England, France Or Germany: Who Will Capture The Crown?

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) #EURO 2024 Chinthana Wasala | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: All eyes will be on Germany when the 17th edition of the UEFA European Championships – Euro 2024 kicks off in Munich today.

With most of the world's football heavyweights weighing in to deliver an unforgettable tournament, carrying forward a tradition that dates back to 1958, the excitement has reached fever pitch as the big question pops up – who will win the Euros this time?

Experts all over the world have been making their predictions, backing their favourite teams to seal the title on July 14.

Among them, English football commentator and former player Gary Neville has predicted that England will have a strong showing in Euro 2024, and he believes that Gareth Southgate's team, featuring star players in the caliber of Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, and Jude Bellingham, will top Group C and are likely to reach the knockout stages and beyond, with ease.​ His countryman Rio Ferdinand a former international, also backs England to go far in the tournament.

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Meanwhile, English football pundit Jamie Carragher backs former champions France to win the title, while NBCSports went a step further, predicting a 3-1 win for France over Germany in the final. Meanwhile, former FIFA Coach of the Year Jose Mourinho has a different winner in his mind as he predicted Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal to go all the way. Goal, a prominent football website, said France seems to have the best shot at the title. The Athletic also named England as the tournament favourite, with a 20-30% chance of winning, while France are the second-likely winner.

Apart from human predictions, supercomputers have also made their way into the prediction game. Among them, Opta Analyst, a platform that provides data-driven insights from Opta Sports, a leading sports analytics company, named England as the favourites ahead of France.

Opta Supercomputer, which has made numerous correct predictions over the years, including Argentina as the winner of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, predicted England has a 19.9% chance of victory, while France are the second-favourites, with a 19.1% chance.

Opta calculations suggest that each team has a great chance of getting through different phases of this year's Euros. England lead the list with a 70% chance to make it at least to the quarter-finals, a 48.2 % probability of reaching the semis, and a 31.1% likelihood of appearing in the Berlin finale.

It is worth noting that England have proved to be a stable unit full of talented players. Opta suggests England's brilliant outfit which comprises the likes of experienced campaigner Harry Kane, and youngsters Phil Foden, and Jude Bellingham can lead them to win their first-ever title.

However, former winners France have a 69 percent probability to make it into the last-eight stage, getting into the semifinals at a rate of 48.1%, and proceeding into the final with a likelihood of 30.4%, as well as a 19.1%.opportunity for lifting the trophy at Berlin's Olympiastadion.

A perfect blend of youth and experience has made the French squad well-balanced enough to challenge any other competing team. They also have an excellent chance of winning the prestigious title for a third time, with one of the biggest stars in the globe, Kylian Mbappe leading their attack as well as solid defense led by Raphael Varane.

Opta also ranks Germany very highly. The host advantage usually plays a big part in major tournaments and this is what Germany will be aiming at taking full advantage of. On home soil, Germany wishes to show its strength again and recapture European glory with a talented squad that includes Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry.

The two former European champions are expected to pose tough opposition to the favourites. According to Opta Supercomputer's predictions, there is a 58.4% chance for Germany to reach quarters; while reaching semis at 36.5%. Julian Nagelsmann's side stands at 22.4%, which means they have a shot at making it all the way to the final; finally, among those who could go all the way, there is an estimated 12.4% probability that they will win it.

Spain sit in the fourth spot in the Opta predictions, with a 59.1% chance of making it to the quarter-finals, and a 32.3% probability for the semis and 18% for the final. They have a 9.6% chance of becoming champions this time, Opta predicted.

It also listed Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium as the other teams with notable probabilities of advancing far in the tournament. Portugal's probability of reaching the semi-finals was shown as 33.6% and 18% for the final. The Ronaldo-led Portuguese team was also given a 9.2% chance of winning. The Dutchmen have a 24.2% probability of making it to the semi-finals, 11.4% for the final, and a 5.1% chance of winning the title it showed. Italy and Belgium both presented similar chances, with Italy having an 11.4% for the final, and a 5% chance of winning, while Belgium held a 10.6% probability for to appear in the final and a 4.7% chance of emerging victorious.

The Opta supercomputer makes its predictions through its advanced analytics systems, taking into account the current form of each team, including their recent performance and results. It also considers the historical head-to-head records between teams, and simulates the remaining fixtures 10,000 times, giving the most accurate predictions possible.

The predictions can always go wrong, but there is no question about the capabilities of all these teams that currently reign at the helm of world football. Out of 55 teams that are eligible to compete in the qualification for Euros, 24 who succeeded will be in action from today, as the world eagerly awaits to see if these predictions are correct, or will it be a team that never crossed anyone's radar. We will come to know the answer on July 14.

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