EURO 2020 Predictions: Winner, Dark Horse, Surprise Players

Today marked the end of matchday one of Euro 2020.

As fans are allowed back to the stadium, the players and managers are extra motivated to showcase their brilliance. We have already witnessed great football, stunning goals and heartwarming camaraderie. The festive season has truly begun.

Amidst all this bustling, a few teams have laid a strong claim on their desire to be the victor. While the future may not be known with certainty, this is my attempt at a prediction for Euros 2020:

Winner: France

It is astounding how Didier Deschamps’s squad are now even stronger than the World Cup winning team in 2018. With Benzema being recalled into the squad and Mbappe developing into a much better footballer than 3 years prior, France are truly the favourites for this
tournament.

Les bleus first match was a 1-0 victory against the most successful team in this tournament, Germany. Their performance was pragmatic and professional – it can be argued that the star-studded side could have played better football, but a win is a win, nevertheless.

The only team that can even come close to defeating the French on the basis of quality is Portugal. With elite players such as Ronaldo, Dias and Bernardo Silva, the Portuguese should be treated with caution as well.

Surprise Winners: Italy

The title of being “surprise winners” is a tricky one.

These teams are deemed unfit to go all the way. At the same time, these teams are always large enough (footballing-wise) to not be called “dark horses”. This leaves a pool of predictable European heavyweights who have simply become rusty over the past few years: Netherlands, Spain, etc.

Out of all these teams, my bet lies with Italy. Having not qualified for the 2018 World Cup nor the 2016 Euros, the Azzuris have a real statement to make in this tournament.

The squad has a perfect balance of experience (Chiellini, Bonucci and Immoble) and youth (Donnarumma, Barella and Chiesa). Moreover, the Italians can play with a ferocious intensity for 90 full minutes, as displayed to the world on Friday afternoon and this team, like all Italian sides in the past, have an extremely strong defence.

Italy is a team to be wary of.

Dark Horse: Czech Republic

Nobody usually expects the teams outside the European heavy-weights to go all the way, yet if I had to lay my bets on one dark horse, it would be Czech Republic. 

Led by the prolific holding midfielder Tomas Soucek, who captured the attention of the world by playing excellent football for West Ham last season, Czech Republic has a very formidable squad.

Other notable players include Souckek’s West Ham compatriot, Coufal and Spartak Moscow’s talisman Alex Kral. Furthermore, many of Czech Republic’s players come from their domestic club of Slavia Prague which had an invincible season and reached the quarter finals of the Europa League.

Their 2-0 win against Scotland to commence off the tournament illustrated the potential the Czech have. 

Top Goal Scorer: Romelu Lukaku

While Crisitano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe are definitely in the conversation for the top goal scorer of the Euros, both Portugal and France are in the group of death. On the other hand, Ronaldo’s Serie A rival, Romelu Lukaku representing Belgium, has been dealt with a much easier group.

Having scored 30 goals in 44 games for Inter Milan this season, the prolific striker has already started the tournament brightly with scoring 2 goals against Russia. All the stars can be aligned for Lukaku as after an easy group stage, Belgium might also get an easier round of sixteen opposition with a match against teams like Poland or Finland.

A surprise player of the tournament: Leonardo Spinozilla

After watching most of the games from the first matchday, a player that caught my eye the most was Leonardo Spinozilla from Italy. The commentator from BBC complimented the left-back for metaphorically having “six-lungs” for such was his work ethic.

Spinozilla was seen all over the pitch in the game against turkey. He was fantastic defensively, yet, what distinguished him the most was his willingness to relentlessly go forward and have a shot at goal or whip a ball in.

This earned him an assist and a man of the match trophy. The 28 year-old is a one to watch.

While all these predictions have been made through watching the game and thinking analytically, the wonder of football is that it is unpredictable. It will be exciting to see if my predictions do come to fruition and if they do not, it will simply be another reason why the beautiful game is so exciting.

What are your thoughts and predictions? Please put them in the comment section below.