Euro 2024 Group C preview: Is is England's turn for success?

The favourites

England. As simple as that. They have an incredibly talented squad. Their previous ‘golden generation’ had several world-class players, however, there were obvious deficiencies too. This is arguably the most well-rounded team they’ve ever had, and it seem inevitable they will win a major tournament at some point in the near future.

Middle ground

Denmark and Serbia. The pair could both reach the last 16 of the competition, they’re very much on an even keel. It’ll depend if either can take points off England, gaining maximum points against Slovenia and then of course, how they get on against each other.

The weak link

Slovenia. They’re strong at either end of the pitch with a top-class striker and goalkeeper, but their squad is the weakest overall. It’s their first major tournament in 14 years, and at their last Euros appearance in 2000, they failed to win a game, so that’s got to be their aim.

Star men

Where do you start here? There are a number of experienced and exciting talents who will likely shine in this group. Slovenia may well be the weak link, but they have one of Europe’s top young talents in the form of 21-year-old Benjamin Sesko. He undoubtedly takes the tag of ‘star man’ for them. Jan Oblak is also acclaimed as one of the greatest goalkeepers on the planet. For England, it’s tough to pick just one. I’ll narrow it down to Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden, though. There are more who could be named who will wear a Three Lions shirt, but we’ll leave it at that. Serbia have experienced players such as Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Tadic to spike their attack, while Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is their outstanding midfielder. Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus could be the brightest star of them all, though. For Denmark, as has been the case for many years, Christian Eriksen is the main man.

Ones to watch

There’s clearly a plethora of English talent that will be on show in this section, most of whom will be familiar names to many households. Another well-known name following his big-money move to Manchester United last summer though, is Rasmus Hojlund. The 21-year-old will spearhead Denmark’s attack as they look to make a serious dent on another European Championships. He started slowly in the Premier League, but certainly found his feet in the middle section of the campaign before an injury. He’s got frightening pace and power and will cause major problems to the defences of England, Serbia and Slovenia. If Hojlund finds his shooting boots, he could fire Denmark to the knockouts in impressive fashion. His United teammate Kobbie Mainoo is another to look out for, with his emergence in Gareth Southgate’s side going under the radar somewhat. Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is another who could be an unsung hero in England’s attack. His club teammate, Djordje Petrovic, could be pivotal to Serbia’s chances of progression if he can perform well between the sticks.

Scottish connection

In a roundabout way, the major connection to Scottish football in this group is Matt O’Riley – except, Celtic’s Player of the Year won’t be present at the tournament. The vast majority of fans in Scotland were stunned to learn that the 23-year-old hadn’t been called up to his national team squad for the Euros. It seems that shows how lowly head coach Kasper Hjulmand ranks the standard of the Premiership. It’ll be intriguing to keep an eye on the Danes, especially in an attacking sense, to see if they made a mistake in not selecting the £25m-rated midfielder.