Ranking the Top Ten Best Teams at the Euros

Tyler Stearns |

The Euros are coming up in just a few weeks and it only makes sense to rank the top ten best teams participating in the tournament.

Euro 2024 Germany, Via Clean Energy Wire

10 - Denmark

Being a smaller nation and having a poor tournament track record, it makes sense that Denmark won't be favored to make it far in the summer. However, many of their players are in top form at the moment and will be prepared for the Euros. Pierre Emile-Hojberg and Rasmus Holjund are both playing well in the Premier League. Eriksen's influence will be limited considering his age and his lack of quality, but he will be a good voice in that lineup. Christensen will be solid at the back for them as well. They can be a dark horse this summer.

9 - Italy

Italy is an interesting team. They won the Euro three years ago, but they haven't even made the last two World Cups. Their lineup is worse than years prior. They have two key players out on ban because of betting issues. Expectations are low for Italy, but if they can find a way to fight together and string together a good group stage, they have a chance to do something similar to what happened in 2021. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely.

8 - Croatia

Croatia's stars are aging. Brozovic, Modrid, and Rakitic are all nearing the end of their careers. Though they are still solid players, their dominance and impact at the club level are not the same as five seasons ago. Though they have some young stars rising the ranks in the top five leagues like Josko Gvardiol at Manchester City, the lack of youth talent will come to hurt them. As we saw with Belgium at the last World Cup, age does matter in a team's chance to go far in a major international tournament. They are still ranked higher than Italy and Denmark because of their high floor, but their ceiling isn't much higher.

7 - Belgium

Kevin De Bruyne headlines the solid Belgian squad, followed by players like Lukaku, Doku, and others. The team is missing their star goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, who has been sensational for Real Madrid and Chelsea throughout this career. They don't have a large amount of players playing in the top five leagues and those who do are not in the best form. They are ranked highly by Fifa, but their failure to make it past the group stage in the last World Cup does not help the prediction of where they will finish in this year's Euro.

6 - Netherlands

If you read The Take's article on the expected winners for Europe's major trophies, we predicted the Netherlands to bring the Euro home this summer. It is still very likely for them to do it. Many of their players are in top form and will go into the tournament confident to get solid results. There will be some shakeup in the lineup, though. Micky Van de Ven from Spurs deserves the start. He has been sensational on the left side of the backline for Tottenham this season. Xavi Simons will also find his way into starting. His attacking threat is too lethal. If they can replicate their performances from the 2022 World Cup, they should have a good chance of possibly winning the tournament.

5 - Spain

You can never count Spain out in international play. Though they haven't been too successful since 2012 when they won the Euro, they are always a formidable opponent to any team they face. Their midfield play is sensational, led this year by Rodri, Pedri, and likely Zubimendi. They have young stars on defense and the attack in Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal. Though they aren't the favorites, they have a better team than previous years and have done well enough in their friendlies to warrant the hype.

4 - Portugal

Portugal is in their golden age right now. They went to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2022 but fell short to Morrocco. Cristiano Ronaldo is the captain and the starting striker for the team, but he isn't even the best player. Bruno Fernandes has been sensational (again) for Manchester United this season. They also have players like Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao, Ruben Dias, Diogo Costa, and other stars who will help them go far this summer.

3 - England

England hasn't won a major tournament since 1966. They have failed time and time again on the biggest stages. Most notably, they lost the 2021 Euro to Italy on penalties they should have won. Luckily for Three Lions fans, they are in their golden generation. Rice, Bellingham, Foden, Palmer, Kane, Saka, Trent, Pickford, Shaw, and others are just some of their endless list of stars. The only question now is if they can play together and prove their international worth.

2 - Germany

This is an interesting pick for second considering their lack of success in the last two Euros and World Cups. However, with Nagelesmann at the helm, they will make a deep run. They had a good international break in March, dominantly beating France. Their up-and-coming stars in Wirtz and Musiala will help them in the final third. Their defense with Schlotterbeck and Rudiger is strong. The only position of worry is striker, however, Kai Havertz has been doing well for Arsenal as a false nine. Germany is likely to go far this summer.

1 - France

France has been dominant in international football since 2016. They have made three major finals and won a World Cup. They have had stars like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann who have been spectacular. Their dominance is likely to continue at this upcoming tournament. Didier Deschamps has many quality players to pick for his starting eleven. There are no concerns about this team. There is depth at every position and they should be poised to win the Euro.