UEFA Euro 2024: Groups E and F Preview

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after scoring during the Euro 2024 group J qualifying soccer match against Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Oct. 16, 2023. (Armin Durgut/AP Photo)

The soccer world will focus on Germany for the next month as the country hosts the 2024 UEFA European Championship.

It’s the 17th edition of the UEFA Euros and the third contested on German territory, but the reigning champions are the Italians. Italy hopes to match Spain’s record as the only back-to-back tournament champions, with victories in 2008 and 2012). Other top squads include France and England.

The Euro 2024 group stage will begin play on Friday, June 14, with the final set for Sunday, July 14. Here’s a look at Groups E and F, which will play group stage matches from June 17 through June 26.

Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine

At No. 3 in FIFA World Ranking, Belgium is poised to make a leap at this tournament. They have back-to-back quarterfinal appearances over the last two Euros and went undefeated (6-2-0) in the Euro 2024 qualifying. The country has eight players with over 100 career caps, and four are on this year’s squad, which shows both the veteran presence on the team and the potential this could be their last chance for a major international championship. Up front, Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer, ranked third at the 2020 Euros with four goals.

Slovakia enters with momentum after a pair of 4-0 friendly victories in the week before departing for Germany. Interestingly, their coach, Francesco Calzona, also served as the interim coach for Napoli of Serie A while holding this position with Slovakia’s national team for four months. Slovakia played two friendlies during this span and failed to win either, but with Napoli naming a new coach earlier this month, Calzona can now focus on Slovakia. The team has had very little success against its fellow Group E members as the Slovaks have combined for just three wins in 22 matches against Belgium, Romania and Ukraine.

After missing out on the 2020 Euros, Romania is seeking its first European Championship victory since 2000. They went undefeated in qualifying with six wins and four draws across 10 matches, and it will have been two years and three days since Romania’s last competitive loss when they begin group play. Even with this stretch, Romania has only risen from No. 54 in FIFA Ranking to their current No. 46. The lack of matches against high-level competition could be a cause for concern, especially after Romania netted just 16 goals through Euro qualifying which was less than half as many as leading scorer Portugal (36).

Ukraine enters the 2024 Euro ranked 22nd in the world, which is their best ranking in over two years and an amazing feat considering they haven’t played a single home match during this span due to the ongoing war in their country. They needed to win a playoff during qualifying to make the Euros but have one of the most talented strikers in the world in Artem Dovbyk. After leading the Ukrainian Premier League in scoring in back-to-back seasons, he made the jump to La Liga this past year, where he again led that league in goals. He played just 15 minutes in the 2020 Euro, and scored one goal, but should have a sizable role this time around.

Group F: Turkey, Georgia, Portugal, Czech Republic

Turkey is anchored by Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who was just named the Serie A Midfielder of the Year while applying his craft at Inter Milan. He (18 goals) and Cenk Tosun (20 goals) are the only Turks on the roster with more than five goals for their country, as the team may lean on a trio of teenagers in the attacking third. Forwards Semih Kılıçsoy, Kenan Yıldız and Arda Güler all supply pace for the Turkish team but lack experience as well. They’ve combined for just two international goals, so Turkey hopes at least one makes an impact after the nation failed to win a game in the last Euro tournament.

Georgia is the lone newcomer to the European Championship, and this will be their first major tournament as they’ve never qualified for the FIFA World Cup or Olympics. With that kind of history, it’s unsurprising that Georgia is the lowest-ranked team in 2024 UEFA Euro, coming in at No. 75. They had more losses than wins during Euro qualifying, with a negative goal differential, so simply making it this far could be seen as an accomplishment. Just two players on the squad play domestically in their home country, while Saba Lobzhanidze plays in a different Georgia as he suits up for Atlanta United of MLS.

As has been the case for the last two decades, Portugal will be centered around Cristiano Ronaldo. He led the team to the 2016 Euro championship, but the Portuguese were bounced in the Round of 16 in their attempt to defend in 2020 – their earliest exit in eight Euro showings. No player in soccer history has scored more international goals than Ronaldo’s 130, and he’s coming off a season in which he led the Saudi Pro League in scoring. He ranked second in Euro 2024 qualifying with 10 goals, and with the 39-year-old Ronaldo and 41-year-old Pepe, Portugal have the two oldest players in the tournament. The two veterans have plenty of talent, and young legs, around them, so expectations are high for the world’s No. 6 ranked team.

The Czech Republic is leaning heavily on one of their domestic clubs at the Euros as eight members of their roster come from SK Slavia Prague. However, their top player competes outside of the country and may have some local fan support, as Patrik Schick plays in Germany for Bayer Leverkusen. He won the Silver Boot at the 2020 Euros by scoring five goals but didn’t play a single match for the Czech Republic for nearly 18 months, from 2022-24, in part due to injury. He converted a penalty in a final tune-up match versus North Macedonia on June 10 as the team looks for him to lead both on and off the field, as the country has just two players on the 2024 UEFA Euro roster over 29 years of age.