World Cup finalists France have been drawn in Euro 2024 Group D, alongside the Netherlands for the tournament in Germany.
France will undoubtedly be among the favourites to lift the trophy in July, while the Netherlands have not gone further than the quarter-finals since 2004 and will be looking to progress deep into the tournament.
Poland and Austria complete the group, and the latter lost just one match in qualifying, while Poland had to qualify via the play-offs, putting an end to Wales’ hopes with a penalty shoot-out victory after a goalless 120 minutes in Cardiff.
Here’s everything you need to know about Euro 2024 Group D:
Squads for Euro 2024
Netherlands
Goalkeepers: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Mark Flekken (Brentford), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)
Defenders: Nathan Ake (Man City), Daley Blind (Girona), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan)
Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), Jerdy Schouten (PSV), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), Joey Veerman (PSV), Georginio Wijnaldum (Al-Ettifaq)
Forwards: Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund), Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim)
France
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens)
Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Marseille), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), William Saliba (Arsenal), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco)
Forwards: Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain), Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan)
Poland
Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus), Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna), Marcin Bulka (Nice)
Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Bartosz Bereszynski (Empoli), Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal), Tymoteusz Puchacz (Kaiserlsuatern), Bartosz Salamon (Lech Poznan), Pawel Dawidowicz (Verona), Sebastian Walukiewicz (Empoli)
Midfielders: Kamil Grosicki (Pogon Szczecin), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Przemyslaw Frankowski (Lens), Sebastian Szymanski (Fenerbahce), Jakub Moder (Brighton), Damian Szymanski (AEK Athens), Nicola Zalewski (Roma), Bartosz Slisz (Atlanta United), Michal Skoras (Club Bruges), Jakub Piotrowski (Ludogorets Razgrad), Taras Romanczuk (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Kacper Urbanski (Bologna)
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Karol Swiderski (Hellas Verona), Krzysztof Piatek (Istanbul Basaksehir), Adam Buksa (Antalyaspor)
Austria
Goalkeepers: Patrick Pentz (Bayer Leverkusen), Heinz Lindner (Sion), Niklas Hedl (Rapid Vienna)
Defenders: Stefan Posch (Bologna), Max Wober (Leeds United), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Kevin Danso (Lens), Phillipp Mwene (Mainz), Flavius Daniliuc (Salernitana), Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord), Leopold Querfeld (Rapid Vienna)
Midfielders: Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Christoph Baumgartner (RB Leipzig), Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich), Florian Kainz (Cologne), Nicolas Seiwald (RB Leipzig), Romano Schmid (Werder Bremen), Alexander Prass (Sturm Graz), Matthias Seidl (Rapid Vienna)
Forwards: Marko Arnautovic (Bologna), Michael Gregoritsch (Freiburg), Andreas Weimann (unattached), Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg), Marco Grull (Rapid Vienna), Maximilian Entrup (Hartberg)
Fixtures
16 June
14:00 Poland vs Netherlands (Hamburg)
17 June
20:00 Austria vs France (Düsseldorf)
21 June
17:00 Poland vs Austria (Berlin)
20:00 Netherlands vs France (Leipzig)
25 June
17:00 Netherlands vs Austria (Berlin)
17:00 France vs Poland (Dortmund)
Four players to watch
Netherlands: Jeremie Frimpong
Frimpong will be hoping his form for club Bayer Leverkusen translates onto the international stage. He has scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists for Xabi Alonso’s side from the defence.
France: Kylian Mbappe
The French forward will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season for Real Madrid, but having narrowly missed out on the World Cup, he will be a crucial part in France’s hopes for success this time around.
Austria: Konrad Laimer
Not much was expected from Konrad Laimer when he joined Bayern Munich from RB Leipzig on a free in 2023, but the midfielder has settled in well and even shone at the club, and will have a key role to play as his national side try and produce an upset in a difficult group.
Poland: Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski might be 35 years old, but he is set to lead the line for his national side at the upcoming tournament despite already holding the record for the most Poland goals at the tournament and most appearances.
Odds to win Group D
France 4/7
Netherlands 11/4
Austria 7/1
Poland 11/1
Prediction
Given their players, experience and stature France are almost sure to qualify from Group D and are most likely to be joined by the Netherlands.
