Euro 2024 Preview: Germany well placed to top Group A

Three-time champion and host nation Germany are well placed to top Group A with a solid squad built around Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and powerhouse Bayern Munich.

The one weakness that coach Julian Nagelsman will have to address is goals - Kai Havertz and Nicolas Fullkrug are the most likely options to lead the line, but neither are particularly prolific with 13 and 12 league goals this season respectively, so scoring from the wide players Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane, plus Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz in the midfield will be key to how far the hosts go in their own backyard.

Goals could also be an issue for the Scots - in qualifying, their top goal scorer was Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay with 7, and they’ve lost expected starting 9 Lyndon Dykes.

A lot will sit on the shoulders of Aston Villa captain John McGinn, whose late runs from midfield have seen him score three in Euros qualifying, along with Liverpool Left back Andy Robertson.

Those two will provide leadership and big game experience, something they will need if they’re to record their first tournament win since 1996.

Hungary is the wild card in this deck with a team stacked with very good role players coming from clubs across Germany, Italy and their domestic league and led by Liverpool midfield talisman Dominik Szobozlai.

The Hungarians went through qualifying for the tournament unbeaten and haven’t lost a competitive game since a 2-nil reverse to Italy in September 2022.

Rounding out Group A is the Swiss, who have qualified for five of the last six European Championships and are there again, largely on the backs of former Premier League stars Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.

While they have qualified for the Euros, they made hard work of a relatively weak group that included Israel, Belarus, Kosovo, Romania and Andorra, drawing five of their ten matches, plus a loss to the Romanians.

TAB Odds for Group A:
Germany - $1.40
Scotland - $9.00
Hungary - $7.00
Switzerland - $6.50

UEFA Euro 2024 kicks off this Saturday with Germany vs Scotland at 7:00am (NZ time).