with that being an issue at the last World Cup. It seems his ethos is the best form of defence is attack, we will score more then you.

To be fair they got the players to do that. Mitrovic, Tadic, Vlahovic, Savic, can hurt any defence so it comes down to how their opponents approach them. Seeded in pot 4, this draw could have been worse. After England they will feel they can compete in their other two group games. Will have to play better than they did in qualifying though.

Sit back and let them have the ball they will hurt you but make it ‘you play we play’, and they fold.

Denmark and Slovenia play into their hands if they go conservative.

I would go as far as saying they are defensively the worse team at this tournament. That’s why there is not as much hope back in their homeland compared to when they were called dark horses heading to Qatar.

Almost to prove the point out of their three games at the last World Cup, one was a 3-3, the other was a 3-2 win.

Under this silly format they might only need one match where they outscore their opponents and they are in the knockout stages

So, for better or worse they will be good to watch?

Draw for JustArsenal Euros Friday so if you’re qualified or want to be on reserve, let me know.

Dan

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