Sports

Writers' Euro 2024 predictions: Best player, dark horses, biggest disappointment?

Published

5 months ago

June 15, 2024

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Writers' Euro 2024 predictions: Best player, dark horses, biggest disappointment?

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We are just a day away from Euro 2024, with hosts Germany taking on Scotland in Munich on Friday night.

What can we expect? An outsider victory? A Kylian Mbappe-inspired French romp? England out in the group stages? Whatever we get, there will be drama (we hope). Let us know in the comments section what you expect to happen.

Here, six of The Athletic’s writers give their predictions…

How to follow Euro 2024 on The Athletic…

Who will win the tournament and why?

Oliver Kay: France, because they have the strongest squad — not just in terms of talent and depth in all positions but also know-how and a proven ability to perform when the stakes are high.

Liam Tharme: France. Tournaments are won over decades of youth talent and nobody does it like Ligue 1. Didier Deschamps has found the perfect balance between system and superstars.

James Horncastle: I like how Roberto Martinez has carved out a niche as custodian of international ‘Golden Generations’. First, Belgium, and now Portugal. The balance Portugal have in midfield is encouraging and I’m waiting for Rafael Leao to deliver on his potential at this level.

Mbappe and Deschamps will be hopeful (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Nancy Froston: France have been such a force in recent years and they do not look any weaker.

Carl Anka: Germany. Host nation, favourable side of the draw, and decent players under a clever tactical mind in Julian Nagelsmann.

Nick Miller: France are the correct answer, but Deschamps has been there so long, aren’t they due a meltdown? What about the Netherlands? They have loads of good defenders, as well as Jeremie Frimpong and Xavi Simons, while Memphis Depay seems quite cross about leaving Atletico Madrid, so he’ll have some fire in his belly.

Who will win the Golden Boot?

Tharme: Mbappe.

Horncastle: Gianluca Scamacca.

Froston: Mbappe.

Kay: Harry Kane.

Anka: Niclas Fullkrug.

Miller: Kane.

Who will be the best player?

Kay: Mbappe. If France are going deep, then he will play a big part.

Tharme: Kevin De Bruyne will carry a young generation of Belgium midfielders deep into the tournament and provide plenty of assists for Romelu Lukaku.

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Horncastle: It’s on home soil. These are the final games of his career. Imagine ending your career by winning the Champions League and the Euros. It’s going to be Toni Kroos.

Froston: Jude Bellingham. You build everything around players as good as him. If England can manage a good run, it’ll be thanks to him.

Anka: It’s Kroos. This sport doesn’t often grant happy endings, but Kroos is about to have a superb swansong.

Miller: Kroos. Are we all blinded by the sheer wattage of the narrative? Perhaps, but that doesn’t make us wrong.

We all want it for Kroos, don’t we? (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Who will be the best young player (under 23 on June 14)?

Kay: There are a few English candidates, but I’ll say Jamal Musiala. He looks ready to make a big impact at Euro 2024.

Tharme: Between Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Both should rise to the occasion on home soil.

Horncastle: Arda Guler or Kenan Yildiz. Yildiz’s dribbling has generated crazy hype and Guler scored six times for Real Madrid in 377 La Liga minutes. The kid is shy but special.

Froston: Benjamin Sesko. A ‘burns bright in the group stage’ candidate feels about right.

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Anka: Lamine Yamal. The 16-year-old (16!) has all the tools to be a game-breaking forward.

Miller: Xavi Simons. If I’m sticking with my ‘the Dutch are good’ theory, he’ll be at the centre of it.

How many penalties will fail to find the back of the net — in normal time and shootouts?

Tharme: There were four shootouts in 2020, the most since Euro 1996 (also four). Let’s take an assumed average of three missed from another four shootouts, that’s twelve. Let’s go for 15 total with only three not scored in regulation time.

Horncastle: Italians would say all of Jorginho’s — which is harsh given how cool he was from the spot in the semi-final against Spain three years ago.

Froston: This is the era of the water-bottle cheat sheet, so I fancy four penalties missed in regulation time and 13 in shootouts.

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Kay: Unlike Liam, I haven’t given this the slightest thought and I’m struggling to get a handle on the numbers. One? A 100? I’ll say 10.

Anka: It’s still mostly a gamble. Three misses in the groups. Two in knockout games. 12 across collected shootouts.

Miller: Well, I’ll pick a number out of the air and say 14.

Who will ‘do an Enzo Fernandez’ and get a big transfer off the back of a tournament?

Kay: These days, so many of the best young talents are already at big clubs. Maybe it’s the perfect shop window for someone like Albania’s Armando Broja, who is surplus to requirements at Chelsea.

Tharme: Ukraine and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Heorhii Sudakov. A pure No 10, two-footed, with plenty of Champions League experience at Shakhtar Donetsk, even at 21.

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Horncastle: Define ‘big’. What if Albania winger Jasir Asani was good enough to earn a move back to Europe after a year in South Korea’s K League with Gwangju?

Froston: Nico Williams. It seems likely that clubs will be tempted by his €50million (£42m; $54m) release clause at Athletic Bilbao.

Anka: Belgium and PSV Eindhoven’s Johan Bakayoko is a dribble-heavy, left-footed winger who likes to cut inside and shoot from the right wing. That’s the sort of forward Premier League clubs like spending dough on.

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Miller: Bakayoko, Sudakov and Williams all get another couple of thumbs up, but people love a tempo-setting central midfielder, so I’ll say that Benfica will have someone’s pants down for Turkey’s Orkun Kokcu.

Tell us one thing you really want to see happen…

Kay: I would love to see England win it. But that’s such a boring answer. Failing that, I’d really like one of the smaller nations to win it. Denmark, Croatia, even Belgium. It would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Tharme: Josip Ilicic to score for Slovenia. He’s back in the national team for the first time since November 2021.

Horncastle: One of the five Italian coaches to win the thing.

Froston: Limited minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo. With every embarrassing tantrum, it gets harder to remember why he is one of the best ever.

Will he be smiling in July? (Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)

Anka: Wingers get chalk on their boots before driving at defenders. Loads of long-range efforts after the ball spills out from a corner.

Miller: Kroos strolling off into retirement having joined your Zidanes, your Xavis, your Iniestas in the ‘winning absolutely everything there is to win’ club.

Tell us one thing you really don’t want to see happen…

Kay: I really hope the tournament is trouble-free. I also hope I can walk through a market square on the day of an England game without cringing in embarrassment at fans singing dismal songs about “10 German bombers”.

Tharme: Germany out in the groups (again).

Horncastle: Please don’t judge Luciano Spalletti as if he’s been in the job for two years when he only stepped into the breach last August.

Froston: Opening ceremonies/pre-game performances from peppy Europop singers or ageing rockers that completely sap the atmosphere.

Anka: Manchester United, could you behave yourself and avoid any news announcements and massive dramas for the foreseeable future? Thanks.

Miller: I think I’m getting soft in my old age, but I used to love penalty shootouts… now I find them incredibly stressful. So as few of them as possible, please.

Which nation are the dark horses?

Kay: We’ve been calling Croatia and Denmark dark horses for so long, I don’t feel I can do it again. I’ll say Serbia.

Tharme: Hungary. They had an excellent Nations League in 2022 against some European big-hitters and have evolved tactically under Marco Rossi.

Horncastle: Austria. I do wonder: what if Ralf Rangnick hadn’t taken the caretaker job at United when he did? I think his “open heart surgery” approach would appeal to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford.

Froston: Can Croatia be dark horses? Nobody is saying otherwise, so I’m choosing glory for Luka Modric.

With 175 appearances, Modric is Croatia’s most-capped player (MB Media/Getty Images)

Anka: Hi, hello, it’s me, one of the people who said Turkey would be a dark horse at Euro 2020. I am warning you that Serbia will bloody England’s noses and reach the quarters.

Miller: Ukraine. They won’t win it, but they’ve got a great collection of young, exciting players and, well, the country could do with a good news story.

Which player/team will be the biggest disappointment?

Kay: It could be England. This tournament, amid heightened expectations, feels like it could be boom or bust.

Tharme: Portugal. They have underwhelmed since scrapping their way to the Euro 2016 trophy and have a ridiculous squad, with backups better than most teams’ first choices.

Horncastle: England. Three years ago was as good an opportunity to win a tournament as any. England didn’t seize the moment.

Froston: Adam Wharton. But not the player himself. I just do not think we will see much of him in the tournament, which has the potential to be disappointing after his impressive debut.

Anka: Portugal have the pieces to make a deep run, but a lot depends on how Ronaldo is catered for.

Miller: I fear for England, but I can see Italy doing a rather lacklustre job of being defending champions.

How far will England go and predict the manner of their final match in the competition…

Kay: A semi-final defeat by France is probably the most likely outcome, but I can see it falling short of that.

Tharme: At least to the semi-finals, likely against France. Southgate’s record against teams that have previously knocked England out is good but this would be the ultimate test. Harry Kane has scored all 15 penalties since missing against France in the World Cup quarter-finals, so I’d back him to score.

Horncastle: Tharme has allowed himself to get carried away. His penance will be a tactical breakdown of England’s defeat to hosts Germany in the last 16.

Where/how will it all end? (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

Froston: Quarter-finals. Shirts pulled up over teary eyes, dejected players lying prostrate on the pitch after a plucky defeat.

Anka: Quarter-finals. I struggle to articulate how grateful I am to Southgate and his team for creating an England side for so many to believe in, but July 11 2021 was the chance to win silverware.

Miller: 1-1 draw with Serbia, 1-1 draw with Denmark, 3-0 win over Slovenia, finish second in the group, play Germany in the knockouts. There, England will take the lead but ultimately lose in extra time.

Give us your most outrageous prediction…

Kay: The format gives teams a safety net, where even third place in the group might get you a place in the knockout stage. But Group B is horrible. Reigning champions Italy knocked out in the first round.

Tharme: No 0-0 draws.

Horncastle: Georgia ride Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s wings out of the group stages. If Kvara recaptures the form he showed in Napoli’s title-winning season, anything is possible.

Froston: Redemption for Rangnick with a decent run for Austria.

Anka: Mbappe scores the goal to knock Spain out.

Miller: France out in the group stage. No logic to it, but you never said we had to back any of this up.

What might make you get emotional?

Kay: Seeing one of the less-fancied teams perform the way Morocco did at the last World Cup.

Tharme: A Pascal Gross goal. A stalwart of Brighton, an everything midfielder who has got better with age and finally made his senior Germany debut aged 32 last September.

Horncastle: Croatia taking back-to-back knockout games to extra time and penalties.

Froston: Any underdog who takes a big team all the way only to lose at the death.

Anka: The first rest day.

Miller: I’m a sucker for parents in the crowd watching their kids succeed, so anything close to Mario Balotelli hugging his mum in 2012.

(Photos: Getty Images)

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Sports

How Oklahoma handed Alabama a shocking third loss: Are Tide’s Playoff hopes gone?

Published

1 hour ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

How Oklahoma handed Alabama a shocking third loss: Are Tide’s Playoff hopes gone?

NORMAN, Okla. — No. 7 Alabama (8-3) saw its College Football Playoff and SEC title hopes take a big hit in a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma (6-5) at OU Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe completed just two passes in the first half before finishing 11-for-26 for 164 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The Crimson Tide’s first two drives of the third quarter resulted in Milroe interceptions, the second of which was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Oklahoma’s Kip Lewis. Oklahoma outgained Alabama 325 yards to 234, driven largely by the Sooners’ 257 rushing yards.

“We finally did the things that winning requires,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said after the game. “All three phases, they complemented each other. They punched first and punched back. Tonight, we finally punched last.”

This was the lowest-scoring output for the Crimson Tide since a 20-3 loss to South Carolina in 2004. Alabama hasn’t lost to an unranked team by 21-plus points since the 1998 Music City Bowl against Virginia Tech (38-7).

The Crimson Tide are 1-3 on the road against SEC opponents this season, while the Sooners secured their first Power 4 win since Sept. 28 against Auburn.

“The harder it is, the more epic the story.”
Brent Venables after @OU_Football‘s win over No. 7 Alabama 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Dytz9r0FQa
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 24, 2024

What does this mean for Alabama’s postseason hopes?

The Tide no longer control their own destiny and are now a Playoff long shot. They had the inside path to the CFP as the second-highest-ranked SEC team, with a 5-5 Oklahoma team and 4-6 Auburn team left on the schedule. That’s all been blown up.

CFP-wise, the Tide will now fall behind Georgia, which won Saturday and has just two losses, as well as Tennessee, which has a win against Alabama. Losses by Indiana, Ole Miss, BYU, Texas A&M and Colorado on Saturday could help the Tide from falling too far back and keep them on the fringes of the at-large mix, but getting a first-round home is off the table. The big winner from Saturday’s madness could be the ACC’s hopes of getting two bids. According to The Athletic’s projections model, Alabama fell from a 76 percent chance to make the Playoff before Week 13 to just an 11 percent chance after the loss to Oklahoma.

Alabama’s SEC championship hopes are also gone with three conference losses. Georgia will meet the winner of Texas-Texas A&M in Atlanta.

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What does this mean for Oklahoma?

It’s been a rough season for the Sooners, who hadn’t won a game against an FBS opponent since September, but getting to bowl eligibility and a marquee win on Senior Night has to feel good. For as bad as the year has gone, through all the quarterback problems and offensive issues, the defense kept playing hard and kept the Sooners in games. Two interceptions led directly to 14 points, including a pick-six to go up three scores.

Oklahoma’s 257 rushing yards were the most allowed by Alabama this year. Quarterback Jackson Arnold didn’t do much in the passing game (68 yards total), but he didn’t have to. The offensive coordinator search remains ongoing, and the Sooners can’t have another season like this, but it’s something to feel good about as Venables heads into an offseason needing to fix the program.

Kip doesn’t like teams from Alabama…@KipLewis9 | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/jCLU5BjI6G
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 24, 2024
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An all-too-familiar fate for Alabama on the road this season

Vanderbilt. Tennessee. Now Oklahoma. Alabama’s three road losses have a common thread: costly turnovers. The latest misfortunes came in a game that might have eliminated the Tide from the Playoff.

Three second-half interceptions by Milroe arrived at critical times. Milroe’s 11-for-26 passing stat line with three turnovers mark his worst performance of the season. It was one part of an all-around, flat offensive performance — 234 yards, just 70 on the ground, and only 4.1 yards per play.

Oklahoma’s top-ranked rushing defense was keyed in on Milroe-designed runs from the start, allowing three rushing yards on his first eight carries. Milroe finished with just seven rushing yards on 15 attempts while Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined for 15 carries total. Without that element, Alabama’s offense couldn’t establish any momentum. It didn’t hurt that there were a myriad of mental errors that cost the offense positive plays from drops, missed assignments and penalties.

Defensively, Saturday’s loss felt similar to Alabama’s first road loss at Vanderbilt — out-played at the line of scrimmage and out-game planned against a sound rushing attack. Despite an 83rd national rank in rush offense, Oklahoma gained over 250 yards on the ground, 128 of them by quarterback Jackson Arnold, who only passed for 68 yards.

It was a summation of Alabama’s season to date — dominant at times, appearing capable of playing with anyone, and other times disjointed where errors compile on each other which creates sometimes insurmountable deficits. There’s no other way to look at Saturday’s game as a collapse in a crucial spot, but not a moment that’s been unfamiliar this season-highs followed by lows.

How did Oklahoma win the game? Turning its season on its head

Oklahoma’s season has been marred by misfortune, but Saturday night had all of the elements for a top-10 upset. The Sooners were off by a bye, hosting Alabama on Senior Night with bowl eligibility on the line. On the field, Oklahoma turned its weaknesses into strengths.

Oklahoma entered Saturday night having given up the most sacks (41) and fourth-most tackles for loss (80) in the country. Saturday? Zero sacks allowed and four tackles for loss allowed.

Oklahoma entered Saturday with the 86th-ranked rushing offense in the country (143 yards per game). Saturday? 270 rushing yards on 2.3 yards per carry.

Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 73rd in turnover margin (minus-1) and 107th in turnovers lost (18). Saturday? Oklahoma won the turnover battle by a plus-1 margin and scored 14 points off turnovers.

Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 105th nationally in time of possession (28 minutes). Saturday? Behind its dominant run game, the Sooners converted 7-of-15 third-down tries and held the ball for over 35 minutes.

In a day of home underdogs pulling off upsets, Venables delivered a signature win and a subsequent field storming, Oklahoma’s first since 2000.

The play that defined the 4th quarter

For a brief moment, it appeared Alabama regained momentum to start a comeback. On a fourth-and-2, down 24-3 with 14:13 to play, Milroe rolled out and found Ryan Williams about 40 yards downfield for a highlight-level touchdown with Williams getting one foot down in the corner of the end zone. However, the officiating crew threw a flag for illegal touching on Williams, wiping away the score.

Alabama thought they scored on this fourth down play from Ryan Williams but the play was overturned due to illegal touching. pic.twitter.com/25U0QuLjQH
— ESPN (@espn) November 24, 2024

It was a puzzling call in the moment and on replay, as Williams didn’t appear to be out of order pre-snap or during the play, but after the initial call and a referee meeting, the call stood and Oklahoma took over on downs. Alabama never reached Oklahoma territory again.

(Photo: David Stacy / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Sports

Cowboys score 24 points in 4th quarter for narrow victory over Commanders in bizarre game

Published

2 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Cowboys score 24 points in 4th quarter for narrow victory over Commanders in bizarre game

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Washington Commanders, 34-26, on Sunday in their Week 12 NFC East battle. And that’s probably the easiest way to describe what occurred in the game

The score was 3-3 at halftime and Dallas took a 10-9 lead with 4:40 left in the third quarter when Cooper Rush found Jalen Tolbert for a 6-yard touchdown. It seemed like it was going to be a defensive battle with no real scoring going on for either team.

Then, the fourth quarter happened.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush passes against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The Cowboys took a 20-9 lead over the Commanders after Rush found tight end Luke Schoonmaker for a 22-yard touchdown. It seemed like it was enough for the Cowboys to close out the game as there was only 5:16 left.

Jayden Daniels sparked a roaring comeback. He found Zach Ertz for a 4-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to three.

Dallas struck back with a special teams play. Austin Seibert kicked the ball down the field. Returner KaVontae Turpin fumbled the ball initially, picked it up, made a spin move and then was gone. He galloped 99 yards for the score and the Cowboys had a 10-point lead.

The Commanders drove down the field in six plays to set up Seibert for a 51-yard field goal. Dallas went three-and-out on its next possession. But inexplicably made a bad mistake on defense.

Daniels found wide receiver Terry McLaurin and the veteran found space around Cowboys defenders and took the ball into the end zone. One play, 86 yards. Washington could have tied the game but Seibert missed the point-after attempt. The Commanders were down 27-26.

Seibert tried the onside kick to recover it, but the ball bounced to Dallas player Juanyeh Thomas, who for some reason returned the ball 43 yards for a touchdown. It gave the Commanders one final drive. It would have been an even bigger calamity if Daniels found similar magic as he did against the Chicago Bears.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates after running for a 17-yard touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Luckily, for the Cowboys, Daniels’ Hail Mary attempt was batted down and the Cowboys picked up the win.

The two teams combined for 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Rush was solid enough to get the win for the Cowboys. He was 24-of-32 with 247 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Schoonmaker had three catches for 55 yards. Tolbert had two catches for 22 yards.

CeeDee Lamb led Dallas with 10 catches for 67 yards.

The Commanders had three turnovers. Daniels had two interceptions – one to Chauncey Golston and the other to Israel Mukuamu. Commanders tight end John Bates also fumbled.

The rookie quarterback was 25-of-38 with 275 yards and two touchdown passes. He also led the team with 74 rushing yards and had a rushing touchdown.

Dallas Cowboys tight end Luke Schoonmaker, center, celebrates after scoring a 22-yard touchdown against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Landover, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

McLaurin had five catches for 102 yards.

Dallas improved to 4-7 on the season and Washington fell to 7-5.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.