Jacob Stevens 
Euro 2024 Group C Preview. Design: Round Ball Australia
Group C will host a former Euros winner, last tournament’s runners-up and two sides who are making their first appearances in over two decades.
There’s the plucky Slovenia, a Denmark side looking to repeat their previous Euros success, the ever-expectant English and a Serbian side in complete and utter disarray.
Expect chaos, upsets, goals and above all else, the deafening cries that this time it’s finally coming home…
Slovenia
FIFA World Ranking: 57th
Best Euros Finish: Group stage (2000)
Slovenia are making only their second Euros finals appearance, the last coming back in 2000 under the guidance of current Uzbekistan coach Srecko Katanec.
They finished second in qualifying Group H, tied on points with Denmark, who finished above Slovenia on head-to-head.
Slovenia’s only two losses in qualification came to Denmark and Finland, the team amassing 22 points across the 10 games.
In the run in to the tournament proper, Slovenia has played friendlies against Bulgaria, which ended 1-1, and Armenia, which they won 2-1. They also faced traditional powerhouses Portugal in March, beating them 2-0 in a match that stats would otherwise suggest favoured the Portuguese.
Squad Profile
Slovenia are a team that whilst lack history in the competition, aren’t necessarily one to be taken lightly.
Young RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko led Slovenia’s attack in the qualifying stages, netting five goals, and his performances at club level have drawn interest from Premier League clubs.
Likewise, veteran goalkeeper and captain, Jan Oblak is the beating heart of the squad, which manager Matjaz Kek has built to focus on strong defensive performances.
Kek is currently in his second stint in charge of Slovenia, his first coming when he guided the nation to a World Cup appearance in 2010, where coincidentally they were also grouped with England.
Slovenia like to play in a highly-structured 4-4-2, using Oblak’s experience to command the backline and organise the team out of possession.
The focus on the ball is simply to generate chances for Sesko up front. The tall, imposing striker has drawn comparisons to Erling Haaland for his ability to finish chances and the threat he poses in the box.
Look for Slovenia to feed Sesko as much as possible – especially on the counter attack to keep their defensive shape solid.
Expectations
Slovenia will be pleased to have made the group stages of this tournament, considering their lack of history in major international competitions.
With Sesko up front and Oblak between the sticks, Kek will be looking to emulate the success he’s already achieved both here and in 2010, and push to go one better and get out of the group stages.
It won’t be easy for them, the game against Serbia the most obvious, on paper, to provide a favourable result for Slovenia, but as they showed in their result against Portugal in March, if they defend well enough they can beat anybody.
Slovenia are a near consensus to finish bottom of the group, but have all the tools necessary to complete an upset or two.
England
FIFA World Ranking: 4th
Best Euros Finish: Runners-up (2020)
England made light work of their qualification group for this edition of the Euros, going undefeated across the eight games. This included two wins over Italy, the team that beat them in the 2020 final.
Harry Kane looked unsurprisingly strong, netting eight times for the Three Lions. Bukayo Saka also showed his class, with four goals to his name.
In terms of form, the Three Lions dealt with Bosnia 3-0 in a friendly on June 3, but in the last international break drew with Belgium and lost to Brazil.
They also took a hit against Iceland in a 1-0 loss, potentially highlighting issues apparent in their system, squad and tactics just days out from the tournament’s start.
But, England will again be heading into the Euros with unbridled hope, ambition, optimism and above all else, expectation.
The nation, and its vast diaspora of expats, are waiting with baited breath to launch into cries that this time, it’s definitely coming home.
Squad Profile
It’s far from a given that England will make a deep run. While there is a plethora of young, exciting talent for manager Gareth Southgate to pick from up front, there are depth issues across the backline.
With star right back Ben White alienated from the squad and stalwart Harry Maguire missing due to injury, England have a weak defensive squad: a big sticking point for a team and manager that likes to play defensive football.
The other squad composition issue we will see is how to include the likes of Saka, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Anthony Gordon all into the one team.
There are echoes of the ‘Golden Generation’ about this dilemma, but it may not be in the nation’s best interests to simply play the two or three most purely talented, instead of those who fit the system and work together the best.
Manager Gareth Southgate is arguably the most divisive figure in English football at this point in time. His defensive, often negative football has drawn the ire of fans, but his performances in major tournaments speak for themselves.
It was only a decade ago that England were dumped out of the World Cup group stages with a whimper in Brazil, and since taking over in 2016, Southgate has taken England to a World Cup semi final (2018), quarter final (2022), and the Euros final (2020).
He may not have won anything, but he has overseen England’s rebuild into a genuine threat in international football for the first time since 1966.
But, with a wealth of quality in attacking areas, and a comparably weak defensive unit, this will prove a huge test of Southgate’s tactics.
And, as the recent match against Iceland showed, where England only managed one shot on target, Southgate could have all the attacking talent in the world and still struggle to build a team that can score from open play.
Expectations
The big question: is it coming home?
Well, there is absolutely no reason why it can’t. With some of the world’s best players in the squad, including Kane, Saka, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, England have no excuses not to play well.
But questions are continually raised over Southgate’s tactics, the weak defensive unit and the lack of midfield partners for Rice, for good reason.
England should be cruising through the group stages and make a deep run – with another appearance in the final a fair expectation.
But it would also be so terribly English to capitulate and drop out of the group stages.
Denmark
FIFA World Ranking: 21st
Best Euros Finish: Winners (1992)
Denmark found themselves in the same qualifying group as Slovenia, and their 2-1 victory there gave them the head-to-head advantage in the standings.
Their losses in qualification were 2-0 to Northern Ireland, and a 3-2 defeat to Kazakhstan.
In fact, none of Denmark’s games, aside from maybe their first match against San Marino, were comfortable, with many results relying on late goals and thin margins – hence a poor +9 goal difference for a team that topped their group.
But, this is a Danish team that has always had to fight against the odds. Their win in 1992 is a great example, as was their ability to make a deep run in Euro 2020 despite the shock surrounding Christian Eriksen’s on-pitch heart-attack.
Their recent form has been solid though, including wins over Scandinavian neighbours Norway and Sweden, with the Danes undefeated in their last 4 matches.
Squad Profile
This is a Danish squad simply dripping with Premier League talent.
Manchester United pair Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Højlund will look to bring their attacking qualities to the side, with Spurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg solidifying the centre of the park.
There’s also the Brentford quartet of Zanka, Mikkel Damsgaard, Christian Nørgaard and Mathias Jensen to add quality depth to the defence and midfield.
Manager Kasper Hjulmand was at the helm when Denmark made the semi-finals in 2020, their best finish since winning the competition as underdogs in 1992.
Hjulmand has experimented with his tactics and formations over qualification and the latest friendlies, with experienced names like Eriksen and Højbjerg seeing more of the bench than the pitch.
Communication, relationships between players and leadership are core tenets to Hjulmand’s footballing philosophy, which has seen him garner the support of the Danish public.
And it’s for these reasons that despite chopping and changing tactics to experiment, and due to injuries, the Danes have managed to battle through qualification rounds and continue to show glimpses of strong form.
Expect the likes of Højlund to make an impact in Germany, alongside talented Wolfsburg forward Jonas Wind.
Expectations
Breaking out of the group stages is probably about as much to realistically expect from this Denmark team.
They’re talented, there’s no doubt about that, but several key players, such as Eriksen and Kjaer, have missed chunks for rotation and injury issues, and some of the younger talents are inexperienced at this level and inconsistent otherwise.
All it takes is one moment to galvanise the squad though, and as we saw in 2020 they can make a deep run and surprise a few people.
Expect to see a Round of 16 appearance for Denmark at a minimum, with a quarter final still achievable given a favourable match-up.
Serbia
FIFA World Ranking: 33rd
Best Euros Finish: as Yugoslavia: Runners-up (1960, 1968); as Serbia and Montenegro: Quarter-finals (2000); as Serbia: First appearance
Serbia are making their first appearance in the Euros as Serbia, and their first in any capacity since 2000.
They squeezed their way through qualification in what was arguably one of the weakest groups, twice losing to Hungary and also struggling to beat a weak Bulgarian side.
Their more recent form hasn’t been much better, a 3-0 win over Sweden proving only consolation after a disappointing 2-1 loss to Austria a few days earlier.
Friendlies in the previous international break weren’t too convincing either, with a 4-0 loss to Russia followed by a narrow 1-0 escape over Cyprus.
Squad Profile
Serbian manager Dragan Stojkovic is, perhaps foolishly, confident in his side’s ability to score goals.
He has a very attacking style – often happy to concede bucketloads of goals knowing that his team can just go up the other end to score.
And, he does have players such as Dusan Vlahovic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Tadic in the squad, but Stojkovic’s side has shown that they’re perhaps not as good at scoring goals as he seems to think; scoring only 15 in a very weak qualifying group.
On the other hand, they’re exactly as bad at defending as he assumes. It makes for exciting matches, but doesn’t make for consistent results or guaranteed wins.
Stojkovic has also made claims that this team has a mental fortitude that allows them to win games, which has yet to be displayed.
In fact it has been shown to be incorrect, with a capitulation against Cameroon in the last World Cup, and struggles against poor teams in Euros qualification, suggesting rather the opposite.
Naturally, Stojkovic has drawn the ire of fans, including former Serbian great Nemanja Vidic, who has questioned why Stojkovic’s salary is so large.
But this tension, disagreement and division might play into Serbia’s hands, who through chaos and with nothing to lose might be able to have a bit of fun.
Expectations
Serbia have always had high expectations – it’s a football mad country, with historically good players and middling results.
But, for the first time in a long time, they’ll be heading into a tournament with basically no expectations.
They scraped through qualification, have a coach the public don’t like, and play a chaotic style of football that could lead to any number of results.
It’s not a recipe for success, but could prove effective in a weaker group with neither Slovenia nor Denmark at the top of their game.
They’d be lucky to get out of the group, but it’s not yet a foregone conclusion.