9. Croatia

Group L

UEFA (7/16)

World Ranking: 11

Best Result: Final (2018)

Fixtures:

England (17th June, 9PM)

Panama (24th June, 12AM)

Ghana (27th June, 10PM)

A country that constantly plays above their station, including finishing 2nd and 3rd at the last two tournaments with only a 3.9 million population. They have such an experienced side that have been here above with the core of their side all being in their 30s. People said they were past in 2022 but they proved everyone wrong and will be looking to do so again. They qualified with ease, going unbeaten and finishing 6-points above runners-up Czech Republic. They had practically qualified after their first two games where they smashed Gibraltar and the Czechs by 7-0 and 5-1 margins. Since becoming an independent team in 1990, they’ve only missed one World Cup and you should never rule them out.

The Manager: Zlatko Dalić

Currently in his 9th year as the national team manager, Dalić is a hero of Croatian football after leading the side to a World Cup final and another semi-final. While on the front foot against weaker sides, against the top sides he always seems to bring the best out of his players and sets up them up to be incredibly difficult to beat. He’s stayed loyal to the same core group of players and they have rewarded him tenfold. As a player, he represented many Croatian sides which his longest spell being with the now-defunct Varaždin. As a manager, his biggest success in club football came in Asia where he managed Al Faisaly, Al Hilal and Al Ain although he did manage three Croatian and one Albanian side earlier on.

Key Player: Luka Modrić (AC Milan)

40-years old and still running everything from the middle for this Croatia side. Modrić is one of the greatest midfielders of all-time and his antics 8-years ago saw him win the Ballon d'Or. That felt like a ‘career award’ so for him to still be going strong is remarkable. A late bloomer, he was 27 when he left Tottenham for Real Madrid and was awarded ‘worst signing of the season’ in his first year at the Bernabeu. But there’s not many players better at picking out a pass and 394 La Liga appearances later, it’s safe to say he made the doubters look like fools.

Why they're actually going to win it: They’ve beat the odds to reach 2nd and 3rd at the last two tournaments, who’s to say they can’t complete the missing position?

8. Netherlands

Group F

UEFA (6/16)

World Ranking: 7

Best Result: Final (1974, 1978, 2010)

Fixtures:

Japan (14th June, 9PM)

Sweden (20th June, 6PM)

Tunisia (26th June, 12AM)

The greatest footballing nation to never win the World Cup, Netherlands have made three finals without ever picking up the trophy and there’s optimism in the country that this could be the time they put that right. They dropped to their lowest World Rankings position of 36 when they didn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup but have worked their way back up and have been in the top 10 for 5 years straight now. They’ve come agonisingly close at the last two tournaments, their loss on penalties to Argentina in the quarter-finals in 2022 followed a 3-3 draw which was one of the games on the tournament and it was only a late Ollie Watkins winner that stopped them reaching the Euro final. They are in a tough group but they have a great mix of technical players and players with great pace which should see them do well. They will have one of the most-familiar squads to fans in England with 20 of their 26 players either currently playing or has previously played in the Premier League.

The Manager: Ronald Koeman

A curious manager who doesn’t seem too popular anywhere he goes. Koeman is on his second spell at Netherlands manager having previously took charge in 2018 and seeing them qualify for Euro 2020. However, he left to join Barcelona before the delayed tournament could kick-off. His time in Spain didn’t go well, lasting just over a season and seeing the club go trophyless. After van Gaal retired, he has been brought back to the Dutch side and reached the Euro semi-final. His most successful manager spells have been in the Netherlands (where he won titles with Ajax and PSV) and at Southampton where he led them to their highest Premier League finish (6th). As a player, his reputation is much more secure. Despite being a defender, he was known for his goalscoring ability and powerful long-shots which saw him score 192 league goals in his career across spells at Groningen, Ajax, PSV, Barcelona and Feyenoord. Most centre-forwards can only dream of stats like that.

Key Player: Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)

I was considering choosing Denzel Dumfries who always seems to play his best football for his national side but I’ve gone with de Jong who missed Euro 2024 through injury and is the biggest difference going into this tournament. There was a time where he was constantly linked to Manchester United wen Barca were struggling with their finances but he fought to remain at the club and has been rewarded with three La Liga titles after not winning in his first three seasons. The typical classy Dutch midfielder (in the vein of Sneijder, Seedorf and Gullit, he dictates the way his team plays and first shot to fame as part of the Ajax side that caused shockwaves across Europe in 2018/19, reaching the Champions League semi-finals at 21.

Why they're actually going to win it: It feels crazy that they’ve never won one before and their squad this time certainly looks capable.

That American economist who allegedly has correctly predicted the past 3 winning countries reckons The Netherlands will win 👀