European Football Championship preview of Group D with Poland, Netherlands, Austria and France

Preview of European Championship Group D
Austria must stop Mbappé, Lewandowski and Oranje

12.06.2024, 19:15

From June 14th to July 14th, the continent’s best footballers will compete in Germany to determine the new European champion. Austrian national coach Ralf Rangnick and his team will face enormous challenges in the preliminary round: they will face runners-up France with mega-striker Kylian Mbappé, the Dutch with defensive star Virgil van Dijk and Poland with striker Robert Lewandowski. A quick look at Group D.

Poland

The stars: The big star is former Bayern and current Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski. Hardly any other European Championship participant is so dependent on just one player. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old still has a number of well-known teammates at his side, such as the Italian legionnaires Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus Turin), Arkadiusz Milik (Juventus Turin) and Piotr Zieliński (SSC Naples).

The trainer: Michal Probierz used to play in the 2nd Bundesliga for Bayer Uerdingen and Wattenscheid. It was only in September 2023 that the previous U21 coach took a seat in one of the biggest hot seats in European football. The 51-year-old is already the fourth national coach since the 2021 European Championship.

The outlook: As group stage opponents of France, Austria and the Netherlands, Poland have landed in what is supposedly the toughest group of the European Championship. In qualifying, they only finished third in their group behind the Czech Republic and Albania. A quarter-final appearance like in France in 2016 would be a big surprise. Another group stage exit like at Euro 2021 is much more likely.

Netherlands

The stars: Captain Virgil van Dijk is to lead the team. The Liverpool FC defender missed the last European Championship due to a cruciate ligament tear, so he is particularly motivated. Frenkie de Jong is to pull the strings in midfield. The FC Barcelona strategist was recently out injured for weeks. And then there is whirlwind Xavi Simons from Rasenballsport Leipzig, who could become the discovery of the tournament.

The trainer: Ronald Koeman is expected to lead the Dutch national team to its first European title in 36 years. In 1988, the current national coach was there as a player himself and caused a stir after the 2-1 semi-final win against Germany when he symbolically wiped his butt with a German jersey. This is Koeman’s second term in office. He was already national coach from 2018 to 2020, followed by an unsuccessful interlude at FC Barcelona.

The outlook: The Dutch are not among the top favorites and see themselves as underdogs. If the Elftal survives the difficult preliminary group, a lot is possible. The memories of the 1988 European Championship title in Germany should carry the team through the tournament.

Austria

The stars: The biggest star has to watch because of an injury. But captain David Alaba (Real Madrid) is still expected to travel to Germany and provide support close to the team. Midfielder Marcel Sabitzer comes to the ÖFB selection with a setback after losing the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund. For the 35-year-old former Bundesliga professional Marko Arnautovic (Inter Milan), this will probably be the last major tournament.

The trainer: Ralf Rangnick even turned down FC Bayern Munich for the sake of success with the Austrians. The 65-year-old German wants to concentrate fully on his first European Championship as a coach. The former coach of Rasenballsport Leipzig and Schalke has formed the team into a strong unit with a lot of offensive drive. In November 2023, Germany was beaten 2-0, losing only one of the last 14 games.

The outlook: Given this strong form, the Austrians were almost considered dark horses. However, the injuries to many of their regular players and the difficult group dampened expectations somewhat. However, as at the last European Championship, the team should still be able to make it to the knockout round.

France

The stars: Even after the retirements of Hugo Lloris, Raphaël Varane and Karim Benzema, there are still a lot of players. First and foremost, of course, Kylian Mbappé, who has just completed the mega-transfer from Paris St. Germain to Real Madrid. The attacking veterans Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann are also still there. In central midfield, Real stars Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouameni organize the game.

The trainer: Didier Deschamps is an absolute constant. He has been in office since 2012 and has played more than 150 international matches on the bench. Only Óscar Tabárez in Uruguay, Morten Olsen in Denmark and Joachim Löw at the DFB have managed more. After Mário Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer, he became world champion as a player and coach.

The outlook: After a small shake-up in the squad, the team has not always seemed consistent recently, as the two defeats against Germany have shown. The group is also tricky. Under normal circumstances, France should still be one of the top favorites simply because of the depth of the squad.

Of course, we also have an overview of all the other groups: Click here for the previews of Group A (Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland), Group B (Spain, Croatia, Italy and Albania), Group C (Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia and England), Group E (Belgium, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine) and Group F (Turkey, Georgia, Portugal and Czech Republic).