EURO 2020 Group C Preview and Prediction: Expect Goals and Keep an Eye on Ukraine

Group C features three teams with more or less even chances to progress to the knockout stage and a massive underdog. The Netherlands, Austria, and Ukraine will compete for the round of 16, while North Macedonia’s players will relax and enjoy their participation at EURO 2020. Their arrival here is enough of a success.

Netherlands

With Virgil Van Dijk, we would say that this team has some potential, but in the current situation, when Liverpool’s leader is out, we don’t think that Oranje could win the title. Furthermore, we are not even sure if they could reach the top four teams.

However, the Dutch side has many new faces, eager to come out and present themselves to the global audience, and we really expect to see some guy (Ryan Gravenberch) from this crew exploding. Also, don’t forget that this team still has all those players who pushed Ajax to the UCL semis two years ago, De Jong, De Beek, De Ligt, etc. They didn’t have luck after leaving the Lancers, but if they click, anything could happen.

Austria

Franco Fonda’s boys are one interesting unit, and pretty amazing for watching. They want to score, regardless of the result and have that attacking mentality, which often costs them a lot. The Austrians are a team whose matches see goals on both sides, and we are very glad to see them at this EURO.

The biggest star is now already former Bayern Munich star David Alaba, one of the best defenders in the world. The middle is the strongest part of the unit, with Marcel Sabitzer, RB Leipzig’s playmaker orchestrating things. The attack features Marko Arnautovic and the youngster Sasa Kalajzic, who had a dream start in Bundesliga while playing for Stuttgart.

Ukraine

Without a doubt, the team able can stun everyone at the upcoming tournament. Players who won the U21 World Cup in 2019 are slowly starting to appear in the lineup and take over. Now, these guys have a winning mentality and aren’t respecting the rivals as their predecessors, plus they have a lot of quality. So keep an eye on Ukraine.

Mykola Shaparenko might shine, especially because he has Andriy Shevchenko to guide him from the bench. Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi and Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko are the top two stars with the highest pedigree.

North Macedonia

Practically nobody saw these guys reaching EURO 2020. The Macedonians would secure the ticket following the playoffs, during which they eliminated Kosovo and Georgia, making the biggest success in their short history.

The 37-year old Goran Pandev is the biggest name on the roster, with the biggest talent being Eljif Elmas, who plays for Napoli. Do know that Macedonia has modest quality and that they might be the weakest team in the tournament.

Prediction

If there is one thing we are sure of here, that is the high efficiency. Each team from Group C plays dynamic football, with an accent on offense, not the defense. Plus, we have North Macedonia involved, who will be a punching bag.

Regarding the winner of the group, we can’t tell the exact order, but the Netherlands and Ukraine should advance to the next phaze, with Austria finishing third.