Euro 2024 Power Rankings: Who are the top 10 contenders three months out from kick-off?

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Euro 2024 Power Rankings: Who are the top 10 contenders three months out from kick-off?
Kylian Mbappe has been in fine form this season
Kylian Mbappe has been in fine form this seasonAFP
With the Euro 2024 lineup completed and no more matches to be played until June, we've ranked who we think are currently the tournament's 10 biggest contenders.

Taking into account form, the strength of squads and the difficulty of draws, this is how we think things stack up right now.

10: Austria 

What a job Ralf Rangnick has done at Austria, who have proved to be more than a match for Italy, Germany and Belgium since he took over, also sweeping aside Sweden and Turkey.

They've suffered two big blows with France and the Netherlands being drawn into their group and David Alaba being ruled out of the tournament through injury, but don't be surprised to see them advance as one of the best third-placed teams at the very least. 

9. Hungary

They may only have one star name to call upon in Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai, but Hungary have proved to be a formidable opponent for anyone. 

Currently on a 14-game unbeaten streak, the only team they've lost to is Italy in the last two years and they've beaten both England and Germany. With Scotland and Switzerland in their group, they'll fancy their chances of getting to the knockout rounds in Germany. 

Hungary's recent form
Hungary's recent formFlashscore

8. Italy

Italy were plunged into chaos when Roberto Mancini resigned last summer and have yet to fully recover. Some signs of progress have shown under Luciano Spalletti but the squad still doesn't seem fully comfortable with his style of play, and it's hardly a vintage squad either.

There is still a decent amount of talent, but a tough group featuring Croatia and Spain and a lack of playing time under the new manager makes it unlikely that they'll retain their title. 

7. Belgium

Belgium's golden generation has largely made way for a younger side who have shown real potential under new manager Dominic Tedesco, but this tournament probably comes too soon for them. 

They should get through a fairly easy group without too much trouble but look like they'll lack the quality to beat the big teams after that. They have a lot of creativity with Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard and Charles De Ketelaere in their ranks, but don't have great options at the back. 

6. Spain

Luis de la Fuente has won nine of his first 12 matches as Spain manager, but there isn't a massive amount of optimism surrounding the side due to a tough group featuring Croatia and Italy, and injuries to star players Gavi and Pedri

That being said, there is still a lot of talent with Rodri, Alvaro Morata and Alex Grimaldo among their best players and forwards Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal destined for stardom. However, a shaky backline and a general lack of depth are both concerns. 

5. The Netherlands

The Netherlands made a poor start to their second spell under Ronald Koeman, being thrashed by France in their first qualifier before losing to Croatia and Italy in the Nations League Finals. They then won six of their next seven matches though before narrowly losing to Germany,

The main reason they're fairly high in this list is because the old adage is that defences win tournaments, and few if any nations have a stronger defence than the Dutch, who can choose from Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake, Stefan de Vrij, Matthijs de Ligt, Micky van de Ven and Jurrien Timber. The lack of such quality at the other end of the pitch is a problem though. 

4. Germany

Things were looking dire for Germany when they parted ways with Hansi Flick after following up a group stage exit at the World Cup with losses in friendlies to Poland, Colombia and Japan. Now though, they can fancy their chances of enjoying success on home turf. 

New boss Julian Nagelsmann has started to make his mark with Die Mannschaft just beating France 2-0 and the Netherlands 2-1, and with Toni Kroos returning and wonderkids Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz two of the sport's most exciting players, his team will be a force to be reckoned with if they can click.

3. England

England are the favourites with many bookmakers, but while it's easy to see why that's the case, there are some holes in their squad and the way the draw is likely to unfold could make life hard for them.

In terms of attacking talent, they stand alone at the top of the pile, with Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden forming a front four that is good enough to tear apart any backline in the world.

England's recent form
England's recent formFlashscore

However, it's a side that lacks balance with no great alternatives to Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson emerging in the centre of defence and midfield respectively. Adding in the fact that they've never beaten a top side in knockout football under Gareth Southgate, you wouldn't put much money on them winning a likely semi-final clash with France, but they should get that far at the very least.

2. Portugal

After three disappointing major tournaments on the bounce since their Euro 2016 triumph, Portugal opted to replace Fernando Santos with Roberto Martinez, and the Spaniard along with a quite frankly scary pool of talent has injected new life into the side. 

They've won all but one match since Martinez took over, and while they haven't faced any top sides, their record is undeniably impressive nonetheless, with them scoring 41 goals and conceding just six in their 12 games. Looking at their form and squad, it's difficult to see anyone stopping them from reaching the final given they'll be on the opposite half of the draw to France and England if all goes as expected. 

The big question mark is Cristiano Ronaldo. It's unclear if he can still perform at the highest level, but it looks like we'll find out in Germany with the manager regularly using him in qualifying instead of putting his support fully behind Diogo Jota and Goncalo Ramos. Whether the Al Nassr man delivers and whether Martinez is brave enough to drop him if he doesn't could make or break their campaign. 

Cristiano Ronaldo's recent seasons
Cristiano Ronaldo's recent seasonsFlashscore

1. France

Yes, two of their three most recent matches were a draw to Greece and a loss to Germany, but after reaching the World Cup final after looking near-dreadful in the months prior to it, they're not fooling us again - France are the favourites for Euro 2024.

Why? Just look at their squad. They're arguably the only nation that have world-class quality in every single position, as well as an abundance of major tournament experience.

With Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe both in the form of their lives too, it's hard to look past Les Blues. 

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