Euro 2020 : France, Portugal, Germany, Hungary : Group F Preview

Among all the Groups in Euro 2020, Group F, without a doubt, is the toughest, the group of death as they say, with defending Euro Champion Portugal, World Champion France, heavyweight Germany put together with dark horse Hungary. 

Advertisment

France

France arguably has the strongest team on paper. The team seems to have all their bases covered with at least two-star performers for every position. This gives Les Blues a great cover to any injury and will allow Manager Didier Deschamps to tinker with his formations. The team is further boosted by the return of star forward Karim Benzema, who had a stellar season for his club and scored 30 goals. 

Squad

Advertisment

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris, Mike Maignan, Steve Mandanda

Defenders: Lucas Digne, Leo Dubois, Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Jules Kounde, Clement Lenglet, Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Kurt Zouma

Midfielders: Kingsley Coman, N’Golo Kante, Thomas Lemar, Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot, Moussa Sissoko, Corentin Tolisso

Advertisment

Forwards: Wissam Ben Yedder, Karim Benzema, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Thuram.

Manager: Didier Deschamps

FIFA ranking: 2

Last 3 Euros: 2016 runner-up; 2012 quarterfinals; 2008 group stage

Last 5 matches: Wins 4, draws 1, goals for 9, goals against 3

Portugal

The defending champions have reached at least the semi-finals of Euro 2020 in four of the last five Euros. Portugal have plenty of match-winners in their squad and will be a force to reckon with if all players click together. Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest active international goalscorer, will lead the Portuguese attack. He is coming back from a stellar performance in Serie A where he was the highest goal scorer. But he is not alone as players like Ruben Dias at the back to Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota and Joao Felix makes them a very strong opposition. 

Squad

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes, Rui Patricio Rui Silva

Defenders: Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Jose Fonte, Raphael Guerreiro, Nuno Mendes, Pepe, Nelson Semedo

Midfielders: William Carvalho, Danilo, Bruno Fernandes, Goncalo Guedes, Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves, Sergio Oliveira, Joao Palhinha, Pote, Renato Sanches, Bernardo Silva

Forwards: Joao Felix, Diogo Jota, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andre Silva, Rafa Silva.

Manager: Fernando Santos

FIFA ranking: 5

Last 3 Euros: 2016 champion; 2012 semifinals; 2008 quarterfinals

Last 5 matches: Wins 3, draws 1, losses 1, goals for 9, goals against 6

Germany

The three-time Euro champions Germany has made it to the semi-finals in each of the last three Euros. However, their recent form is not that great. They did top their qualifying group ahead of Netherlands but were trounced 6-0 by Germany in Nations League and lost 2-1 to North Macedonia in World Cup qualifying. Coach Joachim Loew will step down after the tournament thus he will be keen to deliver one memorable performance. 

Squad

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Bernd Leno, Kevin Trapp

Defenders: Emre Can, Matthias Ginter, Robin Gosens, Christian Gunter, Marcel Halstenberg, Mats Hummels, Lukas Klostermann, Robin Koch, Antonio Rudiger, Niklas Sule

Midfielders: Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Ilkay Gundogan, Jonas Hofmann, Joshua Kimmich, Toni Kroos, Jamal Musiala, Florian Neuhaus, Leroy Sane

Forwards: Kai Havertz, Thomas Muller, Kevin Volland, Timo Werner.

Manager: Joachim Loew

FIFA ranking: 12

Last 3 Euros: 2016, 2012 semifinals; 2008 runner-up

Last 5 matches: Wins 3, losses 2, goals for 8, goals against 9

Hungary

Probably the least talked about team in this group F, Hungary has seen a massive slump in the last decade. They face the danger of being steamrolled by the three powerhouses of the group. Also, the injury to their best player, RB Leipzig midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is a big blow. 

Squad

Goalkeepers: Adam Bogdan, Denes Dibusz, Peter Gulacsi (Leipzig)

Defenders: Bendeguz Bolla, Endre Botka, Attila Fiola, Akos Kecskes, Adam Lang, Gergo Lovrencsics, Loic Nego, Willi Orban, Attila Szalai

Midfielders: Tamas Cseri, Daniel Gazdag, Laszlo Kleinheisler, Adam Nagy, Andras Schafer, David Siger, Kevin Varga, Roland Varga

Forwards: Janos Hahn, Filip Holender (Partizan), Nemanja Nikolic, Roland Sallai, Szabolcs Schon, Adam Szalai.

Manager: Marco Rossi

FIFA ranking: 37

Last 3 Euros: 2016 round of 16; 2012, 2008 did not qualify

Last 5 matches: Wins 3, draws 2, goals for 13, goals against 5