As with every major international tournament, Euro 2024 will inevitably be decided by the individuals who step up and put in game-winning performances for the national teams when it really matters.
France and England are many people’s favourites, boasting some of the very best players in the world, but it would be foolish to overlook hosts Germany given the talent Julian Nagelsmann has at his disposal.
Then there’s the likes of the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, who all have enough quality – particularly the 2016 winners spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo – to go all the way if they play themselves into a groove.
So who will stand head and shoulders above the rest? 90min’s ’24 for 24′ series predicts who will be the best performers at the tournament, and, having already ranked 24-20, it’s time to get stuck into numbers 19-11.
Country: Croatia
Luka Modric is one of the greatest footballers of all time and, despite being nearly 40, holds the key to any hopes Croatia have of winning Euro 2024.
Modric has performed miracles with Croatia in recent international tournaments, most notably reaching the 2018 World Cup final, and will be hoping that this is finally the year he can get his nation over the line.
Don’t bet against him doing it.
Country: Germany
2024 seems to be the year in which Kai Havertz finally put it all together.
Weighed down by his Champions League-winning goal and the carnage that is Chelsea, the German sought pastures new at London rivals Arsenal last summer, and after a slow start finally started to repay the faith shown in him by Mikel Arteta.
The German scooped up 14 goal contributions during the second half of 2023/24, and his movement and link-up play is vital to Germany’s hopes of silverware this summer.
Country: France
Put simply, Olivier Giroud is the catalyst of France‘s dynamic forward line.
While Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann will steal all the headlines this summer, remember that none of that would be possible with out the big man up top holding up the ball and allowing the superstars to go and win games.
Country: Portugal
In his last 12 games for Portugal, Bruno Fernandes has scored nine goals and assisted a further eight.
That’s pretty damn good…
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