The 2024 UEFA Euros kick off on June 14th and of the six groups, Group C looks to be one of the more intriguing groups. Outside of England, not a single team is ranked inside the Top 20 of the FIFA Men’s rankings. We break down the 2024 Euros Group C along with giving you our predictions and best bets to make for the group stage.
2024 Euros Group C
Team Overviews
Slovenia
Although Slovenia deserves credit for qualifying for the 2024 Euros, they were far from convincing in how they did it. Ironically in a qualification group with Denmark who also appears in Group C, Slovenia finished in second place behind Denmark thanks to two late wins over Kazakhstan, two own goals by their opponents, and a lack of competition. The best team outside of Denmark was Finland who were crushed by Wales 4-1 in the first playoff round.
The good news for Slovenia is that they have one of the elite goalkeepers in the tournament in Jan Oblak. While the team has just three players with over 10 goals in international play, they have one of the best young players in the tournament in 21-year-old forward Benjamin Šeško. In just 28 appearances, the prospect from RB Leipzig already has 11 goals. The bad news is Slovenia has qualified for just two FIFA World Cups and one UEFA European Championship and has never made it past the group stage in either competition. While they have sneaky upside, they’ll need some magic to change and qualify for their first knockout round ever.
Major USA Sports Team Comparison: New England Patriots
Denmark
Maybe the feel good story of the tournament will be midfielder Christian Eriksen’s return to the Euros. In the 2020 Euros, fans around the world waited and hoped for his wellbeing after he collapsed on the field due to cardiac arrest. Thanks to multiple heroes in the stadium that day, not only did Eriksen survive, but he’s back as one of the linchpins for this Denmark team.
Denmark rallied around Eriksen in the 2020 Euros on their way to a spot in the semifinals where they lost in extra time to an incredibly talented England team. Denmark has a younger team with only six of their 26 players over the age of 30. Although they don’t have as much talent on paper as other teams, they always find a way to surprise people. Outside of Eriksen, all eyes will be on 37-year-old goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and team captain Simon Kjær. For Schmeichel, this will likely be his last major tournament for Denmark, while Kjær will look to make up for his own goal in the semifinals that led to extra time when they fell to England. With forward Rasmus Højlund in form, Denmark could again find a way to make another deep Euros run.
Major USA Sports Team Comparison: Miami Heat
Serbia
The wildcard in this group is for sure Serbia. We know what Slovenia and Denmark are, but we have no clue what Serbia is. On the surface, Serbia has plenty of recognizable talent with Dušan Tadić, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Filip Kostić, Aleksandar Mitrović and Dušan Vlahović. With that talent though, they have yet to accomplish much. Serbia has qualified for three World Cups, but has yet to make it out of the group stage. This tournament is also Serbia’s first time qualifying for the Euros.
This team is tough, rough, and will make you earn every single pass. For those who haven’t watched them, at times it can look like they have a team with a few Draymond Green-like players scattered around the field. For as good as they can be at times, they have yet to yield any actual results. The question remains whether or not they can figure out a way to find success, or if they will continue to only find success as agitators.
Major USA Sports Team Comparison: “Bad Boy” Era Detroit Pistons
England
On paper, no team in this group can even hold a candle to England. Manager Gareth Southgate fields a team with stars like Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold amongst others. With all the talent they’ve had throughout the years, they have wasted most of it. They have one just one major international tournament with that coming all the way back in the 1966 World Cup. Since then, they have just two fourth-place finishes in the World Cup, two third-place finishes in the 1968 and 1996 Euros, and a second-place finish in the 2020 Euros.
English fans have been waiting for their next big win. Their best chance was in the 2020 Euros that took place in England. After scoring in just the second minute in the 2020 Euro Final, they didn’t score again, instead going to penalties where they blew a 2-1 lead by missing their last three penalty kicks. The pain for England fans seemingly can’t get any higher. With even more talent this year and seemingly everyone in their prime, if England can’t win now, there will be riots in England just like in 2021.
Major USA Sports Team Comparison: 2010’s Green Bay Packers
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Group C Predictions
This group appears to be England’s to lose. Although they have found every opportunity to choke in past tournaments, it would seem virtually impossible for them not to take first place in this group. Denmark should take second in this group with their talent so the question becomes who takes third, and if they do enough to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Slovenia and Serbia are solid teams, but it seems unlikely that either team takes more than a point combined from Denmark and England. Even if one of them do get a win over the other, it would be hard to qualify for the knockout rounds with just three or four points. It’ll come down to goal differential and it would be unlikely it’s good enough for either team to advance. Serbia should finish third, but we don’t believe they’ll do enough to move on.
2024 UEFA Euros Schedule – Group C
Here is the 2024 UEFA Euros schedule for Group C matches.
Sunday, Jun. 16
12:00 PM ET: Slovenia vs. Denmark
3:00 PM ET: Serbia vs England
Thursday, Jun. 20
9:00 AM ET: Slovenia vs Serbia
12:00 PM ET: Denmark vs England
Tuesday, Jun. 25
3:00 PM ET: Denmark vs Serbia
3:00 PM ET: England vs Slovenia
Group C Best Bets
Top Goalscorer from Bundesliga (Harry Kane): -190
Slovenia to Finish Last: -130
England and Denmark Top 2 in Exact Order: +200
