Euro 2024: Poland, Austria and the Netherlands… Where are the future rivals of the French team?

Thick and spicy. These are the adjectives that are perfect to describe a competition like the Euro. The French team has already paid the price by being eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland during the last tournament in 2021.

The Blues head to Germany this year tagged as Group D favorites and keen to avoid the pitfalls. Even though they couldn’t settle well in their last draw before the tournament, with a defeat to Germany on Saturday 23 March in Lyon (2-0) and a narrow win over Chile on Tuesday 26 March in Marseille (3-2).

At the Euros, Kylian Mbappe and his partners will take turns facing Austria (June 17, 21:00), the Netherlands (June 21, 21:00), then Poland (June 25, 18:00). Less than three months before the competition begins, an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these teams.

Euphoric Poland

The latest, fresh from qualifying on penalties, is Tuesday against Wales (0-0, 5-4 in the table). The Polish selection, led by pillars such as Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus) and Piotr Zielinski (Naples), snatched a ticket to Germany.

This opponent, eliminated in the 1/8 finals of the 2022 World Cup by France (3-1), took 3rd place in its qualifying group for the Euro, behind Albania and the Czech Republic. His results have fluctuated and Fernando Santos, who took over the team after the World Cup, was replaced by Michal Probier last September.

The latter achieved his goal of sending his country to the euro. He raved about it in the columns of L’Equipe: “I immediately called my family after the match, but it’s not me that’s important, it’s the team and I’m very happy for them. Now I’m going to have a little fun, go play golf, drink a glass of whiskey and smoke a cigar. »

The selection, however, suffers from the lackluster performances of Robert Lewandowski, who scored three goals in eight qualifying matches. The total is much lower than Cristiano Ronaldo (10), Kylian Mbappe (9) or even Harry Kane (8). Players with whom the Pole once competed. The striker, however, was supported by the coach: “There are very few players like him who can sacrifice themselves for the team as much as he can. I’m very pleased with this. »

Before the start of the competition, the Poles, whose first match is scheduled for June 16 against the Netherlands, will play two friendly matches. First they will meet with Ukraine, then with Turkey.

Austria is in good shape

During qualifying, she finished second in her group, a small point behind Belgium. Austria, winners of their last five meetings (including one against Germany in November), dominated Turkey 6-1 in a friendly on Tuesday.

The Austrian national team, absent from the 2022 World Cup, was eliminated from Euro 2021 by eventual champion Italy (2-1) in the 1/8 finals. Since then, Ralf Rangnick has taken over as team leader and has recorded positive results. A renowned tactician, the father of counter-pressing, which he developed during his coaching career in Germany, he won 10 matches at the head of the rebound, with 3 draws and 5 defeats.

However, during the Euros, Austria must be without their best player, David Alaba, who suffered a torn cruciate ligament last December with Real Madrid. Ralf Rangnick also had to do without Guido Burgstaller, Marco Grül and Niklas Hedl during the last draw due to homophobic chants by Rapid Wien players: “This is something I will not tolerate in the team where I work as a coach – whether at the club or here with the team. »

You can still rely on experienced players such as Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund) or Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich) for selection. As well as Ligue 1 players: Kevin Danso (Lance) and Mohammed Cham (Clermont Foot). Before her first European Championship meeting (June 17 against France), she will challenge Serbia and Switzerland in friendly matches.

The Netherlands is disappointed

He left the selection in the middle of the summer of 2020, unable to play at the Euros, which were postponed due to the pandemic. Just over a year later, Ronald Koeman was expelled from FC Barcelona. Helpless, he watched the Dutch exit in the round of 16 at the 2021 European Championship (2-0 against the Czech Republic) and in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup (2-2, 4-2 against Argentina). ). The Netherlands coach is back in his position in 2023 and wants to make up for lost time.

In qualifying, the Orange took second place in their group after the Blues. They lost twice to Didier Deschamps’ gang (4-0 in France, 2-1 in the Netherlands). The Dutch national team once again showed its limits against big teams with a 2-1 defeat to Germany on Tuesday.

Ronald Koeman highlighted his team’s lack of aggressiveness: “We gave Toni Kroos too much freedom. Players like him are great, they have good vision. France also did not respond to this. » Last June, his team was defeated in the semi-finals of the Nations League against Croatia (4-2), then in the match for 3rd place against Italy (3-2).

The Dutch team consists of experienced players such as Memphis Depay (Atlético Madrid), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) or Daley Blind (Girona), as well as young players such as Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig). . Before her first Euro match against Poland (June 16), she will play friendlies against Canada and Iceland.