Sports
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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The first College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and the reigning champions are atop the pack.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were ranked first when ESPN unveiled the projected 12-team bracket Tuesday night. The 2024 champions, who defeated Notre Dame in the championship game earlier this year, have been stellar with an 8-0 start to no one’s surprise.
But perhaps one of the best storylines this season comes from the No. 2 team in the rankings, the Indiana Hoosiers. Head coach Curt Cignetti’s group has been phenomenal to start the year, and they’re leading the Big Ten with a 9-0 record behind the play of Heisman candidate quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign Oct. 11, 2025. (IMAGN)
Rounding out the top four seeds, who will all get a bye in the first round of the CFP, are No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Alabama.
The SEC is represented well in the debut rankings. Georgia comes in at No. 5, followed by Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels at No. 6.
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Rounding out the top 10 are BYU, the No. 7 team that leads the Big 12 with a perfect 8-0 record; Texas Tech; Oregon; and the Fighting Irish at No. 10.
Notre Dame may have lost its first two games of the season, but the Irish have ripped off six straight wins as an at-large team. Their first two losses came against the Aggies and No. 18 Miami in their opener.
Speaking of the Hurricanes, they have the same number of losses as the Fighting Irish, but their recent overtime loss to SMU dropped them in the rankings.
Mississippi head coach Lane Kiffin watches his team play against Oklahoma during the first half in Norman, Okla., Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
Right on the cusp are Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns at No. 11, especially given the team’s win over No. 16 Vanderbilt. The No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners are close as well.
Given that each Power Four conference will have a representative, Virginia, the leader in the ACC, comes in at No. 14. With all top 25 teams coming from a Power Four conference, the CFP committee had Memphis as the top team from the Group of Five.
However, this isn’t the same format as previous college football seasons because the committee is using a straight seeding model this time. The top four teams in the final ranking, no matter what conference they play in, will receive a first-round bye.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith celebrates a catch against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus Nov. 1, 2025. (Imagn)
With the current rankings, Memphis would face Georgia, Virginia would play Ole Miss, Notre Dame would travel to BYU and Oregon would take on Texas Tech.
Of course, this is just the first of many rankings to come. The bracket will be finalized Dec. 7, the day after conference championship games.
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Sports
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sued for fraud by Aspiration investors over Kawhi Leonard allegations
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is being sued by 11 former investors in the sustainability firm Aspiration Partners.
Ballmer was added this week as a defendant in an existing civil lawsuit against Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg and several others associated with the now-defunct company. Ballmer and the other defendants are accused of fraud and aiding and abetting fraud, with the plaintiffs seeking at least $50 million in damages.
“This is an action to recover millions of dollars that Plaintiffs were defrauded into investing, directly or indirectly, in CTN Holdings, Inc. (‘Catona’), previously known as Aspiration Partners, Inc,” reads the lawsuit, which was initially filed July 9 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Central District.
Attorney Skip Miller said his firm, Miller Barondess LLP, filed an amended complaint Monday that added the billionaire team owner and his investment company, Ballmer Group, as defendants in light of recent allegations that a $28-million deal between Aspiration and Clippers star Kawhi Leonard helped the team circumvent the NBA’s salary cap.
“Ballmer was the perfect deep-pocket partner to fund Catona’s flagging operations and lend legitimacy to Catona’s carbon credit business,” says the amended complaint, which has been viewed by The Times. “Since Ballmer had publicly promoted himself as an advocate for sustainability, Catona was an ideal vehicle for Ballmer to secretly circumvent the NBA salary cap while purporting to support the company as a legitimate environmentalist investor.”
Although Ballmer did invest millions in Aspiration, it is not known whether he was aware of or played a role in facilitating the company’s deal with Leonard. The Times reached out to the Clippers for a comment from Ballmer or a team representative but did not receive an immediate response.
CTN Holdings filed for bankruptcy in March and, according to the lawsuit, is no longer in operation.
In late August, Sanberg agreed to plead guilty in federal court to a scheme to defraud investors and lenders of more than $248 million. On Sept. 3, investigative journalist Pablo Torre reported on his podcast that after reviewing numerous documents and conducting interviews with former employees of the now-defunct firm, he did not find evidence of any marketing or endorsement work done by Leonard for the company.
That was news to the plaintiffs, according to their amended lawsuit.
“Ballmer’s purported status as a legitimate investor in Catona was material to Plaintiffs’ decision to invest in and/or keep their investments with Catona,” the complaint states.
It also says that “Sanberg and Ballmer never disclosed to Plaintiffs that the millions of dollars Ballmer injected into Catona were meant to allow Ballmer to funnel compensation to Leonard in violation of NBA rules and keep Catona’s failing business afloat financially. Sanberg and Ballmer’s scheme to pay Leonard through Catona to evade the NBA’s salary cap was only later revealed in 2025, by journalist Pablo Torre.”
Miller said in a statement to The Times: “A lot of people including our clients got hurt badly in this case. This lawsuit is being brought to make them whole for their losses. I look forward to our day in court for justice.”
The NBA announced an investigation into the matter in early September. Speaking at a forum that month hosted by the Sports Business Journal, Ballmer said that he felt “quite confident … that we abided [by] the rules. So, I welcome the investigation that the NBA is doing.”
The Clippers said in a statement at the time: “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false: The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations.
“Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation.”
Leonard also has denied being involved in any wrongdoing associated with his deal with the now-defunct firm. Asked about the matter Sept. 29 during Clippers media day to open training camp, Leonard said, “I don’t think it’s accurate” that he provided no endorsement services to the company. He added that he hadn’t been paid all the money due to him from the deal.
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The Arizona Cardinals have finally snapped their five-game losing streak, doing so in convincing fashion with a 27-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cardinals, who started 2-0, are now 3-5, while the Cowboys – blown out by the Denver Broncos last week – fell to 3-5-1 heading into their bye week.
All eyes were on the Cowboys entering this game after that brutal loss at Mile High, but the Cardinals also came into this game desperately needing a win to not only get the vibes high in the locker room again but keep the season afloat.
It was Jacoby Brissett once again starting for Arizona, as Kyler Murray remains out with his toe injury. Brissett, though, was the man for the job from the jump, and Marvin Harrison Jr. was his right-hand man.
Marvin Harrison Jr. of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates his touchdown with Elijah Higgins against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 3, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The second-year receiver had a fantastic night, tallying seven catches and 96 yards in the first half with the game’s first touchdown on a beautiful release that left cornerback Da’Ron Bland flat-footed.
However, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense – averaging over 30 points per game this season – couldn’t find a rhythm against the Cardinals’ defense. They turned it over on downs on their opening drive and came away empty-handed.
After a Cowboys punt, Harrison’s touchdown made it 10-0, and tight end Jake Ferguson’s fumble in Arizona territory killed another promising Dallas drive. But the Cowboys’ special teams answered when Sam Williams blocked a punt that ricocheted off his helmet and rolled into the end zone, where Marshawn Kneeland recovered it for a touchdown.
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Brissett and the Cardinals responded immediately, marching 74 yards in 11 plays before Brissett snuck one across at the goal line.
When the third quarter began, Michael Wilson immediately put the Cardinals in plus territory as he caught a ball from Brissett and ran 50 yards to Dallas’ 24-yard line. A few plays later, tight end Trey McBride made it 24-7 with a nice snag on the right side of the colored paint.
Jacoby Brissett of the Arizona Cardinals on the line of scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 3, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Dallas added a field goal, then Prescott connected with Ryan Flournoy for a short touchdown to cut the deficit to 10. Given how Arizona’s recent losses came down to one score, this one still felt far from over.
Dallas got another stop on defense, but it was the Cardinals’ defense that came away with a massive play during the ensuing drive. Prescott was blitzed and threw the ball immediately to running back Javonte Williams, who wasn’t ready for a Cardinals defender to hit him right away. During the tackle, the ball was ripped out of Williams’ arm and Akeem David-Gaither recovered it before it went out of bounds.
That play came with 4:46 left in the game, and just when it seemed like there was a chance for another epic collapse, Arizona finally came through with the play they needed.
In the box score, Brissett was 21-of-31 for 261 yards with two touchdown passes despite getting sacked five times by the Cowboys. McBride finished with five catches for 55 yards, while Emari Demercado led the way on the ground with 79 yards on 14 carries.
Jacoby Brissett of the Arizona Cardinals throws against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 03, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
For Dallas, Javonte Williams totaled 83 yards on 15 carries, but turnovers doomed the offense. Prescott went 24-for-39 for 250 yards with one touchdown and one interception, the latter coming on the Cowboys’ final drive.
CeeDee Lamb finished with 85 yards on seven catches, while George Pickens added six receptions for 79 yards.
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