The 2024 European Championship kicked off Friday, June 14th. The first match of the series began with Germany vs. Scotland, with Germany winning 5-1. Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Füllkrug, and Emre Can were the five to shoot home and take the first win of the Euros. It was the biggest win by a host nation in European Championship history and their biggest victory ever. Germany will play next in their match against Hungary on June 19th.
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The next victor in Group A was Switzerland in their match against Hungary on June 15th. Kwadwo Duah, Michel Aebischer, and Breel Embolo made the shots that won the match 3-1. This was Switzerland’s second time winning an opening match and their fourth win in European Championship history. Hungary has only won two of their 12 matches at the European Championships, with a win rate of 17%. Only Romania (6%) and Poland (4%) have a lower win rate.
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Spain are favorites to win the Euros, and their match against Croatia on June 15th only solidified that. They won with a comfortable 3-0, with shots by Álvaro Morata, Fabián Ruiz, and Dani Carvajal shooting home. Despite their favored odds, this is only the second time Spain has begun the European Championship with a victory by three or more goals. For Croatia, this match ties their 3-0 loss against Portugal for the heaviest defeat in an international tournament.
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Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolò Barella earned Italy their 10th consecutive win in the European Championships with a win of 2-1 in their match against Albania. Albanian midfielder Nedim Bajrami’s goal was the fastest goal ever scored at the Euros finals, just 23 seconds in. Unfortunately, it seemed to spark the defenders into action rather than create momentum for Albania; Bastoni scored just fifteen minutes later. Italy trails just behind Spain and Portugal at odds to win. Their next match is against Spain on June 20th, and Albania will play Croatia on June 19th.
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Just behind Italy in predictions is the Netherlands, who saw a similar 2-1 victory against Poland on June 16th. Cody Gakpo and Wout Weghorst landed the two shots out of a record 21 shots on goal for the Netherlands. Despite the close game, Poland was missing an offensive edge with Robert Lewandowski out on injury.
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The first tie of the Euros happened in the Slovenia vs. Denmark match on June 16th, with Erik Janža of Slovenia and Christian Eriksen of Denmark scoring to tie the game at 1-1. Slovenia has yet to win a match at the European Championships. It’s the most any nation has played without a victory. Erik Janža has become only the third Slovenian player to score in the Euros. Denmark player Andreas Christensen completed all 89 passes made, the most passes any player has completed with 100% accuracy in a match at the European Championships.
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Euros favorites England won their match against Serbia 1-0 on June 16th, with a shot by English superstar Jude Bellingham earning them their first championship win. England currently stands at the top of most predictions for who will take the 2024 European Championship, and for good reason. England won their opening game in all four major tournaments played under England team manager Gareth Southgate. They hold the record for longest run of wins in group-stage matches, having won their last five. On the other hand, Serbia has lost 10 of the last 13 games played in a tournament. The Euros will continue through July 14th, with the following matches being Romania vs. Ukraine, Belgium vs. Slovakia, and Austria vs. France to be played on June 17th.
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Edited by: Sarah Muñoz