5 Countries who Could Win Their First Euros In Germany

The Euro 2024 is finally here, and all sorts of predictions have been flying around.
Who will finish as top scorer? Who will be the dark horses? Who will produce the biggest shocker? But when it comes to the prize itself, many seem to think that France, Germany, or one of the other former winners will emerge as champions this summer. But hey, we could be in for a big shock this time around, as some of the new boys seem ready to get their hands on the trophy for the first time in their history, and they’ll do whatever to make that happen.

Who are those teams ready to break their Euros drought in Germany this year? Let’s look at them.

These are 5 countries who could win their first Euros in Germany.

1. England

Yes, they have never won the Euros in all their history, despite having many different generations of superstar players. As you know, they came super close to winning it for the first time in 2021, but they lost to Italy on penalties.

This time around, they’ll not only be looking to get to the final again, they’ll also be hoping to win it all and bring it home.
For sure, England will want to do anything to win their first Euros and their first major trophy since 1966. And yeah, there have been debates over Southgate’s squad selection and the loss to Iceland in the final warm up game has made people doubt their chances, but there’s a scary truth about those chances nobody seems to be noticing.

Basically, you just cannot write England off. They are huge favorites, perhaps behind only France.

2. Croatia

These guys have proven that they are a name to be reckoned with when it comes to international tournaments. They finished second at the 2018 World Cup, third at the 2022 World Cup, and second at the 2023 Nations League. The 2024 Euros could really be their year.

We’re currently in the twilight of Croatia’s golden age of football, and they’ve been led by their captain Luka Modrić all through. Considering Modrić turns 39 this year, this is very likely his last dance, so Croatia will be hoping that they can give him a befitting farewell by winning a major trophy for the first time in the country’s history.

And yes, it was only a friendly, but in their last warm up game before the Euros they beat one of the tournament favorites, Portugal, so that might be evidence that these guys smell blood and are ready to go all the way in Germany.

3. Belgium

You know which other team smells blood? Belgium. Yes, you could argue that they have already gone past their golden generation. We won’t be seeing Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, and Thibaut Courtois line up for the Belgians this time around, but they actually still have a very solid team.
They have one of the best dribblers in the world in Jérémy Doku, one of the best strikers in the world and the top scorer in the qualifiers in Romelu Lukaku, one of the most effective and most versatile attackers in the world in Leandro Trossard, and of course, perhaps the best midfielder on the globe in Kevin De Bruyne.

But apart from the attacking power, Belgium also have a pretty solid defense along with one of the most sought-after defensive midfielders in the world in Amado Onana.
They kept 8 clean sheets in their 10 games before the Euros. Also, they haven’t lost a game since they fell to Morocco at the 2022 World Cup, despite having played the likes of Germany and England since then. So, write them off at your own risk.
And it probably also helps their cause that they’ve been drawn in one of the easiest groups at the tournament. They find themselves in Group E along with Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine, and if they finish on top as everyone expects them to, they'd face one of the best third-placed teams. That’s already a relatively easy run to the quarter-final right there.
Perhaps this could be their year. New coach, pretty new team, and a lot less pressure like in previous tournaments. So yeah, Belgium have a real chance of winning the Euros for the first time in their history.

4. Poland

Poland also have a good chance to win the Euros for the first time in their history. Yes, it’s not starting out well for them as their captain Robert Lewandowski limped off with an injury just days before the kickoff of the Euros, but they still managed to beat Türkiye without him, so that should tell us something about their intent going to Germany.

If Poland will indeed win, it’d be a huge shock. They’re surely not one of the top 5 favorites, and they’ve found themselves in a difficult group with France, Austria, and the Netherlands, but who says they can’t have a run to the title like Portugal did in 2016?
Also, they have one of the best goalkeepers at the tournament in Wojciech Szczęsny. He made 6 saves in the last warm up game against Türkiye, and he was also very solid in the last major tournament, famously saving a penalty from Lionel Messi at the 2022 World Cup.

In fact, it was a penalty save from him against Wales that earned Poland a place at these Euros, so if Szczęsny has a good tournament, the Poles could be in pole position to go far in this tournament.

5. Türkiye

Finally, Türkiye have an outside chance of winning their first ever Euros this summer. Yeah, this would be more like Greece in 2004 than Portugal in 2016, but don’t completely count them out.
Türkiye play really good football and have some really good players like Çalhanoglu, Demiral, Cenk Tosun, and Arda Güler.

And remember how they got here. They beat Croatia and Wales in the qualifiers while also beating Germany and Scotland and drawing against Italy in friendlies. So, if you’re looking for a dark horse who could perhaps go all the way, look no further than Türkiye.

But tell us, who’s your money on to win Euro 2024? Do you think we’ll see a first-time winner for the first time since Portugal in 2016? Or do you think one of the 8 former winners in the competition will go home with the prize again? Tell us in the comments.

In fact, why not just go ahead and make a big prediction of what two countries will get to the final?