Euro 2024 Power Rankings: Boring England benefit from more luck of the draw as malfunctioning France fall and adventurous Austria rocket to second spot

The story of the Euros so far? Georgia certainly pulled off the biggest upset in the tournament’s history, with the debutants stunning Portugal to progress to the last 16 against all the odds. Roberto Martinez may have rested several first-team regulars for the game in Gelsenkirchen, but the Seleccao coach still fielded several stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, who was completely upstaged by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The unfortunate thing for Georgia is that they must now face the best team in the tournament, Spain, who beat them 7-1 in the qualifiers, but they have absolutely nothing to lose. Their campaign has already been a spectacular success thanks not only to ‘Kvaradona’, but also goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and striker Georges Mikautadze, who’s leading the Golden Boot race.

Slovenia looked to have blown their shot at qualification after conceding a 95th-minute equaliser against Serbia, but Matjaz Kek’s side sneaked into the last 16 as a third-placed finisher despite failing to win a single group game.

Portugal obviously represents a tough draw, but Slovenia will take huge encouragement out of their friendly win over Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. just three months ago. They’ll also be buoyed by the way in which they managed to completely nullify England in the 0-0 draw in Cologne that earned them a spot in the knockout stage.

One gets the feeling, though, that Slovenia need Benjamin Sesko to belatedly show up if they’re to have any chance of reaching the last eight.

At one point in the final batch of games in Group E, it looked like Slovakia might actually go through in first place, with Ondrej Duda having given them a 24th-minute lead against Romania. In the end, though, they finished third after a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, which means they must take on England in the last 16.

Slovakia have never beaten the Three Lions, who have underwhelmed thus far but are expected to click at some point. However, Francesco Calzona has already masterminded one massive shock, against Belgium; the Italian will be quietly confident of pulling off another one.

Belgium have completely botched the group stage. They were given a soft draw but lost their unbeaten record under Domenico Tedesco on matchday one, against Slovakia, and then failed to beat Ukraine in their final fixture when top spot was there for taking. The net result is that the Red Devils must now face France in the last 16.

Les Bleus have been nowhere near their best so far, but Belgium have been abysmal for the most part, with Romelu Lukaku still without a goal despite umpteen chances. Unless Kevin De Bruyne does something very special, it’s hard to see them making the quarter-finals of a competition that they had previously looked capable of winning.

Reaching the knockout stage was always the objective for Denmark. In that sense, it’s a case of job done. However, Kasper Hjulmund and his players have come away from the group stage with more than a few regrets. They may have been magnificent against England, but they were poor against both Slovenia and Serbia.

It’s, thus, very hard to see them getting past Germany in the last 16. Christian Eriksen has been one of the players of the tournament so far, but with Rasmus Hojlund flattering to deceive up front, the Danes don’t carry much of a goal threat.

You have to hand it to Romania: winning a group with just four points is quite the achievement. Obviously, the key was the shock 3-0 win over Ukraine on matchday one, but they’ve not looked anywhere near as menacing going forward since then.

Still, this is a highly-motivated group of players that are extremely well organised by Edward Iordanescu. They play with both passion and purpose, which means they cannot be discounted against the Dutch in the last 16.

One of the more curious teams in Germany. The Netherlands have some quality players, they’ve looked dangerous at times, and defended very well at others, most notably while holding France to a draw on matchday two. However, Ronald Koeman has yet to get this team playing with any real cohesion or consistency, which is why they ended up being overwhelmed by Austria in their final group game.

Still, the Netherlands have rather fortuitously ended up in the weaker half of the draw. Beat a well-drilled but limited Romania – which is not beyond them at all – and they might get another crack at the Austrians for a spot in the semis.

Turkey may have fallen one spot in our rankings, but that’s only because other sides made bigger gains on matchday three. Vincenzo Montella’s men are still pretty much exactly where they want to be, having won their group games against Georgia and Czech Republic to progress to the knockout stage as runners-up to Portugal in Group F.

Their next opponents, Austria, have obviously been one of the revelations of the Euros and they must be treated with the utmost respect. However, there’s no getting away from the fact that Turkey would have signed up for a last-16 showdown with Ralf Rangnick’s team before the tournament began.

Make no mistake about it: with the classy Hakan Calhanoglu pulling the strings in midfield and exciting youngsters Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz out wide, Turkey and their enormous fanbase in Germany will already be eyeing a semi-final spot.

France remain undefeated and recorded two clean sheets in the group stage, but things are not going according to plan at all for Didier Deschamps. The Bleus coach insisted that he had no regrets after the 1-1 draw with Poland that cost his team top spot in Group D, but the fact of the matter is that their profligacy and carelessness has just made their task a whole lot harder.

France will now have to get through Belgium, probably Portugal and likely either Spain or Germany just to make it to the final. That is a seriously perilous path for a malfunctioning team that has yet to score a single goal from open play.

With Antoine Griezmann, Marcus Thuram, Ousmane Dembele and Adrien Rabiot all underperforming, France’s hopes hinge on Kylian Mbappe now more than ever before.

Italy’s title defence is still alive – but only just. The Azzurri were heading out of the competition until Riccardo Calafiori burst out of defence against Croatia and set up Mattia Zaccagni for a stunning equaliser with the last kick of Monday’s game.

Given the nature of Italy’s qualification for the knockout stage, and the 1-0 hammering they received at the hands of Spain, expectations are low surrounding Luciano Spalletti’s side, who now face a very tricky tie against neighbours Switzerland. Calafiori is suspended for the game in Berlin while doubts remain over the make-up of the attack, with the likes of Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Scamacca struggling to make an impact in Germany.

Italy often grow into tournaments, but a serious spurt is required if they’re to prolong their interest in this tournament beyond the weekend.

As expected, Portugal topped Group F, securing first place after just two games, but their performances have provided more questions than answers. Cristiano Ronaldo appears undroppable in Roberto Martinez’s eyes, but the Seleccao’s increasingly irritated captain has yet to score once in Germany, while highly-rated winger Rafael Leao has done very little but dive.

Portugal should still have more than enough quality to see off Slovenia – no matter who starts up front – but we’ve not seen much to suggest that they will beat one of the many big boys now residing on their side of the draw.

The fact that 41-year-old centre-back Pepe has been their best player so far perfectly illustrates just how much Martinez is struggling to get a tune out of a squad blessed with so many fantastic attacking talents.

The Swiss made the quarter-finals three years ago. They’re well replaced to repeat the feat at Euro 2024.

Indeed, had it not been for a last-gasp equaliser from Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug, Switzerland would have even arrived in the last 16 as winners of Group A. As it turns out, that was probably a blessing in disguise as Murat Yakin’s charges now find themselves on the ‘right’ side of the draw.

Of course, they’ll be taking nothing for granted against Italy, but this is not a vintage Azzurri by any stretch of the imagination and the Swiss showed in their 1-1 draw with Germany that they fear no team.

After kicking-off their campaign with back-to-back wins over Scotland and Hungary that really captured the imagination of the host nation, Germany were given something of a reality check by Switzerland.

Even then, though, Fullkrug’s late leveller only reinforced the impression that Julian Nagelsmann’s revitalised team have the requisite fighting spirit to go all the way – and one would imagine that a combination of momentum and the quality of Toni Kroos, Jamal Musiala, Ilkay Gundogan and Joshua Kimmich will carry them past Denmark and into the quarter-finals.

That’s where it’s likely to get seriously tough for Germany, though, as their half of the draw is now stacked with top teams.

Look, England have not just been bad, they’ve been boring. Their matches have been the worst to watch by some distance. However, the Three Lions are now the bookmakers’ favourites to win this whole thing because of the way in which the draw has once again opened up for them.

Despite only winning a solitary game in a diabolical Group C, England finished first and saw France and Belgium drop into the other half of the draw, before their last-16 opponents suddenly changed from Netherlands to Slovakia because of Georgia’s shock win over Portugal. Things really couldn’t have worked out any better for Gareth Southgate, who is coming under intense pressure from fans frustrated by his shocking inability to get the best out of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Harry Kane and countless others.

England might end up reaching the final in spite of their painfully conservative coach – rather than because of him – but, the way things have panned out, it would now be a massive surprise if the dullest team in the tournament don’t make it all the way to Berlin.

Ralf Rangnick still insists it’s highly unlikely that his Austria team will win the Euros – and his caution is both understandable and wise. No team should get ahead of themselves after an impressive group stage.

However, Austria simply cannot be ruled out at this stage. Several bigger nations haven’t played with anything like the same intensity or sense of adventure, and by winning Group D, the toughest in the tournament, the semi-finals are now a legitimate target.

Rangnick said after the stirring win over Netherlands that his players had been rewarded for “an energetic and courageous performance”. If they continue to play with such dynamism and fearlessness, anything is possible.

Spain still top the standings – and with good cause. They’re the only team in Germany with a 100 percent record after the group stage and they arrive in the knockouts having been able to make 10 changes for their final fixture, against Albania, when their second string looked stronger than most nations’ first teams.

They’re clearly in the tougher half of the draw and there are some doubts over their finishing, as they’ve not scored as many goals as they should have, particularly in the 1-0 win over Italy. But La Roja are in rude health going into a last-16 tie with a Georgia team they routed in qualifying.

As it stands, it’s going to take a superb performance to stop Spain.