Seed status Portugal know their opponents in the group stages of Euro 2024 football this Saturday, with title holders Italy and the Netherlands theoretically the toughest opponents.
Being in Pot 1 will see the team immediately avoid Europe’s top sharks at the start of the competition, unlike what happened at Euro 2020 when they were placed in a group with Germany and France, but they will still face a tough time.
In addition to the Germans, hosts of next year’s competition and three-time European champions (1972, 1980 and 1996), as well as the French (1984 and 2000), it is safe to say that Portugal, the 2016 champions, will not meet him. now., as well as Spain (1964, 2008 and 2012), Belgium and England, a finalist in the latest edition.
After a perfect qualification with 10 wins in 10 games (the only team to achieve this during the entire qualifying phase), Pot 2 also does not seem to “frighten” Roberto Martinez’s team, denying the presence of Denmark, which reached the title in 1992.
Rounding out this group are Hungary, Romania, who have returned to major competitions, and Turkey, Albania and Austria in the group of teams, excluding the Scandinavians, who have virtually no tradition of participating in the European Championships.
The scenario changes in Pot 3: the Netherlands, champions in 1988, could cross the path of the national team, as well as Croatia, accustomed to going far in major competitions in recent years, and Scotland, which has made life difficult. in Spain during the qualifying stage.
This group of possible opponents also includes Slovakia, the only team to have faced Portugal in qualifying (the Portuguese win 1-0 in Bratislava and 3-2 in Porto), Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
In Pot 4, Italy will essentially be a nightmare among the top-ranked teams, not only because of their status as European champions, but also because of their history in the final stages.
After winning Wembley in 2021, the Italians missed out on the final phase of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and also performed poorly in qualifying (only in the last round, against Ukraine, did they confirm their presence in the final phase), but they are always on the list candidates and nominees identified as possible finalists and winners.
In this “pool”, Serbia, which “threw out” Portugal in the playoffs on the way to the last World Cup, and Switzerland can also complicate the score for the Kinas in Germany.
Three places, all included in Pot 4, are still up for grabs for the final phase of Euro 2024 and will be decided by the knockout stages next March.
The draw for the 2024 European Championships is scheduled for 17:00 (18:00 local time) at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany.
Contents of the draw trays:
– Pot 1:
Germany (host, champion 1972, 1980, 1996)
PORTUGAL (2016)
France (1984, 2000)
Spain (1964, 2008, 2012)
Belgium
England
– Pot 2:
Hungary
Türkiye
Romania
Denmark (1992)
Albania
Austria
– Pot 3:
Netherlands (1988)
Scotland
Croatia
Slovenia
Slovakia
Czech Republic (1976, as Czechoslovakia)
– Pot 4:
Italy (1968, 2020)
Serbia
Switzerland
Winner of play-off path A (Poland or Estonia or Wales or Finland).
Winner of Playoff Path B (Israel or Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Ukraine).
Winner of path C playoff (Georgia or Luxembourg, Greece or Kazakhstan).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.