Euro 2020: 5 Reasons why England could win the tournament
The UEFA Euro 2020 is just around the corner, with Europe's top sides gearing up to try and dethrone Portugal as champions of the continent.
Many high-profile European sides are currently in the midst of a brilliant generation of talent all across the pitch. France, for instance, have enough stars to fill two entire squads, let alone starting XIs. Much of the same could be said for defending champions Portugal, who have an embarrassment of riches heading into Euro 2020.
While the likes of Germany and resurgent sides such as Italy and the Netherlands can't quite compete with them in terms of quantity, the quality is certainly there. One such side that has a great mix of both is England.
England will look to end trophy drought at Euro 2020
Despite boasting some of the best players in world football in different eras, England have somehow failed to live up to expectations. They generally lacked a sense of cohesiveness during their golden generation of talents and have come up short time and again.
They've failed to win any major honour on the international front since their historic FIFA World Cup win in 1966. Since then, they've come close on a few occasions. They lost to West Germany on penalties in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals and to Germany in the 1996 European Championships semi-final, when Gareth Southgate missed the final spot-kick.
More recently, they reached their first World Cup semi-final in 28 years under Southgate at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but lost to Croatia in extra time.
Despite so much heartbreak over the years, England will have a sense of optimism heading into Euro 2020 due to a number of factors. Here, we take a look at 5 reasons why England could potentially win Euro 2020.
#5 A relatively comfortable group
England's campaign opener will be against the side who eliminated them in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, Croatia. While the Vatreni are no pushovers, they most certainly are not the force they were back in Russia. England will fancy their chances of getting the better of Zlatko Dalic's men this time around.
Apart from Croatia, there isn't too much of a threat for England to get out of their group. The 2018 World Cup finalists currently sit 14th in the world rankings, and the other two sides â Scotland and the Czech Republic â are 40th and 44th, respectively.
Granted, this is a major international tournament where there is a very high possibility of upsets being caused. But given the sheer quality of this England side, they could be expected to top their group, let alone progress to the next round.
#4 Massive home advantage
The concept of home advantage has seemingly dissolved due to an entire domestic campaign effectively being played behind closed doors. However, one of the biggest boosts for teams ahead of Euro 2020 is that fans will be allowed back into stadiums. While we're still a while away from having packed stadiums, 10 out of the 11 host cities will allow at least 25% of the stadiums to be filled (except Munich).
This includes Wembley, one of the most historic stadiums in the sport situated in London. While Euro 2020 is technically not a 'home' tournament for England, Wembley will be one of the most-used stadiums and will host all three of their group stage games. Apart from this, the iconic venue will also witness two round of 16 ties, both semi-finals, and the final.
In theory, England might only have to play one quarter-final tie in a foreign stadium throughout Euro 2020. This will be a massive boost for them, considering they'll be playing in front of their supporters as well.
Also read: Top 5 contenders for the Golden Boot at UEFA Euro 2020