Which European Heavyweights Are Struggling Ahead of Next Summer’s European Championships?

England were famously the beaten finalists two years ago, losing out on penalties in the Wembley showpiece to Italy thanks to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s penalty shootout heroics. The man that he saved the decisive penalty from on that fateful night, Bukayo Saka, has finally come of age, however. Despite his courageous Arsenal side losing out in the Premier League title race to Manchester City, he has continued to be a force to be reckoned with, as displayed by netting his first professional hat trick against North Macedonia in a 7-0 drubbing at Old Trafford.
That result has extended England’s perfect record to four wins without loss, and they aren’t the only team in qualifying to have a 100% record thus far. Their rivals Scotland are also four from four now, and they extended their impressive run of form courtesy of a comfortable 2-0 win over Georgia at Hampden Park. The other two teams with a perfect record thus far are France and Portugal, the two teams that contested the final back in 2016, with the Portuguese eventually running out 1-0 winners courtesy of Eder’s extra-time thunderbolt.
But it isn’t just the heavyweights that are stealing the show so far. Last-minute goals secured massive victories for ex-Soviet states Kazakhstan and Armenia against Northern Ireland in Belfast and Latvia in Yerevan respectively, and both teams are positioned in second place in their respective groups, with the prospect of qualifying for a first major tournament now a distinct possibility. There were also shock wins for Moldova, who came from behind to stun Poland, and Luxembourg, who beat Bosnia by two goals to nil away from home.
While we are hoping to see some of the minnows in Germany next summer, let’s take a look at how some of the continent’s biggest names are beginning to crumble.
Three-time European Champions Germanys are the only team to have already qualified for next summer's tournament since they are hosting. However, they are currently during a disastrous run which may well cost manager Hansi Flick his job. The 58-year-old won the Champions League with Bayern Munich back in the summer of 2020, however, his time in charge of the national team has been a disaster thus far.
He oversaw Die Mannschaft’s second consecutive group stage exit at the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and his nation's form ever since has been just as bad as the form they displayed in the Arabian Gulf last winter. They have lost three of their last four friendlies to Belgium, Poland, and Colombia. And that would have been four out of four had they not been able to state a late comeback after being 3-1 down against Ukraine with less than ten minutes remaining.
Flick needs to find a solution to his side’s problems and fast. Under previous manager Joachim Low the Germans only knew success, and they will be hoping to bring back those golden days sooner rather than later.
The reigning European Champions are also in a spot of bother ahead of next summer's tournament. Two years ago, Roberto Mancini masterminded a heroic effort from his aging Italian squad all the way to the trophy. However, a shock defeat to North Macedonia 12 months later meant that the Azzurri missed a second consecutive World Cup, and they may well miss out on defending their crown in Germany next summer.
They lost their opening qualifier to England, with first-half goals from Harry Kane and Declan Rice proving too much to overturn. They did perform admirably in the second half, reducing the deficit and very nearly finding an equalizer however, it ultimately wasn’t to be. They picked up their first victory in an underwhelming 2-0 win away in Malta on matchday two, but so far, their performances have been less than inspiring.
That was demonstrated in the recent UEFA Nations League Finals. They lost out to Spain in the semifinal courtesy of a late strike from super-sub Joselu. They did manage to secure a third-place finish with a 3-2 victory over the Netherlands however, they have a major problem in their Euro 2024 qualifying group in the form of Ukraine.
While the Italians were attempting to secure a second European trophy in as many years, the Ukrainians were busy building a three-point lead in second place in Group C. They came from 2-0 down against North Macedonia to secure a spirited 3-2 victory in Skopje. They then netted a late penalty against Malta to seal a 1-0 win.
Ukraine and Italy are the only teams yet to play each other in the group and as such, they still must square off both in Italy and Poland, where Ukraine’s home games are taking place. If the Ukrainians can avoid defeat in both those fixtures, Italy will have it all to do if they wish to defend their title next summer.