⚽ UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany ⚽ - Qualifiers👉Group Stage

[KTChampions]

I was researching about the odds of each country in the next Euro, and the Mirror website have already made an estimate, I'll only post the top 10:

• Germany - 5/1
• France - 6/1
• England - 6/1
• Spain - 7/1
• Italy - 9/1
• Portugal - 10/1
• Netherlands - 12/1
• Belgium - 14/1
• Denmark - 20/1
• Croatia - 33/1

Source

What do you think guys?
In my opinion France is the favorite one, followed by England, and Croatia definitely is not in the 10th place of favorites, maybe in 4th or 5th.
And Denmark is not more favorite than Croatia or Switzerland for example...

So my list is different than this 

Strange grades. For example, here are the ratings from Stake:

France 6.00
England 6.50
Germany 6.50
Spain 9.50
Portugal 11.00
Italy 12.00
Belgium 14.00
Netherlands 15.00
Denmark 23.00
Croatia 31.00
https://stake.com/sports/outright/soccer/international/european-championship/42572755-euro-cup-2024

In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

[1714665941]

1714665941

[RealMalatesta]

Strange grades. For example, here are the ratings from Stake:

France 6.00
England 6.50
Germany 6.50
Spain 9.50
Portugal 11.00
Italy 12.00
Belgium 14.00
Netherlands 15.00
Denmark 23.00
Croatia 31.00
https://stake.com/sports/outright/soccer/international/european-championship/42572755-euro-cup-2024

In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

This is more likely, Germany to be considered the best right now? You need to be dreaming and been asleep for 10 years in order to think like that, they haven't been the best for such a long time and that will not be possible. Unless something shocking happens then we are going to end up seeing France win this all, and that will be the best thing ever for them. I know that it is going to end up with something much more major and that should be the key point here but that doesn't change the fact that we can't see France as the highest favorites.

England is the same way and should be considered great but as we have seen from them before, sometimes they play so badly that they are not even anywhere in the elimination phase. Hopefully we see nothing shocking and the best teams go at each other.

[KTChampions]

Strange grades. For example, here are the ratings from Stake:

France 6.00
England 6.50
Germany 6.50
Spain 9.50
Portugal 11.00
Italy 12.00
Belgium 14.00
Netherlands 15.00
Denmark 23.00
Croatia 31.00
https://stake.com/sports/outright/soccer/international/european-championship/42572755-euro-cup-2024

In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

This is more likely, Germany to be considered the best right now? You need to be dreaming and been asleep for 10 years in order to think like that, they haven't been the best for such a long time and that will not be possible. Unless something shocking happens then we are going to end up seeing France win this all, and that will be the best thing ever for them. I know that it is going to end up with something much more major and that should be the key point here but that doesn't change the fact that we can't see France as the highest favorites.

England is the same way and should be considered great but as we have seen from them before, sometimes they play so badly that they are not even anywhere in the elimination phase. Hopefully we see nothing shocking and the best teams go at each other.

Yes, Germany should be quoted much closer to Spain, which has already lost its greatness and is now assessed more or less objectively. But here I don’t even know how to evaluate such high odds from bookmakers - maybe the Germans (and by the way, many other people for historical reasons) bet on Germany, so the bookmakers take into account this cash flow. After all, Germany is many times richer than Spain, so here we see a bias in quotes.

[rdluffy]

Strange grades. For example, here are the ratings from Stake:

...

In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

I didn't agree with the Mirror's list, and it's not even a German newspaper, it's British
They made this post on March 23, 2023, so it is very up to date and they are really considering Germany as favorite.

In this list you posted, for example, again I don't agree with Croatia behind Denmark. Netherlands I even consider with more chances among the 3. Now Germany must be with good chances probably because they play at home. But this list you posted is more accurate, I agree

These lists are nice for us to discuss and feel how the feeling is towards these teams, but I will only place the bets for real the day before the competition starts and the match I am betting on.
Until the first match, a lot can change, and I will give a simple example, if Mbapée gets injured, will France still be favorites?

England always start as a favorite in almost all tournaments but the fact is that they have only won 1 World Cup so far and 1 European Cup and I am not even sure about this second one,meaning that most of the times it is all about hype and when it comes to performing on the field they usually fail to deliver and the funny thing is that they usually have some of the best players,let me remember you the 2002 with Owen and company and they failed to deliver in that event.

Other teams like Italy are more pragmatic and we have the latest Euro where Italy won it after beating England in the final and the final was even played in England,that shows that hype does not win you games and as such for me England is no real favorite in this upcoming Euro 2024.

I have followed the England national team quite a bit and they have had very good teams that have won practically nothing, teams with Beckham, Terry, Lampard, Owen, Rooney etc
I see this current team as an excellent one, well balanced, defense, middle, and attack with great players, and a differential that is Harry Kane, who solves difficult matches. Maybe it's time to forget Maguire.
Today the English championship is in my opinion the most difficult in Europe, and this is helping the national team.
I'd rather England win that Euro 2024 than France.

[Sithara007]

~~~~
In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

LOL.. Croatia is far ahead of the other two. When was the last time that Danmark performed well in a major international tournament? The same goes for Netherlands as well. These two are dying teams within the UEFA confederation. Danmark failed to win even a single match during FIFA World Cup of 2022. They lost to Australia and France, and then were held by Tunisia for a goalless draw. Netherlands somehow managed to get to the round of 16, partly due to their karate and MMA skills on field. But in the quarter-finals, they got destroyed by Argentina.

[KTChampions]

~~~~
In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

LOL.. Croatia is far ahead of the other two. When was the last time that Danmark performed well in a major international tournament? The same goes for Netherlands as well. These two are dying teams within the UEFA confederation. Danmark failed to win even a single match during FIFA World Cup of 2022. They lost to Australia and France, and then were held by Tunisia for a goalless draw. Netherlands somehow managed to get to the round of 16, partly due to their karate and MMA skills on field. But in the quarter-finals, they got destroyed by Argentina.

You keep being biased against Argentina  "Destroyed" by Argentina is that what they call a miserable lottery win now? 
Regarding Croatia, I think the bookies rate them so low because this team is on a downtrend (due to age), while the Netherlands, on the contrary, have a young team and theoretically they should be getting stronger. I can’t say anything about Denmark, but the fact that they haven’t won anything for a long time is not an argument for European teams - there is too much competition and even top teams can be without titles for decades.

[Franctoshi]

Yes, Germany should be quoted much closer to Spain, which has already lost its greatness and is now assessed more or less objectively. But here I don’t even know how to evaluate such high odds from bookmakers - maybe the Germans (and by the way, many other people for historical reasons) bet on Germany, so the bookmakers take into account this cash flow. After all, Germany is many times richer than Spain, so here we see a bias in quotes.

Some of the time this gradings goes otherwise, there are countries that I expected to be ahead of the other but surprisingly with their grading it happens that I see them lower, while in real time this countries has done super great in their various performances in the past and previous compitions. I do choose France ahead of any other country out there, they've been consistent in their performance both in the last world cup and the last Euro compition, I didn't see reason why they shouldn't top the list.

[Sithara007]

You keep being biased against Argentina  "Destroyed" by Argentina is that what they call a miserable lottery win now? 
Regarding Croatia, I think the bookies rate them so low because this team is on a downtrend (due to age), while the Netherlands, on the contrary, have a young team and theoretically they should be getting stronger. I can’t say anything about Denmark, but the fact that they haven’t won anything for a long time is not an argument for European teams - there is too much competition and even top teams can be without titles for decades.

All I am saying is that Netherlands in an over-rated team, while everyone underestimates the potential of Croatia. Netherlands have a long history in participating in FIFA and UEFA tournaments. That is taken in to account, when people estimate their chances. On the other hand, there was no Croatia before 1991 (when Yugoslavia was dissolved). They are a relatively new team, and a lot of people have difficulty in admitting that a country of 4 million people can compete at the same level as France or England, who have a population of more than 60 million. And now coming to the case of younger players, I can't see a lot of promising youngsters coming up through the ranks in Dutch football.

[beerlover]

I do choose France ahead of any other country out there, they've been consistent in their performance both in the last world cup and the last Euro compition, I didn't see reason why they shouldn't top the list.

I still think that France will have a bit of hard time getting the win here. I mean they are the highest likely one but since they do not have any proper competition aside from maybe England, they are going to feel more relaxed. When a team is seen as the highest favorites, then it is going to end up with something that is more relax which will cause them to underestimate the teams that they will face, that is going to end up with a lot worse situation in the end.

I believe that we are going to reach to a point where France suddenly end with a loss unexpectedly with the situations. This is why I believe that we are going to see them maybe lose and that should be a terrible result in the end. I hope that they will play as well as they can, but I can't be sure about it.

[Sithara007]

I still think that France will have a bit of hard time getting the win here. I mean they are the highest likely one but since they do not have any proper competition aside from maybe England, they are going to feel more relaxed. When a team is seen as the highest favorites, then it is going to end up with something that is more relax which will cause them to underestimate the teams that they will face, that is going to end up with a lot worse situation in the end.

I believe that we are going to reach to a point where France suddenly end with a loss unexpectedly with the situations. This is why I believe that we are going to see them maybe lose and that should be a terrible result in the end. I hope that they will play as well as they can, but I can't be sure about it.

Without any doubt France is the strongest team within UEFA at this point. But it will be wrong to say that they will not face any competition from the other teams. And it is not just England. I personally believe that Spain and Italy can bring a few surprises this time. And in each edition of the Euro, there is always some smaller team like Iceland who make big upsets by defeating some of the more fancied teams. And also, a lot of the French players are injury prone. Let's see whether they will be able to field a full-strength side in 2024.

[tiCeR]

~~~~
In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

LOL.. Croatia is far ahead of the other two. When was the last time that Danmark performed well in a major international tournament? The same goes for Netherlands as well. These two are dying teams within the UEFA confederation. Danmark failed to win even a single match during FIFA World Cup of 2022. They lost to Australia and France, and then were held by Tunisia for a goalless draw. Netherlands somehow managed to get to the round of 16, partly due to their karate and MMA skills on field. But in the quarter-finals, they got destroyed by Argentina.

You keep being biased against Argentina  "Destroyed" by Argentina is that what they call a miserable lottery win now? 
Regarding Croatia, I think the bookies rate them so low because this team is on a downtrend (due to age), while the Netherlands, on the contrary, have a young team and theoretically they should be getting stronger. I can’t say anything about Denmark, but the fact that they haven’t won anything for a long time is not an argument for European teams - there is too much competition and even top teams can be without titles for decades.

Yes, destroyed. No need to be sarcastic here KTChampions! Argentina destroyed the Netherlands 2-2 in regular time. Then Argentina destroyed the Netherlands 0-0 in overtime. Finally, Argentina destroyedthe Netherlands 4-3 in the penalty shootout after being behind 1-2 when Fernandez even missed his penalty. That's a very obvious case to me. The Netherlands never, at any point in the game, had a chance to win it!

But it doesn't stop there!

In the final Argentina destroyed France 2-2 in regular time. Then Argentina destroyed France 1-1 in overtime before they destroyed France in the penalty shootout.

Any questions?

But to contribute to the EURO discussion here, asserting that France has no competition besides England is nonsense. Even if some of the teams are not as good as we usually expect them to be, there is still Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, but also Portugal, a team that I would not underestimate. France is by far the best team in terms of the individual quality of their players. But there were wonders in the past, for instance when Greece won and that left everyone in disbelief and consternation. But this is how these tournaments play out. When out of a sudden an underdog grows beyond their limits, it is sometimes hard to stop them the further they make it in a tournament as those limits become higher and higher.

France having the best chances to win it as per the odds is justified, but we won't see them making a clean sweep.

[KTChampions]

You keep being biased against Argentina   "Destroyed" by Argentina is that what they call a miserable lottery win now?  
Regarding Croatia, I think the bookies rate them so low because this team is on a downtrend (due to age), while the Netherlands, on the contrary, have a young team and theoretically they should be getting stronger. I can’t say anything about Denmark, but the fact that they haven’t won anything for a long time is not an argument for European teams - there is too much competition and even top teams can be without titles for decades.

All I am saying is that Netherlands in an over-rated team, while everyone underestimates the potential of Croatia. Netherlands have a long history in participating in FIFA and UEFA tournaments. That is taken in to account, when people estimate their chances. On the other hand, there was no Croatia before 1991 (when Yugoslavia was dissolved). They are a relatively new team, and a lot of people have difficulty in admitting that a country of 4 million people can compete at the same level as France or England, who have a population of more than 60 million. And now coming to the case of younger players, I can't see a lot of promising youngsters coming up through the ranks in Dutch football.

I don't think that the political problems (collapse) of Yugoslavia make Croatia "a team without football historical traditions" or something like that. In fact, Europe is already a single space and often, due to randomness, a group of very strong football players can gather in some small country. Even though the country may be small, it is still within European football. China, Vietnam, etc. are huge countries in terms of population but things are not getting better (at least from what I know about them). Because these countries are on their own, or within the "community" of the same weak in the football sense countries.
Regarding age: my idea is (I exaggerate it as much as possible) that in 5 years Modric will play worse than any young player in the Netherlands. Just because he's ending his career. And this is true for many players from Croatia.

Yes, destroyed. No need to be sarcastic here KTChampions! Argentina destroyed the Netherlands 2-2 in regular time. Then Argentina destroyed the Netherlands 0-0 in overtime. Finally, Argentina destroyedthe Netherlands 4-3 in the penalty shootout after being behind 1-2 when Fernandez even missed his penalty. That's a very obvious case to me. The Netherlands never, at any point in the game, had a chance to win it!

But it doesn't stop there!

In the final Argentina destroyed France 2-2 in regular time. Then Argentina destroyed France 1-1 in overtime before they destroyed France in the penalty shootout.

Any questions?

  No questions. All true.

[Mr.suevie]

~~~~
In my opinion the second list is more accurate. Of course, I also disagree with such a low assessment of Croatia and I think that Croatia, Denmark and the Netherlands should be quoted equally. Otherwise, everything is more or less fair, especially given the randomness of what is happening in the playoffs.

LOL.. Croatia is far ahead of the other two. When was the last time that Danmark performed well in a major international tournament? The same goes for Netherlands as well. These two are dying teams within the UEFA confederation. Danmark failed to win even a single match during FIFA World Cup of 2022. They lost to Australia and France, and then were held by Tunisia for a goalless draw. Netherlands somehow managed to get to the round of 16, partly due to their karate and MMA skills on field. But in the quarter-finals, they got destroyed by Argentina.

You keep being biased against Argentina  "Destroyed" by Argentina is that what they call a miserable lottery win now? 
Regarding Croatia, I think the bookies rate them so low because this team is on a downtrend (due to age), while the Netherlands, on the contrary, have a young team and theoretically they should be getting stronger. I can’t say anything about Denmark, but the fact that they haven’t won anything for a long time is not an argument for European teams - there is too much competition and even top teams can be without titles for decades.

Yeah I agree the competition is much in Europe as we can take England as example they have the full potentials to have won maybe one or two trophies but yet they have failed to do that and the only time I saw them play a final they still manage to lose out to the Italian which have also been trophy less for some time now but they manage to secure one when they defeated England. The big teams in Europe are much and this calls higher competition among them leaving only the best to go home with the trophy. It will nice to actually see England win some titles again, what do you think?

[Distraction]

According to the odds in that list you have shared here Belgium can be given a chance for the championship in my opinion. 14.00 is quite an attracting odd to me.    They weren't good in the World Cup at all that's for certain. Because like I indicated before there were some personal problems between some players. But hopefully they will have got over this in the near future.

Maybe they have even done this because they have made a solid start to the qualifiers by a 3-0 win over Sweden. I really want to see Belgium having some good achievements while they have this great squad in their hands. This has been a wonderful generation for them which is full of skilled players like De Bruyne, Hazard and so on. They shouldn't waste this generation easily.

[Daniel91]

You keep being biased against Argentina  "Destroyed" by Argentina is that what they call a miserable lottery win now? 
Regarding Croatia, I think the bookies rate them so low because this team is on a downtrend (due to age), while the Netherlands, on the contrary, have a young team and theoretically they should be getting stronger. I can’t say anything about Denmark, but the fact that they haven’t won anything for a long time is not an argument for European teams - there is too much competition and even top teams can be without titles for decades.

All I am saying is that Netherlands in an over-rated team, while everyone underestimates the potential of Croatia. Netherlands have a long history in participating in FIFA and UEFA tournaments. That is taken in to account, when people estimate their chances. On the other hand, there was no Croatia before 1991 (when Yugoslavia was dissolved). They are a relatively new team, and a lot of people have difficulty in admitting that a country of 4 million people can compete at the same level as France or England, who have a population of more than 60 million. And now coming to the case of younger players, I can't see a lot of promising youngsters coming up through the ranks in Dutch football.

It seems to me that many people predict the success of national teams in major competitions based on the size of the country and past sporting success, rather than the current reality.
What have the Netherlands, Spain, Germany or Denmark achieved in the last 10 years in any competition? On what basis are they favorites compared to Croatia, which is the current participant in the final tournament of the League of Nations in June and the winner of two consecutive medals at the last 2 world cups in football?
When I read the sports predictions on this forum ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, some members even predicted that Croatia had no chance of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition, and they considered Belgium and Canada to be favorites in the group. We know very well how it ended, from the group, Croatia and Morocco advanced to the knockout phase of the competition.
Such sports predictions, which are not based on concrete facts and reality but on the size and popularity of some country, should not be taken seriously.
As for the story of the age of the Croatian national team, just look at this list:
- Livakovic, 28 years old, according to many statistical indicators, the best goalkeeper at the world cup in Qatar
- Stanisic, defender in Bayern, 23 years old
- Guardiol, defender in Leipzig, 21 years old, will soon become the most expensive defender in the world
- Sosa, a defender in Stuttgart, 25 years old, the German Football Association wanted him to play for the German national team
- Lovro Majer, currently one of the best young midfielders in the world, 20 years old, Rennes
- Kovacic, 28 years old, Chelsea, one of the best midfielders in the world

I could continue the list with a few more very young and promising young Croatian players. Croatia, a team with old players? Think again, but let's talk based on facts, not opinions, please.

[Sithara007]

It seems to me that many people predict the success of national teams in major competitions based on the size of the country and past sporting success, rather than the current reality.
What have the Netherlands, Spain, Germany or Denmark achieved in the last 10 years in any competition? On what basis are they favorites compared to Croatia, which is the current participant in the final tournament of the League of Nations in June and the winner of two consecutive medals at the last 2 world cups in football?
When I read the sports predictions on this forum ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, some members even predicted that Croatia had no chance of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition, and they considered Belgium and Canada to be favorites in the group. We know very well how it ended, from the group, Croatia and Morocco advanced to the knockout phase of the competition.
Such sports predictions, which are not based on concrete facts and reality but on the size and popularity of some country, should not be taken seriously.
As for the story of the age of the Croatian national team, just look at this list:
- Livakovic, 28 years old, according to many statistical indicators, the best goalkeeper at the world cup in Qatar
- Stanisic, defender in Bayern, 23 years old
- Guardiol, defender in Leipzig, 21 years old, will soon become the most expensive defender in the world
- Sosa, a defender in Stuttgart, 25 years old, the German Football Association wanted him to play for the German national team
- Lovro Majer, currently one of the best young midfielders in the world, 20 years old, Rennes
- Kovacic, 28 years old, Chelsea, one of the best midfielders in the world

I could continue the list with a few more very young and promising young Croatian players. Croatia, a team with old players? Think again, but let's talk based on facts, not opinions, please.

I agree with Daniel91.

A lot of people have a habit of overlooking Croatia, partly because it is a small country and partly due to it's location (in the Balkans). The future looks bright, with younger players such as Stanisic and Guardiol already making an impact at international level. On the other hand, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium are still dependent on a few players who are well in to their 30s. The logic of saying that Croatia is primarily comprised of older players is due to the fact that their most famous players such as Ivan Perišić and Luka Modrić are near retirement. The younger players are not as famous as these two. But this conception will change in due course of time.

[el kaka22]

All those players for Crotia are a bit one sided, Gvardiol becoming the best defender in the world? Livakovic best goalkeeper? It has been talked about before, France is still by far better even for the long term, and yes Croatia is a good team but that doesn't mean they are the best team, they were finalist in the previous world cup and they were at semi finals this one, that is their level and that's a good one, there is nobody doubting them as a good team, they are good, but to think that they are the best would be a dream and not the reality.

Realize that they are missing a superstar that can change any game like Mbappe and you could figure out what's their problem is. Argentina barely won, but they did, and that's what matters in the end result.

[Distraction]

I agree that Croatia aren't one of the teams to be underestimated at all. First of all it is true that they haven't been much successful in Euro tournaments recently. They couldn't even get past 1/8-finals twice in the most recent tournaments. However their performance in the recent two World Cups has been very impressive. First the finale and this time semi finals.

With the player pool they have it isn't impossible for them to have a good success in a Euro tournament also finally. There are really skilled Croatian players now and my expectation level from them has increased by their nice work in the latest World Cup.

They just need to break a leg finally by Euro 2024. They have the potential to play for the finale.

[Sithara007]

I agree that Croatia aren't one of the teams to be underestimated at all. First of all it is true that they haven't been much successful in Euro tournaments recently. They couldn't even get past 1/8-finals twice in the most recent tournaments. However their performance in the recent two World Cups has been very impressive. First the finale and this time semi finals.

With the player pool they have it isn't impossible for them to have a good success in a Euro tournament also finally. There are really skilled Croatian players now and my expectation level from them has increased by their nice work in the latest World Cup.

They just need to break a leg finally by Euro 2024. They have the potential to play for the finale.

Well.. if they are skilled enough to reach the final of FIFA World Cup in 2018, and semi-final of the 2022 edition, then repeating the same in Euro 2024 is not going to be something that is impossible. In general, most of the UEFA teams are undergoing a decline. Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Danmark are a few examples. Croatia is one of the few teams (along with France and England) who are moving in the other direction. But I would like to see how they sustain this growth in the long term, given the location of the country within Europe and the extremely small population size. 

[Daniel91]

I agree that Croatia aren't one of the teams to be underestimated at all. First of all it is true that they haven't been much successful in Euro tournaments recently. They couldn't even get past 1/8-finals twice in the most recent tournaments. However their performance in the recent two World Cups has been very impressive. First the finale and this time semi finals.

With the player pool they have it isn't impossible for them to have a good success in a Euro tournament also finally. There are really skilled Croatian players now and my expectation level from them has increased by their nice work in the latest World Cup.

They just need to break a leg finally by Euro 2024. They have the potential to play for the finale.

Well.. if they are skilled enough to reach the final of FIFA World Cup in 2018, and semi-final of the 2022 edition, then repeating the same in Euro 2024 is not going to be something that is impossible. In general, most of the UEFA teams are undergoing a decline. Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Danmark are a few examples. Croatia is one of the few teams (along with France and England) who are moving in the other direction. But I would like to see how they sustain this growth in the long term, given the location of the country within Europe and the extremely small population size. 

I agree. At the last EURO, Croatia was unlucky in the first game of the knockout phase of the competition, losing to Spain after extra time.
However, we have won medals at two consecutive world championships, which only France has managed to do, and this is a confirmation of the quality of the Croatian national team, which continuously achieves great results at major competitions, and it can no longer be said that this is a matter of chance or luck.
In the last edition of the League of Nations, Croatia even beat France away from home and won first place in the group ahead of Denmark, France and Austria. Croatia even saved France from being relegated to the lower tier of the competition by beating Austria in the last round of the competition.
So, at the last 3 major competitions, Croatia achieved great results and showed that it has continuity and the necessary quality for the greatest achievements.
I think it's time to stop underestimating Croatia and to show respect for all that they have achieved recently.