Euro 2024: Before we start

Since United is doing so badly I just kind of wallowed in our 0-4 losses to Palace and squeezed 0-1 against Arsenal to bother too much about international football. I feel like this makes me the perfect neutral, or as neutral as one can be. Romania qualified, but I know exactly one player from the team, and only because his transfer to Spurs, I'm still completely indifferent towards England and their loss in maybe semifinals this year, the usual suspects, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, no idea what they look like in relation to each other nowadays. So neither do I know, or care too much who's gonna win the tournament. And I really mean it when I say I hope it will be the most deserving team. 

I will try some predictions, and look back on them, but they're very much blind.

Group A: I'm hoping Germany and Scotland. Switzerland look slight favourites ahead of Scotland, but I think the Scots can beat Hungary in ruggedness, hold for a low scoring draw against the Swiss and hopefully they both lose against Germany. The Swiss look more able to squeeze a point out of Germany, but they also look more liable to drop points against Hungary.

Group B: No doubt the toughest group and as such the most unpredictable. I'm hoping for Croatia & Italy, though Italy is nothing if not inconsistent. Albania can throw a spanner in the works, but I don't see them qualifying. Italy - Spain is always a 50/50 affair.

Group C: England is being gifted qualification, and Denmark's is their to lose. Looking forward to the looks of confusion all throughout Western Europe when they find out Serbia and Slovenia are two different countries.

Group D: Easy money, France & Netherlands. You have red & white on the flag you're good, but you also need blue to qualify.

Group E: Belgium & Ukraine. Romania will have a shot until the second half of the last game probably, but we'll only manage a draw against Slovakia and everyone will say we did ok.

Group F: I have a lot of sympathy for the Turkish team of the early noughties, but I'm afraid the current lot is some way out of the Hakan Sukurs, Umit Davalas and Bulent Korkmazes of yesteryear. I hope they can battle it out well, but really, it's gonna be Portugal and Czechia.

Third-place qualifiers are wild cards, never understood how it works, which means we might see a couple of the weaker teams pulling through. But let's revisit predictions after the first two rounds or so.

For tonight, I'm going for a Scott McTominay hattrick.