the German favorite, Scotland to surprise, the Hungarian pearl Dominik Szoboszlai… Group A in the spotlight

Host country, Germany is the big favorite in its group against three outsiders in this Euro.

Not the most spectacular on paper, Group A of the Euro still looks good, with four nations which were already in the running in 2021. Obviously, Germany, automatically qualified as host country, is favorite figure of this group. The Germans will, however, have to be wary of Switzerland, second in their qualifying group behind Romania, but always reliable in international competitions.

Regularly qualified in recent years, the Hungarians also have progress to validate, having remained undefeated during 14 matches, from September 26, 2022 to June 4. Finally, Scotland arrives with revenge. Returning to the Euro in 2021 after 25 years of absence, but last in their group, the Scots are coming out of a successful qualifying campaign, finishing just behind Spain, which they beat 2-0 at home.

The player: Dominik Szoboszlai

English football fans already know him, since he exploded this season with Liverpool. The general public should, in any case, discover this summer the 23-year-old Hungarian captain (41 caps, 12 goals), midfielder with a silky right foot and technical leader of the Magyars. An old-fashioned player, capable of lighting up a game with a pass or punching the top corner with a long shot, reminiscent of the romantic number tens of another era. In other words: the kind of player you turn on your television for, even for a Hungary-Scotland.

The number: 5

Even though it eliminated France in the round of 16 of Euro 2021, Switzerland often remains underestimated internationally. However, the Nati has not missed any major competition (Euro and World Cup combined) for more than twenty years. Better yet: over their last five participations in the Euro and the World Cup, the Helvetians have systematically left their group. A performance far from neutral.

The surprise: Scotland

In three appearances at the Euro, Scotland has never left its group. However, with the 24-team formula, a best third place could very well go to the Scots capable of beating Spain in qualifying. In a very compact 3-4-3, made up of little-known but seasoned players and structured around stars Andrew Robertson (Liverpool), Scott McTominay (Manchester United) and Josh McGinn (Aston Villa), Scotland has all the assets to wreak havoc in this very open hen. Especially since the Scots face Germany in the opening match, and will therefore have no pressure against the favorite, host of the event.

The anecdote to shine: stop saying “la Mannschaft”

Pretentious, the Germans? Not that much. In July 2022, the German Football Association (DFB) abandoned the nickname “Die Mannschaft”, which means “The Team”. Mainly used abroad for years, this nickname (reduction of Nationalmannschaft) was considered too pretentious by the Germans. Instead, the DFB returned to more classic nicknames like “der NationalElf” (the national eleven) or “der Deutschland-Elf” (Germany’s eleven).

Group A schedule: