We are now almost halfway with the Euros with the tournament starting to take shape.
As some teams have managed to secure their place in knockouts, others are still chasing hard.
After two matchdays and only one to go before we move on to the knockouts, let’s see how the 24 teams are doing coming into the final matchday.
1. Germany (previous position: 1)
With the game being declared a “Party of Pink” by German newspaper Kicker, Germany became the first team to ensure their place in the Round of 16 with a win against Hungary.
Jamal Musiala is showing why he’s the favourite for the young player of the tournament and became the first player at the tournament to have scored multiple goals.
They played in the first game of matchday 3 and secured top of the group with Switzerland second.
2. Spain (previous position: 3)
When your manager declares that a 1-0 win against Italy “might be the best game we’ve played of all the ones I’ve coached” that shows how impressive their performance was.
Spain did well to ensure that the ball stayed in their attacking third helping ensure repeat opportunities.
Compared to their first game against Croatia where they only had three recoveries within their attacking third, Spain would have 10 attacking third recoveries against Italy contributing to their 20 overall shots nearly doubling the 11 against Croatia.
With that win against Italy, it assures their place in the Round of 16 which will see them play the runner-up of Group A.
3. France (previous position: 2)
The potential to claim the first position in Group D was a possibility for France if they could defeat the Netherlands and despite having the opportunities to do so it ended 0-0.
Antoine Griezmann had three clear-cut opportunities on goal but was not able to convert those opportunities.
4. Portugal (previous position: 5)
Once again, Portugal demonstrated why they are one of the favourites to win the competition with a dominant 3-0 win against Turkey.
After scoring their first with ease, they would then be gifted with another through the unfortunate error from Turkey’s Samet Akaydin which helped make things easier for Portugal within the match.
And then Bruno Fernandes secured the match up for Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo assisting.
This means Ronaldo has both the most goals and most assists records for the Euros .
With their two wins, they are through to the Round of 16 with the top spot of Group F which will see them play one of third place teams from either Group A, B or C.
5. England (previous position: 4)
The English press has had a field day with what has been deemed another underwhelming performance with the i newspaper on their front page declaring Denmark – 1 Handbrake – 1 being just some of the reaction.
In the first 18 minutes resulting in a Harry Kane goal, England would have far greater chances in attacking opportunities with five penalty area entries to one, 72 passes within their own attacking half to 38.
But in the 18 minutes after, we saw England do a complete reversal. Denmark would have 104 passes in their attacking half to England’s seven and created five shots at goal with four being within the penalty area.
However, as on brand for this Euros, the shot from outside the penalty area would be the one that went in.
Although not securing the top spot, a top-two finish in the group appears likely.
6. Netherlands (previous position: 7)
In their last match they produced plenty of chances but not enough on target compared to this match against France where they did not have many chances but got more on target.
However, this would only result in a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands having the only shot that went in, only to be disallowed for offside.
In their game against Poland, from the 21 shots they created four which would be on target with a conversion of 19.04%.
Against France, while they again had four shots on target this would come from 8 shots providing a conversion rate of 50%.
With the first three places still up for grabs within Group D, they will play Austria in their final group match with a draw being enough to finish second and a win would likely see them finish first.
Even if they were to lose, they would most likely qualify as one of the best third-placed teams due to being on four points.
7. Italy (previous position: 6)
Had it not been for their captain Gianluigi Donnarumma, the scoreline could have been worse for Italy.
The PSG keeper made eight saves helping keep Italy within a goal after conceding the own goal after already committing to deflecting the cross from Nico Williams which fell onto Riccardo Calafiori’s knee.
Italy were just outplayed by the better team. From possession, shot on goals, successful dribbles, passing accuracy, ball recoveries the list goes on and on.
It does create an interesting showdown against Croatia who need to win to make it to the knockouts which they could do at the expense of Azzurri making them the first champions since Greece in Euro 2008 to be knocked out in the group stage in the following tournament.
8. Switzerland (previous position: 9)
Poor communication between Yann Sommer and Fabian Schär would see Switzerland concede Scotland’s only goal proving to be costly as they ended by drawing a game they would have expected to win.
It would require a special goal from Xherdan Shaqiri to get Switzerland a point out of this match. This means he has scored a goal in every major international tournament he has been a part of stretching back to the 2014 World Cup.
Switzerland also joins Belgium in the annoyed with VAR club as alongside them would have two goals disallowed based on the semi-automated offside system in use.
Their draw against Germany on matchday 3 saw them progress in second place.
9. Belgium (previous position: 11)
Belgium was quick to ensure that there would be no repeat of their Slovakia match by getting on the score sheet early.
In fact, within the first two minutes, Youri Tielemans would strike a thunderbolt which could not have been more perfectly placed to avoid deflection and got passed the keeper giving Belgium what proved to be an unassailable lead.
While Tielemans would start strong for Belgium, it would be Kevin De Bruyne who would run the show.
His performance included five shots for one goal.
10. Croatia (previous position: 8)
Croatia would be kicking themselves not to have taken three points against Albania after coming home strong.
After going down 1-0 at the 11th-minute mark, Croatia was able to turn the game to 2-1 up between the 74th and 76th-minute marks.
But a last-minute equaliser from Klaus Gjasula in added time would change Croatia’s fate and leave Group C wide open.
In terms of goalscoring, Croatia should be far better from a purely stats perspective.
From expected goal stats, Croatia ranks first with 4.7 and has the second most shots on goal with 13 from 36 yet only have one goal scored of their own.
In their last group match against Italy, they will need to be able to convert those expected goals into actual to qualify for the knockout stages for their 5th consecutive time at a major men’s tournament.
11. Austria (previous position: 12)
Austria probably should have been far further than what a 1-1 scoreline at halftime suggested, it would be the second half where Austria would separate themselves and convert their chance to go on to win 3-1.
An improvement in shot accuracy from 50% in the first half to 66.67% in the second half would help provide more challenges to the Polish defence ultimately resulting in two goals in the second half with one from Christoph Baumgartner and the other a penalty by Marko Arnautovic.
Austria is currently second in goal-creating actions within the tournament with six with both Marcel Sabitzer and Phillipp Mwene averaging one goal-creating action a game also providing consistent chances throughout their matches.
Playing against the Netherlands in their last group match will be must-see TV with the result of the match likely confirming either team’s knockout place.
12. Denmark (previous position: 10)
Denmark has managed to get some revenge back albeit small against England after their semi-final defeat in the last Euros with a draw.
While conceding first, Denmark would capitalise on England’s more defensive play by having more attacking opportunities which culminated in a Morten Hjulmand goal on the 34th minute mark.
Christian Eriksen once again was an important piece to these attacking opportunities with seven shot-creating actions.
And Pierre-Emile Højbjerg would manage to contribute on the shot-making side with four out of the seven shots on goal coming from the Tottenham man which were all long-range efforts.
They have Serbia to play on the last matchday in a now wide-open Group C after their draw.
Despite being tied with Slovenia, Denmark is currently in second through having fewer fair play points than Slovenia which puts it in the box seat for second and a potential Round of 16 clash with Germany or Switzerland.
13. Ukraine (previous position: 15)
After a disappointing opening to their Euro 2024 campaign against Romania, the Ukraine coming into their match against Slovakia were hoping to rebound and avoid being eliminated from the tournament.
With 40 minutes to go and being 1-0 down, it was unsure whether or not the Ukraine would be able to get a result.
Enter Mykola Shaparenko who at the 53rd-minute mark was waiting in the middle as Oleksandr Zinchenko sent a pass into the penalty box which found his left foot and was tucked away into the bottom left-hand corner to draw level.
And then in the 80th minute, he would create a lofted pass into the penalty area which found Roman Yaremchuk who controlled the ball and tapped it past Martin Dúbravka to win the game for the Ukraine.
While they may sit last within Group E on goal difference, Ukraine can still feasibly finish first but needs to beat Belgium to do so.
14. Hungary (previous position: 13)
It happened to Turkey in 2020 and Austria in 2016 and the curse of the dark horse might just be happening to Hungary in 2024.
After their loss to Germany, they now sit at the bottom of Group A.
While they did lose, they had more attacking opportunities than they had against Switzerland.
Against Germany, they managed ten attempts at goal compared to six in their first match. They would also correlate with a higher rate of passes forward with 63.6% of all passes going forward which was better than Germany’s 56.1%
They beat Scotland on matchday 3 to finish third in the group and have an outside chance of qualification for the round of 16.
15. Serbia (previous position: 14)
Luka Jovic would be the super sub that Serbia scored in the final moment of the game to give Serbia its first points for the tournament.
In his first goal for the national team since 2022, Jovic managed to get his head to the ball from a corner and catch out Jan Oblak to equalise in a thrilling 1-1.
While Jovic was able to convert his opportunity, the same cannot be said for Serbia’s other star forwards despite multiple opportunities.
With nine out of the fifteen attempts at goal coming from their star forwards Aleksandar Mitrović and Dušan Vlahović showed good chance creation but were wide of the goal or shut out by Oblak.
If their starting forwards can convert their chances against Denmark then they are a real chance for one of the best third-place positions
16. Romania (previous position: 16)
After the high of winning their first game at a major tournament since 2000, Romania would be brought back slightly to reality with a 2-nil loss to Belgium.
After conceding in the first two minutes of the game, Romania was on the back foot and struggled to find ways of getting the ball forward, particularly in the first half would see them have better opportunities throughout the game.
Belgium would manage to achieve 29 final third entries with 19 of those becoming penalty area entries while Romania in the first half could only get ten final third entries with eight of those becoming penalty area entries.
In the second half, Romania was far better at coming forward but was not able to get that to show on the scoreboard as they managed 22 final third entries and 11 penalty area entries compared to Belgium’s 21 and 8 respectively.
They will play Slovakia on the final matchday for a top-two spot in Group E.
17. Slovakia (previous position: 17)
Slovakia certainly had their chances to win the game against Ukraine but were just not able to finish them off leaving the door open.
Whilst having equal shots at goal to Ukraine with seven, Slovakia would have five of those on target compared to Ukraine’s two resulting in a goal.
But Ukraine would find a way in the second half to win the game by finding more penalty area entries.
If they had won, they would have locked up a place in the Round of 16.
But with the loss, their position has changed.
To confirm their spot without doubt they will need to beat Romania who they play last in Group E.
They can progress with a draw which would likely mean that they qualify through one of the best third-place finishers with four points.
18. Slovenia (previous position: 19)
With a header from Luka Jovic in the last seconds of the game, Slovenia goes from joy to horror as their first win in Euros history is snatched before their eyes.
After scoring from a counterattack which started and ended with Zan Karničnik to put Slovenia in the lead, it looked like they might be able to muster a win but just fell short having to settle for a draw.
Once again, the Slovenian defence was well in action helping keep Slovenia in the game.
Against Serbia, they managed to block eight out of the fifteen shots they had at goal also having 36 clearances. These are both areas that Slovenia led the tournament with 13 shots blocked and 63 clearances completed
They will need that defensive effort to shine through against England to get themselves into the knockouts.
19. Czechia (previous position: 18)
Czechia was most likely expecting to walk into their game against Georgia in Hamburg, score a couple of goals and, walk away with three points and be sitting in second place of Group F.
Instead, they got Czech-mated by the debutants only getting one point.
It is very rare for a side to generate 27 shots at goal and only manage to get one goal but that’s what transpired over the space of 90 minutes for Czechia.
And the goal they scored would be through Patrik Schick embodying being at the right place at the right time as the ball would bounce off the post onto his chest and into the goal.
Czechia will now need a win against Turkey to most likely get into second place and with anything else leaving them vulnerable to missing out on a best third-place finish into the knockouts.
20. Turkey (previous position: 20)
At the beginning of the game for Turkey, they would be marred with continual loss of possession within their own defensive half helping Portugal get into the game and helping them on their way to a 3-nil win against Turkey.
In the first 20 minutes of the game, Turkey would lose possession in their defensive half seven times compared to Portugal’s one.
This would help Portugal more entries within the final third and penalty area which would see Turkey concede the first goal as a result of the continual pressure.
And it only got worse for Turkey after Samet Akaydin scored a horrendous own goal from outside the box which doubled Portugal’s lead.
After slipping from first to now second place in Group F, it sets up a final matchday showdown with Czechia.
Turkey only needs a draw to take out second place which would see them play the winner of Group D.
21. Scotland (previous position: 22)
The Tartan Army had a far better game than they did against Germany, and it saw them earn their first point for the tournament against Switzerland.
Changing their format from a 3-4-3 to a 5-4-1 with Billy Gilmour coming in to replace Ryan Christie helped provide more support behind the ball as Scotland brought the ball forward for attacking opportunities.
With more possession with the middle third, they saw their entries into the penalty area double from 11 against Germany to 24 against Switzerland helping result in a Scott McTominay goal (albeit heavily deflected).
Scotland’s loss to Hungary on matchday 3 saw them eliminated.
22. Poland (Previous Position: 21)
Poland became the first team at this year’s Euros to be eliminated after a 3-1 loss to Austria.
After being dominated for the majority of the first half, in particular the first 25 minutes, Poland would manage to nab a goal off a rebound within the 18-yard box through Krzysztof Piątek helping level the score going into half-time.
However, that would be short lived with Austria just being more clinical in comparison.
While they are not able to make the knockouts themselves, they can influence the way in which Group D is formed.
If they can manage to take some points in either a draw or win against France, then it might just throw a spanner into the works for the knockout stages.
23. Albania (Previous Position: 23)
In the span of 20 minutes, Klaus Gjasula went from zero to hero for Albania keeping their knockout chances alive albeit slim.
After being substituted in the 73rd minute, he would score an own goal after three minutes later after being in the firing line of a clearance from an Albanian defender which would go back into the goal.
Then 22 minutes later, with a Croatia deflection from Mario Mitaj’s pass into the box, Gjasula is able to place the ball into the left-hand corner for the draw.
While Albania did not possess much of the ball throughout the game, they made sure to turn it into opportunities, particularly in the first half.
Their eight shots at goal with three on target with only 30% possession resulting in a goal would outdo Croatia’s five shots with one target on 70% possession.
While unlikely to progress out of Group B, there is still a possibility with a win against Spain they can qualify through a third-place finish.
24. Georgia (Previous Position: 24)
Georgia have achieved some more history for themselves managing to pick up their first point in a major international tournament following a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic.
Many of us will be wondering what could have been had Saba Lobjanidze been able to convert the Georgian breakaway in the dying stages for a 2-1 win.
He would have sent Tbilisi into a state of delirium. But at least they have a point.
The main reason that even allowed them the possibility to win was their keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
He would have to deal with 27 shots at goal seeing him make 10 saves, which would see him pick up the man of the match award and rightfully so.
Their knockout chances are still alive but need to pull the mother of all upsets against Portugal.