Football
Scotland going through? Sutton’s predictions – final group games – BBC Sport
- Author, Chris Bevan
- Role, BBC Sport Journalist in Berlin
It appears Scotland and England are among the most unpredictable teams at Euro 2024.
BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton was wrong about both teams in the second round of group games in Germany, and so were most of you.
Out of more than 50,000 votes, 63% of you thought Scotland would lose to Switzerland and 75% backed England to beat Denmark.
Sutton did get seven results correct overall, the same as in the first set of games, but your score dipped from eight to only five this time.
Can you and Chris do better next time? You can make your own predictions for the third set of group games below, including Scotland versus Hungary and England against Slovenia.
Sutton is also picking the order he thinks each of the six groups will finish in.
He is backing France to win the European Championship, believes England will lose to them in the semi-finals, and thinks Scotland will not get out of their group.
GROUP A
Sutton’s pre-tournament picks: Germany (winners) and Hungary (runners-up). Switzerland to finish third, and Scotland fourth.
Switzerland v Germany
Frankfurt / 23 June / 20:00 BST
Germany are already through. They are on a roll, and they will want to top the group.
I suspect Julian Nagelsmann will try to keep their winning run going and pick a strong team here. I doubt he will make many changes, if any.
Switzerland can finish above them with a win, which makes this game interesting. They started the tournament well against Hungary and had chances to beat Scotland too, although I thought Scotland actually did okay.
Hungary caused Germany one or two problems defensively, and Switzerland have got players who can hurt them at the back too… but the hosts have so much firepower.
Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz have been absolutely outstanding, and Ilkay Gunodgan too – I am expecting them to create enough opportunities to win this one.
Scotland v Hungary
Munich / 23 June / 20:00 BST
Hungary have lost both their games so far but they will still feel they have an outside chance of going through if they win.
Scotland were much better against Switzerland, and goalkeeper Angus Gunn played really well, but I am still worried about their defence.
I am hoping that Scotland get a result, but I actually think that Hungary will beat them.
Sorry, Scotland, because I really want you to win. You’ve had the best fans at the tournament but I just think you lack quality in certain areas.
GROUP B
Sutton’s pre-tournament picks: Spain (winners) and Italy (runners-up). Albania to finish third, and Croatia fourth.
Croatia v Italy
Leipzig / 24 June / 20:00 BST
I am at this game for Radio 5 Live and it is a tough one to call. Croatia were walloped by Spain, and they threw away a win against Albania, who had caused them all sorts of problems.
This is an aging Croatia side, as I’ve said before, but the reason I would give them a bit of hope in this game is that Spain absolutely annihilated Italy in their last game.
Italy boss Luciano Spalletti said before they played Spain that his side’s brand of football is the only thing that can save them, but their brand was turgid in that game. They are going to need one heck of an improvement to save them, if that’s the route Spalletti is going down.
It’s hard to back either team, to be honest, but I am going to stick with my forecast that Croatia will flop. I don’t know why, based on their performance against Spain, but I am backing Italy.
Albania v Spain
Dusseldorf / 24 June / 20:00 BST
I love Albania’s energy and zest and they carry a real threat. They defend deep but, when they break, they break at pace – and despite being total outsiders, they have been pretty fearless so far.
Spain have already made sure of finishing top of Group B, so they have earned the right to make changes for this game. I still fancy them to win it though.
The only criticism of their performance against Italy is that they were not ruthless enough.
Nico Williams was absolutely incredible in that game – Giovanni di Lorenzo is a well-respected full-back in world football and he got absolutely ripped to shreds. He will still be in a spin now.
GROUP C
Sutton’s pre-tournament picks: England (winners) and Denmark (runners-up). Serbia to finish third, and Slovenia fourth.
England v Slovenia
Cologne / 25 June / 20:00 BST
I do think there has been a over-reaction to England’s start to this tournament. You would think from the response to the draw with Denmark that they have lost both games.
I understand there is a disappointment in regard to performance levels, but not to this extent.
Four points from two games is good but we are getting the big stick out to hit the team with.
Clearly the Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment in midfield has not worked. Gareth Southgate has hooked him off in two games, which tells its own story.
I am expecting him to make a change there, the interesting thing will be to see if anyone else comes in.
I do not understand how Cole Palmer, with 43 goal involvements last season, cannot even get on the pitch. Some of the criticism of Harry Kane is unjustified too. He does not quite look the same but how about giving him some service? He still scored against Denmark.
The biggest issue for Gareth is how to get control of the game and give some service to Kane, but something is not right in the middle of the park either.
Slovenia will be awkward and are unbeaten so far, against the same teams England have struggled to beat so far.
Losing to them is not an impossibility but once again we are facing an old triumph or disaster scenario we have seen before, where England are full of confidence coming into the tournament but now they are being told they have no chance of winning it.
Clearly there is room for improvement, and I want to see England impose themselves on this game, and running in behind the Slovenia defence. Look at Spain or Germany and they always have the option of doing that. That’s not Kane’s game, so it has to come from other areas.
Still, Gareth has time to solve it. This hasn’t been the worst start by any stretch of the imagination.
I am backing Kane to score two as a response to everyone who has doubted him, and England to win – and to be back on to win the Euros!
Denmark v Serbia
Munich / 25 June / 20:00 BST
I have got to say that Denmark proved me wrong a little bit with their performance against England. They showed they can play football on an bobbly pitch, and they looked a well-balanced team.
Serbia can still go through as well, so it is a great group – well done to England for keeping it interesting.
I am going to go with the Danes to take this one, although strange things always happen in these final group games when teams have no choice but to go for it. I am tempted to go for a 5-4 but I am going to be sensible.
GROUP D
Sutton’s pre-tournament picks: France (winners) and Netherlands (runners-up). Austria to finish third, and Poland fourth.
Netherlands v Austria
Berlin / 25 June / 17:00 BST
The Netherlands can still finish top of Group D, but Austria will be thinking they need at least a draw to go through and they will give this a real go.
Austria are all-energy and a real unit. They work so hard as a team, you can see why they have had some good results.
Their manager Ralf Rangnick tried to implement that at Manchester United but he had a team full of individuals.
Austria are very different. I don’t know if they are a surprise package, because I think they are a capable side.
This is a very dangerous game for the Dutch, who were unlucky to have a goal disallowed for offside against France, but have not been ruthless enough so far.
I am going for an upset, although I am expecting both teams to end up going through.
France v Poland
Dortmund / 25 June / 17:00 BST
Poland are out and just have pride to play for, and this might give France another chance to rest Kylian Mbappe – which may or may not be a good thing.
In the past two years, France have not won any of the seven games that Mbappe has not started, but I would still expect them to beat a weak Poland side.
Poland left Robert Lewandowski on the bench for an hour against Austria, which I am sure is a big talking point among their fans, because apparently he was fit to start.
He has not even had a chance to perform in this tournament for Poland so far and they are already eliminated, and at 35 you wonder if we will see him on this sort of stage again.
The end comes for all great strikers, though. It even happened to me, although I think Aston Villa’s fans were absolutely delighted when I packed it in.
GROUP E
Sutton’s pre-tournament picks: Belgium (winners) and Slovakia (runners-up). Ukraine to finish third, and Romania fourth.
Ukraine v Belgium
Stuttgart / 26 June / 17:00 BST
Belgium were really wasteful in their defeat by Slovakia but they responded well under pressure against Romania and they are up and running now.
I still don’t really trust them at the back, but they do create a lot of chances and they still have Kevin de Bruyne’s quality, even if his legs are not quite what they were.
Ukraine’s comeback against Slovakia has given them a chance of getting out of this group and Roman Yaremchuk’s winner was a lovely finish, but I don’t see them adding to their tally here.
Slovakia v Romania
Frankfurt / 26 June / 17:00 BST
The winner of this tie goes through so maybe both teams will go for it… or, more likely, it will end up being a draw.
Slovakia beating Belgium was the biggest shock at these Euros but they lack a real flair player.
Romania lost to Belgium, but were still pretty lively, and I have a feeling they will edge this, and make the last 16.
GROUP F
Sutton’s pre-tournament picks: Portugal (winners) and Czech Republic (runners-up). Turkey to finish third, and Georgia fourth.
Czech Republic v Turkey
Hamburg / 26 June / 20:00 BST
Turkey came up short against Portugal. I was in Dortmund for that game, and their fans were not happy with their manager, Vincenzo Montella.
It was a very one-sided defeat and they will have to pick themselves up here, although they only need a point to finish second in Group F.
The Czech Republic will be disappointed not to beat Georgia but they ended up almost losing the game to a late breakaway.
The Czechs are well structured and well organised and they will throw everything at this game but, although Turkey look vulnerable at the back, I am not sure it will be enough.
Georgia v Portugal
Gelsenkirchen / 26 June / 20:00 BST
Portugal are through and have topped the group, which is the perfect scenario for them to rest players and keep using their squad, which looks supremely strong.
They coasted past Turkey and although Spain are the most impressive team I have seen so far at this tournament, I feel like Portugal still have a lot of different gears to go through.
Georgia are going to be fully committed in every game and they got their reward with a draw against the Czech Republic. I love the way they have played so far but Portugal will have too much experience and quality for them.
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