Will Portugal live up to their promise or will they become unhinged within a group of potential dark horses? With Ronaldo leading the line they have a leader and the second greatest player of all time but there are questions concerning whether he has still got it. Attempt to put a stop to the Portuguese is a team of Czech mates. The Czech Republic has a team of fighters and workhorses who will be up for the challenge. There is also Euro 2020’s dark horses in Turkey who will be looking for a far better tournament than last time. Finishing up the group is Euro debutants Georgia. Driven by Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, they will be looking to make history for their country and make a surprise appearance in the knockout stages.
Portugal:
The Portuguese bring with them a squad full of talent and skill. With one of the strongest squads of the Euros on paper, they have high ambitions and have all eyes set on lifting that trophy in July. Unsurprisingly they qualified out of their group in first but what was surprising was just how easy they made it look. 10 wins, 36 goals scored, only 2 goals conceded and 9 clean sheets. They demonstrated their ability and sent a message out to the rest of the qualified teams that they are here to win and plan on doing it emphatically. Starting from the back the Portugal defence is made up of Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias. Partnering him is either Portuguese legend Pepe (Porto), who is still going strong at the age of 41 and looks like he could keep on going forever or Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon), who although is still young, plays with a sense of maturity and dedication beyond his years. Either side of the centre-back pairing is Manchester United right-back Diogo Dalot and Barcelona left-back Joao Cancelo. The latter is one of the most offensively-minded full-backs
out there and is certainly not scared of pushing forward and creating a goal-scoring opportunity. He started his career as a right-back but through both his time with Pep Guardiola and with Xavi, he has developed his career on the left side and plays his football as more of an inverted full-back. During qualification for Portugal, he played on both sides of defence but still made it his mission to get forward purposefully. As seen on the heatmaps, he spends the majority of games in the opposition’s half of the pitch but contrary to many fullbacks, he does not hug the touchline. He is not afraid of carrying the ball inside and moving more centrally. With 3 goals and 1.7 shots per game for Portugal in qualifying, he is also a goal threat and is not scared of having a pop from a distance as 60% of his shots originate from outside of the box. He gives the opposition something to think about and is a vital cog in this Portugal team.
For many, the most important players of Portugal are the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, which I also agree with. But for me, Joao Palhinha made this team the offensive unit that it is. The Fulham man is a midfield machine and provides the opportunity for the attacking players of Portugal to get forward and more importantly, stay forward. Thanks to his defensive presence in midfield, the attackers do not need to worry as much about tracking back. During the Premier League season for Fulham, he completed the most tackles of anybody else per game at a massive amount of 4.6 per game and that’s without even mentioning his 1.4 interceptions per game, 5.9 ball recoveries per game and 7.8 duels won per game. He is a defensive unit and is one of the best in the World in his position. It is no surprise to see him being followed by the biggest clubs with a move to Bayern Munich on the cards. In what will be his third international tournament, expect him to be one of the standouts for a strong Portuguese side.
Czech Republic:
Constant dark horse and seemingly always there, the Czech Republic have a strong side that comes into the Euros with strong form. 6 wins in their last 7 games is a pattern the Czechs would like to see continue and if so would see them qualify from this group with ease. However, not all is as easy as it would seem as there were only 2 clean sheets kept in
that time and their only substantial win was against Norway. The key man for the Czechia side is none other than West Ham’s Tomas Soucek. This cardiovascular machine covers every inch of the pitch for the national team and is the engine room of the game. The Czech captain is not only a midfield workhorse but also an aerial threat. He has 32 goals in 184 games for West Ham of which 29% were scored with his head. A threat at set pieces, he is vital in winning the first header both offensively and defensively and is the epitome of a box-to-box midfielder. Outside of his threat in the air, he is also a powerhouse in the midfield especially for his country. 2.8 tackles per game, 7.9 ball recoveries per game, and 1 interception per game and when put under pressure he completes 2.3 clearances per game. They will have a target of reaching the knockout stages and perhaps reaching the quarter-finals for a second Euros in a row.
Turkey:
After Euro 2020’s embarrassment, Turkey will be looking to make a good account of themselves and challenge this tough group. They come into the tournament without a win in their last 5 and will need to drastically improve should they wish to qualify from this group. One player in charge of spearheading this is Hakan Çalhanoğlu of Inter Milan. After enjoying a superb season with Inter, he ended up with 13 goals for the season and will be required to carry that on into this tournament. On the international stage however, he doesn’t put up the same numbers after not managing a goal or assist during qualifying as well as only mustering one shot on target in 7 games which was also the penalty that was saved. Turkey's main man will be required to up his game and lead by example. One player who has enjoyed a good season going into this tournament is Karem Akturkoglu of Galatasaray. The winger scored 12 goals and provided 6 assists in the Super Lig this season which was a catalyst for winning the title this season. He provided 2 key passes per game this season and can be the creative outlet for Turkey in this group. Although I see it being another poor tournament for Turkey, they certainly have the players to be a danger in the group.
Georgia:
This is sure to be a Euros full of history for Georgia, and no matter what happens, records will be broken. For the first time in around 20 years, Georgia has a world-renowned superstar in their ranks and 4-time consecutive Georgian player of the year Khvicha Kvaratskhelia can be the man to make history for his nation. The Napoli winger is the main man of Georgia and is the creative spark for the red and whites. The Georgian scored 11 goals and created 6 assists this season for a poor Napoli side as well as scoring 4 goals in 9 games for Georgia during qualifying. Even during qualifying, he still completed 4.9 dribbles per game and produced 1.1 key chances per game. He also trusts his ability in front of goals taking 3.6 shots per game but still only has a goal conversion of 13%. Although already the spearhead of attack for Georgia, if he can improve the conversion rate of these shots, he and the red and whites have a serious chance of qualifying from Group F.
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