This years only debutants Georgia find themselves paired with 2016 winner Portugal, as well as Turkey and Czechia.
The Teams
Turkey
SQUAD
MANAGER: Vincenzo Montella
GOALKEEPERS: Altay Bayındır (Manchester United, 9 Caps), Uğurcan Çakır (Tabzonspor, 27 Caps), Mert Günok (Beşiktaş, 29 Caps).
DEFENDERS: Samet Akaydin (Panathinaikos, 6 Caps), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray, 58 Caps), Abdülkerim Bardakcı (Galatasaray, 8 Caps), Zeki Çelik (Roma, 45 Caps), Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli, 44 Caps), Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Fenerbahçe, 15 Caps), Ahmetcan Kaplan (Ajax, 0 Caps), Mert Müldür (Fenerbahçe, 24 Caps).
MIDFIELDERS: Yunus Akgün (Leicester City, 9 Caps), Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter Milan, 86 Caps), Arda Güler (Real Madrid, 7 Caps), İrfan Kahveci (Fenerbahçe, 32 Caps), Orkun Kökçü (Benfica, 28 Caps), Salih Özcan (Borussia Dortmund, 18 Caps), Barış Alper Yılmaz (Galatasaray, 15 Caps), Okay Yokuşlu (West Brom, 40 Caps), İsmail Yüksek (Fenerbahçe, 14 Caps).
FORWARDS: Kerem Aktürkoğlu (Galatasaray, 29 Caps), Semih Kılıçsoy (Beşiktaş, 2 Cap), Cenk Tosun (Beşiktaş, 51 Caps), Yusuf Yazıcı (Lille, 43 Caps), Bertuğ Yıldırım (Rennes, 3 Caps), Kenan Yıldız (Juventus, 7 Caps).
ROUTE TO GERMANY
Turkey came through a tightly contested group in qualifying, coming out on top ahead of Croatia, Wales, Armenia and Latvia. They only lost one of their eight games, to Croatia, whilst went on to win five though most games were tough contests. Off the back of qualifying however they have lost three and drawn one of their four friendlies, including a 6-1 loss to Austria. They have a few players missing through injuries which hasn’t helped their preparation.
KEY PLAYERS
Captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu is also the most experienced player in the squad with 86 caps. Playing a bit deeper for Turkey than he has throughout his club career, the midfielder will need to be at his creative best and comes into this tournament having scored 13 league goals during Inter Milan’s Serie A triumph. Merih Demiral at 26 is one of the senior players in their back line and had plenty of experience in Serie A before moving to Ah-Ahli this summer. With injury issues through the team he will need to step up here and right back Zeki Çelik is in a similar position. The Roma player has one more cap than Demiral and will be important to creating a solid back four.
ONES TO WATCH
Young Real Madrid start Arda Güler enters his first tournament at 19. He has seven caps so far and the attacking midfielder may be leant on to add that attacking spark to Turkey’s play.
Kenan Yıldız was initially called into the under 21 squad but has been recalled to the senior side as the Euro’s squad was finalised. The versatile forward played 32 games in all competitions for Juventus this season and with limited forward options he may find himself appearing a fair bit this summer.
IS ANYONE MISSING?
Yes, Turkey have a fair few injuries with three of their preliminary squad pulling out. These were centre backs Ozan Kabak and Çağlar Söyüncü whilst strike Enes Ünal also pulled out. Longer term absentees Cengiz Ünder and Rıdvan Yılmaz also miss out.
Georgia
MANAGER: Willy Sagnol
GOALKEEPERS: Luka Gugeshashvili (Qarabag, 1 Cap), Giorgi Loria (Dinamo Tbilisi, 78 Caps), Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia, 17 Caps).
DEFENDERS: Lasha Dvali (APOEL, 32 Caps), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk, 8 Caps), Giorgi Gvelesiani (Persepolis, 1 Cap), Otar Kakabadze (Cracovia, 61 Caps), Guram Kashia (Slovan Bratislava, 113 Caps), Solomon Kvirkvelia (Al-Okhdood, 58 Caps), Luka Lochoshvili (Cremonese, 10 Caps), Jemal Tabidze (Panetolikos, 15 Caps).
MIDFIELDERS: Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberger AC, 5 Caps), Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford, 25 Caps), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux, 35 Caps), Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz, 37 Caps), Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante, 8 Caps), Nika Kvekverskiri (Lech Poznan, 60 Caps), Saba Lobzhanidze (Atlanta United, 36 Caps), Anzor Mekvabishvili (Universitatea Craiova, 14 Caps), Levan Shengelia (Panetlikos, 17 Caps), Gabriel Sigua (Basel, 2 Caps), Giorgi Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi, 17 Caps).
FORWARDS: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli, 30 Caps), Giorgi Kvilitaia (APOEL, 6 Caps), Georges Mikautadze (Metz, 10 Caps), Budu Zivzivadze (Karlsruher SC, 26 Caps).
ROUTE TO GERMANY
This will be Georgia’s first European championships. They were dealt a tough group in qualifying and finished fourth behind Spain, Scotland and Norway. It was a respectable effort where only Spain beat them at home (albeit 7-1!). Having won their Nations League C group however with five wins from six against Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Gibraltar, they went into the play offs. A 2-0 win over Luxembourg saw Georgia advance to the finals against Euro 2004 winners Greece. A 0-0 draw saw the game go to penalities where Georgia prevailed 4-2 to book a place in their first European Championships.
KEY PLAYERS
Georgia’s main man is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Napoli winger who has 15 goals in 30 games for his country, He scored four goals in qualifying and has hit double figures for Napoli in each of his two seasons there. His direct running and powerful finishing makes him a threat at any level. Otar Kiteishvili was a consistent member during the qualifying campaign. The 28 year old midfielder has 37 caps and lines up ahead of the back three offering a layer of proetction. Right back Otar Kakabadze os one of the more experienced squad members with 61 caps. Another consistent member he will have his work cut out this tournament but will provide tough resistance down the right hand side. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is Valencia’s first choice keeper and has been one of their best players over the last couple of years. The 23 year old is making the Georgia number one his own but may have his hands full this summer.
ONES TO WATCH
Forward Georges Mikautadze scored 13 goals in 20 Ligue 1 games this season and his record for Georgia is good to - 10 in 25 caps so far. He will look to start up front with Kvaratskhelia and after a move to Ajax last summer did not work out he has bounced back well and will look to keep up his form this summer and show his resilience.
18 year old Gabriel Sigua is an emerging talent in this Georgian team. He only has two caps to date but the tall midfielder provides box to box energy and is a hard working player who will be looking to make a name for himself should the opportunity arise. He was a late replacement for the experienced Jaba Kankava who declined his slot in the team.
IS ANYONE MISSING?
The aforementioned Jaba Kankava declined his spot with the squad and will travel to Germany as a fan only. The 38 year old has 101 caps for Georgia but had retired from international football in 2022, returning for the 2024 qualifiers.
Portugal
MANAGER: Roberto Martínez
GOALKEEPERS: Diogo Costa (Porto, 22 Caps), Rui Patrício (Roma, 108 Caps), José Sá (Wolverhampton Wanderers, 2 Caps).
DEFENDERS: João Cancelo (Barcelona, 54 Caps), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United, 20 Caps), Rúben Dias (Manchester City, 56 Caps), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting CP, 9 Caps), Nuno Mended (PSG, 23 Caps), Pepe (Porto, 137 Caps), Danilo Pereira (PSG, 73 Caps), Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton Wanderers, 30 Caps), António Silva (Benfica, 11 Caps).
MIDFIELDERS: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, 67 Caps), João Neves (Benfica, 7 Caps), Rúben Neves (Al Hilal, 47 Caps), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City, 14 Caps), João Palhinha (Fulham, 27 Caps), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, 89 Caps), Vitinha (PSG, 17 Caps).
FORWARDS: Francisco Conceição (Porto, 2 Caps), João Félix (Barcelona, 39 Caps), Diogo Jota (Liverpool, 39 Caps), Rafael Leão (AC Milan, 27 Caps), Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton Wanderers, 7 Caps), Gonçalo Ramos (PSG, 13 Caps), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr, 207 Caps).
ROUTE TO GERMANY
After falling to surprise packages Morocco in the quarter finals of the World Cup, Portugal bounced back by winning all ten of their qualifiers to ease into the Euros. They scores 36 goals and only conceded twice in doing so and the 2016 winners are one of the favourites here.
KEY PLAYERS
He may be 39, but Cristiano Ronaldo scored ten goals in qualifying and will look to lead the line this summer. His goalscoring threat is still as high as ever. Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva will look to dictate the game and both players can do that with high quality. Fernandes had six goals and seven assists in qualifying and is another potential match winning calibre of player in this squad. Silva’s creativity is world class and he will be key to any Portugal success this summer. At the back Rúben Dias is another top player in his position. The Manchester City centre back is a top defender and is comfortable as any Guardiola player bringing the ball out from the back. There is quality throughout the side with the likes of Nuno Mendes and João Cancelo as the full backs whilst João Felix adds another versatile creative attacking threat.
ONES TO WATCH
Defender António Silva has established himself as a Benfica regular over the last two seasons and will be pushing to start here as the right centre back should Portugal opt for a back three. Just 20 year olds he already has 11 caps and is comfortable in possession of the ball.
Silva’s club mate João Neves has also featured for Benfica over the last two seasons and is becoming a regular in their eleven. The 19 year old technically gifted midfielder has seven caps for the senior side and will be pushing hard to feature this summer and he is equally as battling without the ball as he is composed with it.
IS ANYONE MISSING?
Otávio was a late withdrawal from the squad through injury in what otherwise is a very strong Portugal squad. Raphaël Guerreiro a notable omission from selection as the experienced and versatile player was overlooked. 2016 breakout start Renato Sanches hasn’t quite his the heights he looked to and whilst still a good player with plenty of caps, he also wasn’t selected.
Czechia
MANAGER: Ivan Hašek
GOALKEEPERS: Vítězslav Jaroš (Sturm Graz, 1 Cap), Matěj Kovář (Bayer Leverkusen, 2 Caps), Jindřich Staněk (Slavia Prague, 10 Caps).
DEFENDERS: Vladimír Coufal (West Ham United, 42 Caps), David Douděra (Slavia Prague, 9 Caps), Tomáš Holeš (Slavia Prague, 28 Caps), Robin Hranáč (Viktoria Plzeň, 3 Caps), David Jurásek (TSG Hoffenheim, 9 Caps), Ladislav Krejčí (Sparta Prague), Martin Vitík (Sparta Prague, 2 Caps), Tomáš Vlček (Slavia Prague, 2 Caps), David Zima (Slavia Prague, 21 Caps).
MIDFIELDERS: Antonín Barák (Fiorentina, 41 Caps), Lukáš Červ (Viktoria Plzeň, 1 Cap), Matěj Jurásek (Slavia Prague), Ondřej Lingr (Feyenoord, 15 Caps), Lukáš Provod (Slavia Prague, 19 Caps), Petr Ševčík (Slavia Prague, 12 Caps), Tomáš Souček (West Ham United, 69 Caps), Pavel Šulc (Viktoria Plzeň, 3 Caps).
FORWARDS: Václav Černý (VfL Wolfsburg, 16 Caps), Tomáš Chorý (Viktoria Plzeň, 5 Caps), Mojmír Chytil (Slavia Prague, 14 Caps), Adam Hložek (Bayer Leverkusen, 32 Caps), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague, 21 Caps), Patrick Schick (Bayer Leverkusen, 38 Caps).
ROUTE TO GERMANY
Since the split of Czechoslovakia, Czechia (Czech Republic) have qualified for every Euros finals. This time they came through in second in their qualifying group, finishing level on points with leaders Albania but losing out on the head to head. They lost once and won four of their eight games as they finished ahead of Poland, Moldova and the Faroe Islands.
KEY PLAYERS
Striker Patrik Schick was the joint top scorer at Euro 2020, scoring five times . All of those came from open play, one of those was a half way line effort against Scotland. HE was also part of Bayer Leverkusen’s squad this season and though he had to be patient for opportunities he scored 13 goals in all competitions. Schick’s Leverkusen team mate Adam Hložek has been a regular for the Czech’s over the last few years since making his debut at 18. Still just 21, Hložek has 32 caps and the winger will look to support Schick up top. Captain Tomáš Souček is a rock at the base of their midfield. But he also carries a goalscoring threat too, often a threat from set pieces he has scored 12 goals for Czechia and has 72 goals at club level throughout his career. His West Ham team mate Vladimír Coufal is the second most capped player in the squad behind Souček and operating as their right wing back he is both solid defensively and willing to attack and will be looking to provide crosses from the right for the forwards to attack.
ONES TO WATCH
It is a rather inexperienced squad. Forward Mojmír Chytil has 14 caps which makes him the twelfth most capped player in the squad. He has scored six goals in those caps and whilst there are more experienced attacking options only Schick has a better record and Václav Černý and Adam Hložek are not out and out strikers should the Czech’s want or need another striker up top. He comes in after scoring 21 goals in all competitions for Slavia Prague this season.
Matěj Jurásek is the youngest player in the squad and has just two caps so far but there could be places up for grabs this summer and the winger will look to take any opportunity offered to him. He scored six goals in the league this season so the twenty year old could provide a threat in front of goal as well as from out wide.
IS ANYONE MISSING?
Michal Sadílek was a late withdrawal through injury and misses out. Alex Král also misses out having not been able to kick on over the last couple of season.
The Matches
(Time in BST)
ROUND 1
Turkey v Georgia, Tuesday 18th June, 5pm, Dortmund
Portugal v Czechia, Tuesday 18th June, 8pm, Leipzig
ROUND 2
Georgia v Czechia, Saturday 22nd June, 2pm, Hamburg
Turkey v Portugal, Saturday 22nd June, 5pm, Dortmund
ROUND 3
Czechia v Turkey, Wednesday 26th June, 8pm, Hamburg
Georgia v Portugal, Wednesday 26th June, 8pm. Gelsenkirchen
The Preview
Portugal come into the tournament as one of the favourites, they have the form and they have the talent to win here and they will look to make a strong start in the groups. But I think the battle for second could be rather intriguing.
Often backed as dark horses, Turkey come into this summer missing a few players and look weaker on paper than they have before. Their form coming into this isn’t great and whilst it may just be friendlies they don’t look to be firing right now, which could open the door for the other two sides.
Czechia have made it out of the group stages every other tournament since 1996, so following that pattern they will be unsuccessful this time. But that’s not really how it works and they do have goalscoring threats to rely on. Especially from set pieces. They can cause any team a problem and I expect them to do so here, giving Portugal a challenge whilst having a good battle against the other two sides.
Georgia’s debut tournament sees them come in as underdogs here but there is definitely an opportunity and if they can keep it tight at the back and let their key players get on the ball they can cause teams trouble. They causes Scotland and Norway trouble in the groups and can definitely give Turkey and Czechia similar headaches.
Overall I expect Portugal to win the group, maybe not with ease in each game but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them walk out with nine points here. The battle for second feels hard to call, but I think Czechia will take it. Turkey are missing some of their more experienced defenders and I think that could be where they fall short. In fact I may go as far to say that I think they could come bottom here and miss out on a potential third place reprieve. I can see Georgia causing them problems and looking at the order of the fixtures, going into the final round I see the Czech’s beating them whilst Georgia could pull something against an already qualified Portugal.
PREDICTION
Portugal
Czechia
Georgia
Turkey