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Euro 2020: Assessing the Early Favourites to the Win the Tournament Following the Nations League
The Euros and the World Cup are the two competitions European football fans most eagerly anticipate, but we haven't been short of international action whilst we await the start of Euro 2020.
England, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal recently competed in the finals of the first ever UEFA Nations League, with Portugal being crowned champions after defeating both the Swiss and the Dutch.
Using both the Nations League and the most recent Euro 2020 qualifiers, we've analysed which teams are shaping up for a successful tournament next summer.
Here's who has the best chance of claiming European glory.
Portugal
On paper, Portugal don't appear to have the strongest squad, with Cristiano Ronaldo and now Bernardo Silva being the two standout figures in their lineup.
Nonetheless, they always seem to find a way to win, even managing to do so without Ronaldo when they beat France in their own backyard in the final of the 2016 competition.
Their recent victory over the Netherlands - who were arguably favourites - in the Nations League only further highlights their winning mentality.
Irrespective of his physique and fitness, at the age of 34 this is likely to be one of Ronaldo's last major tournaments giving further motivation to Portugal to claim successive European Championship titles.
Netherlands
The Dutch have experienced a lot of disappointment when it comes to the national team recently; with the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia being the nadir.
But, like Portugal, they will have added motivation to change this going into the Euros and look to now be in much better shape to do just that.
While they failed to win the Nations League, progression to the final was a signal of intent in itself.
Possessing two of the best centre backs in the world, Barcelona prospect Frenkie de Jong in midfield, and plenty of flair in attack, the Dutch shouldn't be overlooked based on failures in previous major tournaments.
Germany
The German might has well have not shown up for the 2018 Word Cup finals.
Unliked the Netherlands, they did at least manage to qualify for the finals, but were eliminated from the competition much earlier than most would have thought - finishing bottom of a group which they would have expected to comfortably progress from.
Manager Joachim Low's decision to not include Manchester City's Leroy Sane in the final squad shocked the footballing world, and proved to be a rather significant mistake.
Since his exclusion, Sane has featured heavily during Germany's qualifying campaign helping them to a 100% record from their first three games.
It's unlikely we'll be seeing a repeat of the 2018 World Cup from what is usually a very consistent German outfit.
Spain
Another side who didn't experience much joy in the last World Cup, Spain were eliminated in the round of 16 by Russia.
It's fairly clear that Spain are some way off the dominant force which won three consecutive major trophies - two European Championships and one World Cup - from the years 2008 to 2012.
They have struggled to cope with the retirements of key figures like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and David Villa resulting in a recent drought.
But Spain are still somewhat renowned for their tiki-taka style, and are still capable of outplaying any opponent if this tactic is used effectively.
France
The fact that France are the current World Cup holders is more than enough to suggest that they will be one of the favourites to win Euro 2020.
The emergence of stars like Raphael Varane, N'Golo Kante and Kylian Mbappe makes it difficult to spot a weak link in the French lineup which, on paper, is one of the strongest in the entire competition.
Since claiming World Cup glory though, the French haven't put in perfect displays both in the Nations League as well as their qualifying campaign.
They missed out on a place in the finals in Portugal with the Netherlands claiming their spot and most recently slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Turkey in a Euro 2020 qualifier.
Belgium
Roberto Martinez and co. were eliminated by eventual winners France at the semi-final stage of the 2018 World Cup.
What is a very strong squad including the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne et al., they have struggled to live up to expectation in previous tournaments.
They have an excellent team on paper but have struggled to click and consistently find that winning formula. But their most recent tournament display shows they are a considerable threat approaching Euro 2020.
England
The run to the World Cup semi finals has got England fans dreaming that football could (ahem) 'come home' in 2020.
Gareth Southgate has done an excellent job of rebuilding the squad with some wonderful prospects such as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice.
Others like James Maddison and the yet to be capped Aaron Wan-Bissaka were absent for the trip to Portugal suggesting England have even more to offer next summer.
