Euro Cup 2020: Group C Preview
In Virgil Van Dijk's absence, all eyes will turn to his Liverpool teammate Georginio Wijnaldum to lead the Dutch in a bid to return to glory.
Netherlands
FIFA Rank: #16
Qualified as: 2nd place in Group C
The Skinny
Like fellow co-hosts Italy, the Netherlands have, despite historically being one of the most successful international teams, had a rollercoaster experience with international tournaments in the last 15 years. In 2006 and 2008, the Dutch blazed through the group stages, only to be upset in the next round. In 2010, they reached the World Cup Final, only to finish last in their group at the Euro Cup two years later. 2014 saw a 3rd-place finish at the World Cup, only for them to miss out on Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018 altogether. Can The Oranje mark their long-awaited return to the mainstage with a deep run here? Well, the loss of star defender Virgil Van Dijk to injury doesn't help, but this is still a squad rife with talent, in a fairly easy group, playing their matches at home in Amsterdam. Needles to say, they're group favorites.
The Best XI
Again, the loss of Van Dijk is nothing short of monumental; the Liverpool man isn't considered the World's best defender for no reason. Fortunately for the Dutch, they have other good options in defense in Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt and Manchester City's Nathan Aké. Another unfortunate omission is Valencia keeper Jasper Cilessen, who was forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID test; however, Norwich City man and Premier League voyager Tim Krul is a capable stand-in. The attack will probably fall largely on Lyon man Memphis Depay, with the possible supplement of Sevilla striker Luuk de Jong. However, there will be no shortage of talent in the midfield to supply them; helmed by Barcelona wunderkind Frenkie de Jong, the midfield could also consist of Atalanta's Marten de Roon and Manchester United's Donny van de Beek, and almost surely will be led by Gini Wijnaldum, who features for the Dutch in a much more advanced role than he tended to in Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.
Austria
FIFA Rank: #23
Qualified as: 2nd Place in Group G
The Skinny
Austria's footballing history is long (they played in just the 2nd World Cup ever), but fairly barren. Das Team hasn't advanced past the group stage of any major tournament since 1982, not even in Euro 2008, when they co-hosted, nor 5 years ago, when they were the 2nd-highest ranked team in their group. With proven players at every position, and another relatively non-competitive group, this may be their best shot yet at snapping the nearly 40-year slump.
The Best XI
I mentioned earlier that this may be Austria's best chance at making the knockout stages in a while; it may also be their last good chance in a while. This is not a particularly young squad, with the mild exceptions of Lepzig's Marcel Sabitzer, Mönchengladbach's Valentino Lazaro and Watford's Daniel Bachmann. The upside to that fact is veteran experience at key positions: talismanic striker Marko Arnautović up top. Captain Julian Baumgartlinger in the center of the midfield. Bayern Munich legend David Alaba in the defensive midfield, and Red Bull Salzburg's Andreas Ulmer and Bayer Leverkeusen's Aleksandar Dragović in the defense.
Ukraine
FIFA Rank: #24
Qualified as: 1st Place in Group B
The Skinny
After their shocking quarterfinal run in the 2006 World Cup, Ukraine failed to generate any sort of momentum, either finishing last place in their group (even when co-hosts of the 2012 Euro Cup) or missing the dance altogether with each ensuing major tournament. With a squad short on household names, it's perhaps hard to see the Yellow and Blue bucking that trend this year. However, their unbeaten run through qualifying--in a group that included defending champions Portugal --opened some eyes, and in a group lacking any truly dominant sides, anything is possible.
The Best XI
They might be short on those household names, but they're not totally lacking them: Manchester City's Oleksandr Zinchenko is the most obvious, and while he usually features at LB for City, the multitude of left-backs selected by manager Andriy Shevchenko indicates he might push further up in attack. Speaking of attack, Ukraine's could theoretically include strikers from Genk and West Ham in Yaremchuk and Yarmolenko, respectively, and the midfield is likely to see Atalanta's Ruslan Malinovskyi. Otherwise, this is a squad heavy on Ukrainian-based players, and most from reigning champions Shakhtar Donetsk make my Best XI, most notably goalie and captain Andriy Pyatov.
North Macedonia
FIFA Rank: #62
Qualified as: 3rd Place in Group G; League D Path playoff winner
The Skinny
If seeing Finland in yesterday's Group B preview wasn't jarring enough for you, here's a new one: North Macedonia (formerly named the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), making their first major tournament appearance as an independent nation! The Lions' qualification was a roundabout one; they missed out on automatic qualification by failing to finish in the top two of their group, but thanks to their 2018-19 Nations League success, got a second chance via the playoff. In said playoff, they triumphed over fellow upstarts Kosovo and Georgia to notch their historic achievement. Can they make a Cinderella run in this tournament? It'd be one of the all-time Euro upsets, but we've seen the unthinkable at this tournament before. Regardless, I think the Macedonians will just be proud to be here.
The Best XI
It won't surprise you to hear that North Macedonia is short on recognizable names. Most fútbol fans will recognize at least one though: captain and longtime Inter Milan star Goran Pandev leads the line up top. Most of North Macedonia's squad play in some of the lesser leagues across Europe, but there are some noteworthy cubs represented at various positions, such as Napoli (Elmas) Leeds United (Alioski), Mallorca (Trajkovski), and Stuttgart (Churlinov).
Group Prediction
With all due respect to the three non-Dutch sides, this is probably the easiest group of all to predict the winner and loser for. It will be a genuine shock if anyone but the Netherlands top Group C, and if anyone but North Macedonia bring up the rear. The real drama is whether Ukraine or Austria can snag 2nd place and the automatic entry to the Round of 16. Ukraine honestly has more of a proven track record, but I'm rolling with Austria's 'Last Dance' story, and predicting they finally break through to the next stage.
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