Euro 2020/1 Group C Preview
It’s Day 3 of my Euro 2020/1 previews and I’m on to Group C, an intriguing group that includes Austria, the Netherlands, North Macedonia and Ukraine.
Prospects: Group C has been the most difficult one for me to handicap. On paper The Netherlands have the obvious tournament pedigree, having won the European Championships in 1988 and appeared in three World Cup finals. However, I’m not convinced by Ronald Koeman’s team, after a less than impressive qualifying campaign in which they placed second to a relatively weak German side. Ukraine, in contrast, finished impressively top of their group ahead of the current holders and tournament favorites Portugal. Manager Andriy Shevchenko’s gameplan is built around two creative midfielders: Oleksandr Zinchenko, who plays further forward than he does for his club side Man City and Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi. North Macedonia are the most enigmatic side in the tournament. The most recent splinter from the old Yugoslavia, the North Macedonians qualified for their first Euros via a playoff win over the modest opposition of Georgia. Yet, I suspect that their tightly-knit squad might be a surprise in this group. Austria, on the other hand, will not be a surprise package. Franco Foda’s side is likely to be one of the weakest in the competition. Only Leipzig striker Marcel Sabitzer is worthy of appearing on this stage - the others are journeymen at best.
* One to Watch: North Macedonia’s 21 year-old Napoli midfielder Elif Elmas
* Most Likely to See Red: Austria’s Alexsander Dragovic has learned the dark arts at Red Star Belgrade
* Most Likely to Attempt a “Panenka:” Fancy dan Dutch striker Memphis Depay.
* Worst haircut in the group: Ukrainian midfield Ruslan Malinovskyi appears to have a bad case of “Bieber Fever”
* Key Match: Netherlands v. North Macedonia - Monday, June 21, 12pm EST, ESPN
* Blue Devil’s Crystal Ball Says: The upstart North Macedonians could well be the dark horse team of the tournament.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 8:47 AM
1 Comments:
I'm calling Group C the worst and weakest group of the tournament . Ukraine qualified by winning a group hat included Portugal, so I'm picking them to win this group, but they would be second or third in any other group. Ever since Fat Ronny left to take charge of Barca , the Dutch have been abysmal With Frank the Bore in charge . However, they should qualify since they're playing all their group matches at home. Don't be surprised if both teams go out in the Round of sixteen. That leaves Austria and tournament , makeweights North Macedonia , both probably heading on an early flight home.
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