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 👀

The Dutch feel a tad underrated, could easily have been coming off the back of two very different tournaments after a penalties QF loss to face Croatia, and a injury time SF loss in a game they did ok in, but are definitely talked about in the rung below even the likes of Portugal and Brazil who have done less than them. It'll feel strange as a Premier League watcher to see two of their back 4 outside of their natural positions.

7. Brazil

Group C

CONMEBOL (2/6)

World Ranking: 7

Best Result: Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)

Fixtures:

Morocco (13th June, 11PM)

Haiti (20th June, 1:30AM)

Scotland (24th June, 11PM)

The most iconic and successful team in World Cup history, Brazil have won the tournament on five occasions but are currently going through their record drought if they cannot win this year. The days of Pelé, Zico, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are long gone but they’ve been hampered by their determination to try to relive those days. Their whole preparation for this tournament has been overshadowed by one question: Neymar - in or out? He’s their last remaining icon and record top goalscorer but is 34 now and has spent more time injured than playing for Al-Hilal and now Santos since the last World Cup. In the end, he’s been picked ahead of Chelsea’s João Pedro (you have to imagine, mainly because the reaction in Brazil would have been horrific if he wasn’t) which feels to outsiders like a poor decision. Disappointing (and embarrassing) recent results (the 7-1 verses Germany at home, letting Croatia counter-attack them in the last 5 minutes in 2022) has seen them turn to a foreign-manager for the first time which felt impossible at one point. Who would have thought when it was announced that the World Cup was expanding to 48- teams that Brazil would be the main benefactors? A poor qualifying campaign saw them finish 5th and would have sent them to an Intercontinental Play-Off previously. The worst part is, they only finished above Paraguay on goal difference so would have been very close to missing out altogether in past years.

The Manager: Carlo Ancelotti

One of, if not the, most legendary currently-active managers in World Football, Ancelotti has won it all before: 5 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups, 2 La Ligas, a Bundesliga, a Scudetto, a Ligue Un title, an FA Cup and a Premier League. All of that and he’s never been more animated than when doing his signature eyebrow curl. But with this being his first international role, there’s one trophy missing from his cabinet. With his insane success as a manager, it’s easy to forget that he was a brilliant footballer too. He’s one of only 7-people to win the Champions League as a player and a manager after winning back-to-back titles with AC Milan between 1989-1990. Injury stopped him from being picked for World Cup 1982 and meant he didn’t get off the bench 4-years later. It wasn’t until Italia 1990 until he made his tournament debut, playing three times.

Key Player: Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)

Many people believed he was robbed in 2024 when Rodri pipped him to the Ballon d’Or title and he’s never really recovered from that disappointment since. He’s took the brunt of the blame after Real Madrid’s collapse in the past two years. His position at the club is now looking rough after José Mourinho’s hiring after the Portuguese manager had been very critical of his actions after Vini reported being racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni. He’s also been frequently criticised for never living up to his potential for his country. So far only scoring 8 goals in 47 appearances. But if there’s one man who knows how to get the best out of him, it’s Carlo Ancelotti. During their time together, Vinícius became much more aware of his defensive duties, became a lot more consistent at decision making in the final-third and reached a point where he was legitimately a contender as being the best player in the world.

Why they're actually going to win it: They’re Brazil. You can never rule them out. And any team that names 9 attackers while only picking 5 midfielders is going to score goals.

Morocco will be an interesting one - they'll be expected to do a lot better this time round because of how well they did at the last one, but 2022 was a complete surprise performance so I think there's a risk people are hoping for too much from them. They don't have the nicest path either - if they finish second in their group then they'll end up playing the winner of the Netherlands group which won't be an easy round of 32 match!

Brazil will either reach the final or suffer a humiliating early exit. The squad doesn't inspire confidence but Ancelotti is a vibes manager that specialises in tournaments, it could work.

Switzerland - Probably the favourites on paper for Group B, it would be a surprise if they didn't make it out of the group.

Ivory Coast - Could possibly get 2nd in group E, the match against Ecuador will be really key for them.

Colombia - I expect them to finish 2nd in group K. Anything less than that would be an embarrassment for them.

Norway - With Erling Haaland up front they should make it out of group I and could go quite far in the tournament.

Morocco - I think they will finish 2nd in group C and could get to about the round of 16 or quarter finals.

Belgium - The nearly men of European international football. I suspect they will make it 3 wins out of 3 in the group stage but beyond that they'll most likely underachieve again.

Senegal - They'll be in the top 3 in group I no doubt about that. If they are to finish 3rd in the group they'll likely have done enough to be among the highest 3rd placed teams and qualify for the knockout stage.

Croatia - Possibly the most consistent team to have never lifted the World Cup trophy. Reaching the latter stages is what they do regularly and they could do it again this time. I'd expect them to top group L.

Netherlands - Another team that have never lifted the trophy that have also reached the latter stages on multiple occasions. They'll make it out of group F with maximum points I would imagine.

Brazil - It's quite hard to believe that their last World Cup win was 24 years ago now. More World Cup wins that any other country on the planet, they'll top group C but I've got a gut feeling that the 6th star won't be going on their shirt this year.

6. Germany

Group E

UEFA (5/16)

World Ranking: 10

Best Result: Winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)

Fixtures:

Curaçao (14th June, 6PM)

Ivory Coast (20th June, 9PM)

Ecuador (25th June, 9PM)

“Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win". So said, famously, by Gary Lineker after England’s penalty shoot-out defeat to West Germany in the semi-finals of World Cup 1990. And after their 7-1 rout of hosts Brazil on the way to the 2014 World Cup, this quote still felt very relevant. However, after consecutive group stage exits, they no longer have the same fear-factor. Their 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in the first qualifier this time around rang alarm bells but their 6-0 win against the same opposition in their final match put those fears to bed. At the previous Euros, where they hosted, they started to look like their old selves and were very unfortunate in their defeat to eventual winners Spain. But quarter-finals are not enough for Germany and their fans will be demanding more this time around. They certainly have the players to mount a challenge, Musiala and Wirtz are exciting and Manuel Neuer’s return will bring experience but the big question remark remains up top. Woltemade has been playing in midfield for Newcastle and they still haven’t found a replacement in the vein of Müller (Gerd or Thomas), Miroslav Klose or Jürgen Klinsmann. With three-teams progressing from most groups, they look unlikely to make it three group stage exits but the real questions will come when they face another of the big names.

The Manager: Julian Nagelsmann

After retiring from playing at 20 due to injuries, Nagelsmann became a revelation as a young manager after becoming Hoffenheim manager at 28. After joining them 7-points of safety, he managed to keep them up in his first few months before qualifying them for their first Champions League campaign in first full season. However, they drew Liverpool in the Play-Off and didn’t make the group stage. The following season, they qualified for the group stage directly after a 3rd place finish and, at 31, he became the youngest manager ever in the competition. This earned him a move to RB Leipzig where he reached the Champions League semi-finals. Bayern then paid a record-fee for a manager (€25 million) to bring him in but sacked him within 2-years, despite winning the league title. He was brought in to Germany before Euro 2024 (replacing Hansi Flick like he did at Bayern) and is starting to win over the German public.

Key Player: Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)

The third ‘key player’ so far that was eligible to play for England and would certainly be in the squad had he chose them, Musiala played for England at each age bracket between 15-21 before committing to Germany’s senior side in 2021. He proved his worth to the national side at Euro 2024 where he was the joint-winner of the Golden Boot and played years above his age. Still only 23, his Bayern career has been injury-hit and a fractured fibula suffered at last year’s Club World Cup has sidelined him for more of this season. But when he’s on the pitch, he gives his side an extra dimension and his creativity will be vital for Germany this year as they struggle without a true centre-forward.

Why they're actually going to win it: Bayern are back to playing some of their best football so it’s probably time for Germany to do so too.

5. Portugal

Group K

UEFA (4/16)

World Ranking: 5

Best Result: Third-Place (1966)

Fixtures:

DR Congo (17th June, 6PM)

Uzbekistan (23rd June, 6PM)

Colombia (28th June, 12:30AM)

The highest placed team not to have already won the trophy before, Portugal’s Eusébio-led 3rd place finish in 1966 was one of only two times they qualified in the first 16 editions of the World Cup (the other being a group-stage exit in 1986). However, since 2002 where they broke the duck before a group-stage knockout, they’ve become one of the top nations in the world, especially since the debut of one Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003, not missing a tournament since. And, at 41, he’s still going to dominate all of the headlines surrounding Portugal again. We have an iconic picture of Pelé holding the World Cup aloft, we have an iconic picture of Maradona holding the trophy, we finally got the image of Messi doing in last time around but we still don’t have that picture of Ronaldo and he will be DESPERATE to do that in his final chance. While he may not be at his peak, he might have the best team around him that he has ever had in a Portugal shirt and they looked good when winning the Nations League last year.

The Manager: Roberto Martínez

The only manager at this World Cup that I used to go and watch play when I was as a kid, Martínez never quite became a Chester legend during his one-and-a-half seasons there but he’s certainly a Wigan Athletic and Swansea City legend having played and managed both of the sides very successfully. As a player, he won the League One title and the Football League trophy at the former and League Two survival at the later. He took over as manager at Swansea at 33 and won them promotion again, this time to the Championship before taking over Wigan and keeping them in the Premier League for 3-seasons before, remarkably, winning the FA Cup with the side. This earned him the Everton job as Moyes’s replacement where he bagged a 5th placed finished before taking over the golden generation of Belgium. Despite keeping Belgium top of the World Rankings for three-whole years, his inability to win a trophy with Belgium means that his reputation is mixed and many were surprised to see Portugal give him the keys to their top side. A Nations League win was a good start but this is the tournament he will be judged by.

Key Player: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

Ronaldo will be the focus and Vitinha will also be important but the reigning Premier League Player of the Season and record-breaking assist maker Fernandes is in the form of his career and his desire to always look forward and try to find an opening can help create goals out of nothing. If Portugal play anything like United, everything will come through him and Ronaldo, Leão and Conceição will be licking their lips every time he gets the ball. At 31, this is likely his last World Cup at his peak so, like Ronaldo, he has a lot to play for.

Why they're actually going to win it: Ronaldo has won everything else in his career and this is the last one missing. Messi’s already done it so it feels like it’s now his time.

4. England

Group L

UEFA (3/16)

World Ranking: 4

Best Result: Winners (1966)

Fixtures:

Croatia (17th June, 9PM)

Ghana (23rd June, 9PM)

Panama (27th June, 10PM)

Two Euro finals, and a Semi-Final and Quarter-Final in the World Cup, Gareth Southgate revitalised English hopes during his spell as manager, especially after the embarrassing loss to Iceland in 2016, but faced criticism for playing it too safe and not being able to take the final step and get it past the line. The Tuchel era got off to great start with England winning all of their qualifiers without conceding a goal but, in the past year, England have lost their first ever matches against African and Asian competition after friendly defeats to Senegal and Japan. The squad selection has been controversial too with some big names left out (Maguire, Alexander-Arnold, Palmer, Foden, Gibbs-White, Bowen) and some unfancied players being called up (Burn, Quansah, Spence, Henderson, Madueke) but there’s still plenty of quality there and the country will be hoping that the decisions were correct.

The Manager: Thomas Tuchel

Despite the mixed-results detailed above, the FA are very confident in Tuchel and extended his contract in February to last until after the next Euros which will be co-hosted by England. He’s a manager who knows exactly what he wants and he’s picked a side he feels is capable of playing the system he wants instead of picking the most inform or best players. It’s a system that’s worked for him before with him famously being in charge of the Chelsea side that beat Man City in the 2020/2021 Champions League final when they certainly were not the favourites. He also added the Super Cup and Club World Cup at Chelsea and has won league titles and cups in both France (with PSG) and his native Germany (Dortmund and Bayern Munich). He was a player in his younger days too but was forced to retire at 25 after suffering a knee-injury.

Key Player: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

England’s top ever goalscorer, a World Cup Golden Boot winner already and coming into the tournament off the back of his best-ever season where he bagged 36 Bundesliga goals in 31 games. This is the weapon that England have when compared to the other top sides and, if England are going to win, it will be largely due to him. The three teams ranked above would bite your hand off to have Kane in their side with all of their top attacking talent being wide-players. For the longest time, he was clowned for never winning a trophy with multiple final defeats with Tottenham and England and when Bayern’s Bundesliga streak ended in his first season, it looked like the curse was real. But he’s finally put that to bed now with two league titles and a cup now in his cabinet. If we see him lifting the trophy next month, a Ballon d’Or is surely on the way.

Why they're actually going to win it: It's coming home!!!

Germany would do well to even make the quarters imo. I know it was 4 years ago but Musiala was awful at the Qatar WC.

Whilst I don't think the whole tournament will necessarily be dictated by politics I wouldn't be surprised if Portugal get given preferential referee treatment wherever realistic first off to try and set up the first ever Ronaldo Vs Messi WC match which I believe I read somewhere could happen if both teams top their groups and secondly to sign Ronaldo off with the big one.

England in fourth seems very generous given how out of form pretty much every single attacking player seems to be outside of Kane. I also think because expectations are higher this time with 'serial winner' Tuchel at the helm they will almost certainly disappoint and underperform. Quarters at the absolute best for them.

6 hours ago, Dobbo said:

Germany would do well to even make the quarters imo. I know it was 4 years ago but Musiala was awful at the Qatar WC.

Whilst I don't think the whole tournament will necessarily be dictated by politics I wouldn't be surprised if Portugal get given preferential referee treatment wherever realistic first off to try and set up the first ever Ronaldo Vs Messi WC match which I believe I read somewhere could happen if both teams top their groups and secondly to sign Ronaldo off with the big one.

England in fourth seems very generous given how out of form pretty much every single attacking player seems to be outside of Kane. I also think because expectations are higher this time with 'serial winner' Tuchel at the helm they will almost certainly disappoint and underperform. Quarters at the absolute best for them.

I think England have got a really tough draw if things turn out the way they do on paper. If we get to the quarter finals I think that will be a great achievement. Witht he way the timings work out, not sure I'd fancy playing Mexico in the last 16. I know people say it's home advantage etc. - but with the way our games work, it will be altitude that gets us. Not sure the players would have nearly enough time to acclimatise.

Remember Peter Reid in 1986 and all that 🤣

3. Argentina

Group J

CONMEBOL (1/6)

World Ranking: 3

Best Result: Winners (1978, 1986, 2022)

Fixtures:

Algeria (17th June, 2AM)

Austria (22nd June, 6PM)

Jordan (28th June, 3AM)

The defending World Champions and there’s no reason to believe that they can’t do it again. Since their epic penalty shoot-out victory against France in Qatar, they’ve bagged another Copa América title, became the first ever team to win away to Brazil in a qualifier and qualified easily for this tournament, finishing top by 9-points. Who could have foreseen all this when they were on the wrong end of the World Cup’s biggest ever upset in their opening game last time around against Saudi Arabia? They’re not always the prettiest to watch but they have a lot of determination and grit and are quite happy for games to turn into a fight; just rewatch the highlights of the Netherlands game in 2022. They’re coming into this tournament looking in better shape than they did in 2022 and will be a team that everyone will want to avoid.

The Manager: Lionel Scaloni

In his first senior managerial role, Scaloni has won the World Cup with his home country. He’s practically completed football management in one role so where is there really to go from here? His two Copa América wins either side of that mean that he’s won the last three tournaments he’s entered so he has the best, most experienced international CV in this tournament, despite still only being 48. As a player, his World Cup experience was much more limited. He was a shock inclusion in Argentina’s 2006 squad but only made one appearance, against Mexico in the Last 16. He got into that squad after impressing in a 4-month loan at West Ham in the Premier League.

Key Player: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

I think most people thought we’d saw the last of Messi at World Cups when we saw the image of him lifting the trophy aloft in 2022. It felt like the perfect way to retire from international football but the greatest players always want more and here he is again at the age of 38. What do you really need to say about him? 8 Ballon d’Ors, 8 FIFA Player of the Year titles, 2 World Cup Golden Balls, 4 Champions Leagues and a World Cup. At the last World Cup, he played a role where he sacrificed doing any defensive duties so he had the energy to come alive on the attack. Expect to see him do something similar again.

Why they're actually going to win it: They look stronger than when they won 4-years ago and Scaloni has already proved himself to be a tournament specialist.

64 years since a team last defended the WC, there's no reason to think it couldn't happen again this time!

It might happen for Argentina, just to say really enjoyed reading this thread @LewisGT you have done an fantastic job with this thread,.it is very much appreciated.

2. France

Group I

UEFA (2/16)

World Ranking: 1

Best Result: Winners (1998, 2018)

Fixtures:

Senegal (16th June, 8PM)

Iraq (22nd June, 10PM)

Norway (26th June, 8PM)

Champions in 2018 and only a penalty shoot-out (or Kolo Muani scoring a late 1-on-1) away from retaining their title in 2022, France have lost some of the key names from those sides (Lloris, Varane, Pogba, Griezmann, Giroud) but have found just as strong replacements. That is where the key strength of this French side lays, the sheer depth of talent that they possess, especially in attacking areas. Who else would be able to leave a player like Camavinga and at home? With PSG finally living up to their potential and winning back-to-back Champions League titles, this feels like a bit of a golden time for French football with five of this side playing their trade there, including reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé. The only reason why they’ve not topped this list was their poor showing at Euro 2024 where they looked lethargic and never got going, despite reaching the Semi-Finals.

The Manager: Didier Deschamps

The longest reining manager at this tournament, Deschamps has seen it all in his 14-year spell as France’s manager where he has notably become only the third man to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager. It will be the end of an era this time around as he leaving the side after his contract expires next month. Despite his huge success, he has not always been the most popular manager and has faced many spells of criticism, especially after their poor showing at the last Euros and when they were unable to win the trophy at home in 2016. A legendary defensive-midfielder as a player, he captained the first French team (Marseille) to win the Champions League in 1993 and captained the first French side to win the World Cup in 2018. He also had a brief spell in English football with Chelsea in 1999.

Key Player: Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)

He was the star of the show when he won the World Cup at the age of 18 and stole plenty of the headlines away from winners Argentina four year later when he became the second player to bag a World Cup hattrick. It’s safe to say that Mbappé embraces the biggest stage. In fact, he’s equaled Pelé’s record of scoring 12-goals in 14 World Cup matches and is only four goals behind Miroslav Klose as being the top ever scorer at the World Cup. You wouldn’t bet against him at-least equaling that record by the end of July. Despite having an insane goal record wherever he’s been at, he’s never quite become the next-generation Ballon d’Or dominator after Ronaldo and Messi’s dominance we all expected after he tore up World Cup 2018 and he’s still yet to win the top honour. His move to Real Madrid (who had won 6 of the last 11 Champions League when he joined) was meant to be the moment for him but it’s all went a bit wrong as he’s gone trophyless for two seasons while his old team, PSG, have become the top team in Europe.

Why they're actually going to win it: On paper, they have the strongest side and their recent World Cup experience will be vital.

How will France cope without Griezmann for the first time in 6 tournaments?

1. Spain

Group H

UEFA (1/16)

World Ranking: 2

Best Result: Winners (2010)

Fixtures:

Cape Verde (15th June, 5PM)

Saudi Arabia (21st June, 5PM)

Uruguay (27th June, 1AM)

Since that dominate era between 2008-2012 where they won a World Cup and consecutive Euros and were probably the greatest international side most of us have seen in our lifetimes, Spain have underwhelmed. They were embarrassingly knocked out in the group stage in 2014, despite being reigning Euro and World champions, lost in the last-16 on penalties to Russia and Morocco at the following World Cups and lost to Italy in back-to-back Euros, in the last-16 in 2016 while the Semi-Final run in 2020 being their only minor success. However, just when people were beginning to stop considering them as a top side, they made a mockery of that at Euro 2024 where they won the competition without a draw, loss or penalty shoot-out. Like the golden era of old, this team is a possession-based side but where they differ to the legends is out wide where they have tricky wingers who love to take their defenders on and are not afraid to shoot. Where they used to rely on a diminutive playmaker (David Silva, Cesc Fàbregas, Juan Mata), they’re threat now mainly comes from out wide (Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams). Aside from a disappointing Nations League final defeat to Portugal and a draw with Turkey in qualifying, they haven’t really let up since beating England in Berlin and go into this tournament as big favourites.

The Manager: Luis de la Fuente

He’s been in management since taking charge of lower-league Portuguese side Portugalete in 1997 but his ascension to Spain manager in 2022 was a shock to many and it wasn’t until then (and more specifically in 2024) when he started to become a world-renown, respected coach. His only senior, first team role in Spain before this was three months in charge of third-division side Deportivo Alavés in 2011, the same club he concluded his playing career with. He worked his way up through the youth sides of Spain, managing the under 19s, 21s and 23s before being offered the top job. During that time, his u19s won the 2015 Euros but he suffered defeats in the final of the 2019 Under 21s Euro final and 2020 Olympic final. As a player, he represented Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla winning two league titles with the former.

Key Player: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

16 years old when Euro 2024 kicked-off, Yamal became the youngest ever player to feature in the tournament and was a crucial part of his team’s domination, picking up the trophy just after his 17th birthday. Currently 18 years old, the same age that Mbappé was when he lit up the 2018 tournament and solidified himself as one of the top players of the World on way to the trophy. Despite still being a teenager, a lot of people already consider him to be the best player in the world and he finished 2nd at the most recent Ballon d’Or awards. This season he was rewarded with the #10 shirt at Barcelona and helped them to a League and Supercopa de España double, after they won a domestic treble the season before. He hasn’t played since getting injured in April and the rumours suggest he won’t be fit until the final group stage match against Uruguay, but this just means he will be fresh for the knock-out stages.

Why they're actually not going to win it: They’re World Cup pedigree of late has been non-existent and their lack of a proper striker could come to bit them, especially with Yamal and Williams carrying injuries.