UEFA Euro 2024 Preview: Bracket Breakdown & Staff Predictions (2024)

This article is part of our UEFA EURO 2024 series.

League seasons finished only weeks ago, yet UEFA Euro 2024 starts June 14 with host nation Germany taking on Scotland. As usual, RotoWire Soccer is covering the tournament from player notes on injuries to DFS and betting articles and podcasts. You can find injury news,projected lineups and cheat sheets straight from the homepage.

Below you'll find group and knockout round projections from seven of our writers, as well as a write up on each group. Can Germany win at home or is this the year for England? Or maybe more success is ahead for Kylian Mbappe and France? It's anyone's best guess...

GROUP STAGES

GROUP A

Tournament hosts Germany are the heavy favorites to win the group, but it's not an easy draw, as Hungary and Scotland were the first- and second-ranked teams in their respective pots. Die Mannschaft haven't failed to make it out of a Euro group since 2004 and this year figures to be more of the same. Hungary went undefeated in qualifying and will look to ride that wave into a second-place finish, while Scotland and Switzerland struggled a bit more in qualification. -Scholz

GROUP B

Three teams in Group B find themselves within the top 10 of betting favorites to win the tournament. Spain are favored to win the group after only losing once in qualification. However, Italy and Croatia don't trail far behind in terms of odds, with both finishing second in their qualifying groups. Both also have plenty experienced squads after Croatia made the 2018 World Cup final and Italy won the 2020 Euros.

It's hard to see one bouncing out in group stages, though whoever finishes third still has a good chance to qualify for knockouts. The lone outlier in the group is Albania, who will be lucky to receive a point, only having qualified for the tournament once before in 2018. -Van Dinter

GROUP C

Group C looks relatively straightforward. England are among the tournament favorites even after Gareth Southgate named an inexperienced squad. Granted, that doesn't mean much when Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Harry Kane are all in the side. Their path to topping the group is simple: get their absurdity of offensive talents firing on all cylinders.

Denmark face a rockier road as a side in transition. Christian Eriksen is on the wrong side of 30 and out of form, while Rasmus Hojlund is promising but inconsistent at best. On paper they have enough talent to upset anyone and all it takes is one striker finding form to catapult Denmark on a dark-horse run. -Faletti

GROUP D

France are the favorite to top the group led by superstar and newly-signed Real Madrid player, Mbappe. France are also a favorite to win the entire tournament, as they introduce another young group of players while still including veterans like Antoine Griezmann, N'Golo Kante, and Olivier Giroud. It's assumed they'll have an easy path to first place in the group with the Netherlands expected to be the only serious competitor.

The Netherlands are hoping to build off some of their 2022 World Cup success when they fell to Argentina in the quarterfinals. Austria also can't be underestimated after ending qualifiers with wins over Germany and Turkey while finishing just one point behind Belgium. Despite David Alaba still recovering from an ACL injury, Austria have an experienced, talented team. -Vairo

GROUP E

Belgium might not be the team they once were, and there are some severe question marks with their imbalance between defense and attack, but they should have enough to secure first in Group E.

There's a lot of parity between the other teams in this group, but Ukraine might have a leg up in the battle for second due to their individual quality in names such as Mykhailo Mudryk, who scored the qualifying goal in the playoffs, and Artem Dovbyk, who ended the 2023/24 La Liga season as the top scorer (24 goals with Girona). -Aravena

GROUP F

Group F is intriguing with a major favorite in Portugal, the sixth-ranked team in the world, followed by three nations in Turkey, Georgia and Czech Republic who could all make it out of the group. Portugal have an aging core but have enough talent to rightfully be favored, while the parity between the other three nations could make this foursome one of the best to follow throughout the early stages. Turkey and Czechia will likely battle it out for the runner-up spot but don't count out Georgia who have enough talent to overcome the odds and qualify for the knockout stage. -Sexton

Visit RotoWire throughout the Euros for exclusive sports betting picks and remember that betting apps vary in terms of odds, so we have an easy-to-use odds page that allows you to shop for the best lines at DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and PointsBet. You can also use the WynnBET promo code for $100 in free bets.

KNOCKOUT ROUNDS

ROUND OF 16

Group A Winner vs. Group B Winner

Most of our writers are thinking Spain and Germany will easily coast through group play en route to the quarterfinals. Germany are playing at home and Spain are annually a top team. However, neither has been elite in recent tournaments, so upsets wouldn't be surprising for this matchup.

Group F Winner vs. Group D/E

Portugal get the edge of playing a runner-up in the quarterfinals, if they make it there, something five of our writers are projecting. Their possible quarterfinal opponent is a little less certain, though the Netherlands seem like the favorite if they finish behind France in Group D.

Group D Winner vs. Group E Winner

All seven of our writers have England and France reaching the quarterfinals. France have had the most World Cup success of any country during the last two tournaments, though they couldn't escape the Round of 16 in the last Euros.

Belgium are France's most likely quarterfinal opponent, depending on how Group E finishes. Given the age of the squad and some nervy results in recent tournaments, France's quarterfinal opponent could go in a variety of directions.

Group C Winner vs. Group A/B

England continue to make it far in every knockout tournament, yet they haven't been able to win it all. They get the bonus of facing a runner-up in the quarterfinal, which has a wide range, according to our writers. Italy seem most likely if they finish behind Spain in Group B, but that's a big forecast for the winners of the last Euros.

QUARTERFINALS

The biggest surprise out of the quarterfinals is that only two of our writers have Germany advancing, while France and England are the most popular picks to keep it going. The top of the bracket seems a little more wide open with Spain facing either Portugal or Netherlands being the most likely result from our picks.

SEMIFINALS

Our two writers who initially took Germany are going all in on them playing at home. From there, many decisions had to be made between France and England with both drawing three picks each from our writers. Spain and the Netherlands were the other two most picked teams from the top of the bracket.

FINAL

My pick is Germany at home in the Olympiastadion over England. Both sides have a ridiculous amount of attacking talent. Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Harry Kane match up against Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. The uncertainty for England is their somewhat lack of experience. Jordan Henderson, Reece James, and Raheem Sterling were all left in England, signaling a passing of the torch in leadership. The Germans were in a similar boat at World Cup 2022, but now they have that experience under their belts and they've brought back Toni Kroos from international retirement, and Manuel Neuer from injury. Those experienced pieces combined with the talent in attack could be the perfect blend to see Germany back on top in front of the home crowd. Germany 3-1 England. -Faletti

The favorites heading into the tournament are England and I've seen nothing to dispute that pick. This squad is deep and filled with winners across Europe from Bellingham to Foden, among many others. There are no weaknesses in this squad and they should cruise through the group stage, including a possible sweep of all three matches which will set them up well to make it through the knockouts. England over Netherlands -Scholz

France had a heartbreaking end to their 2022 World Cup journey, losing in penalties to Argentina. They have one of the deepest rosters in the tournament with an average age of 28, which provides the experience and talent to challenge any opponent. England are a potential obstacle, however, along with Spain and Germany. The final could be a rematch of the Group D game between the Netherlands and France. I'll predict a 1-1 result with a penalty shootout where Les Bleus will prevail. France over Netherlands in PKs. -Vairo

I think France will be named European Champions this year, taking out Spain in the final. France have plenty of usuals in the squad like Griezmann and Mbappe, and they should have a fire lit under them after coming just short of winning the 2022 World Cup. With a stacked roster from goalkeeper to forward in addition to an incredibly deep bench, they'll be tough to knock off. Spain should give a decent fight, however, as their young generation of players mixed with the aging stars is bound to make a wave in the tournament. France over Spain. -Van Dinter

Despite having the fourth-best odds to win, I still view Spain as somewhat of an underdog. England are popular. Germany are at home. France have recent success. Spain haven't been terrible in recent tournaments, but they've lacked someone like Mbappe to score important goals. While that still may be the case, I think an injection of youth can provide something a little extra after a long season. Maybe Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal make that difference. Maybe Dani Olmo and Pedri can both stay healthy. Even then, Alvaro Morata is coming off one of his better seasons with Atletico Madrid. Spain 2-0 England. -Zdroik

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. AJ Scholz plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: bcswimmer10. Ethan Sexton plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: esexton18. Adam Zdroik plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: zdroik, DraftKings: rotozdroik, Yahoo: StreakMaster.