Euro 2020: All 24 qualified nations - ranked
By Ali Rampling
Euro 2020 is upon us, and it's absolutely brilliant.
The tournament takes place across Europe from 11 June, with the showpiece final at Wembley on 11 July, and we've seen stellar performances from the likes of Italy and Belgium so far.
Let's take look at the 24 teams competing in the tournament, and rank them from weakest to strongest. Y'know, just because.
24. North Macedonia
Group: C (Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria)
North Macedonia made their major tournament debut at Euro 2020 having qualified following a famous playoff victory over Georgia.
The side are ranked 62nd in the world - behind Burkina Faso and Qatar - and are captained by 37-year-old Champions League winner Goran Pandev.
It would be a bit of a shock if Pandev is hoisting the Henri Delaunay Cup aloft at Wembley next summer but stranger things hav-- actually no, they haven't.
23. Slovakia
Group: E (Spain, Sweden, Poland)
Slovakia qualified for just the Euros for just the second time in their history via an extra time playoff victory over Northern Ireland.
Midfielder Marek Hamsik has been his country's talisman for about 13 years - although Inter defender Milan Skriniar also offers Slovakia a splash of defensive quality. Slovakia suffered relegation to League C following a disappointing Nations League campaign.
22. Finland
Group: B (Denmark, Belgium, Russia)
Finland are also making their major tournament bow at Euro 2020 - having fallen at the qualification stage on a previous 32 occasions.
The Fins boast Norwich striker Teemu Pukki and Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky - and while that is the makings of a relatively average five-aside team, it would be an Iceland-esque miracle if Finland progress from the group.
Mind you, they did end France's unbeaten run in a recent friendly...
21. Hungary
Group: F (Portugal, France, Germany)
Hungary boast an illustrious footballing history - but this is just the second time the country have qualified for a major tournament in 34 years following their thrilling last gasp playoff victory over Iceland.
Exciting 20-year-old RB Leipzig midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai is missing the tournament with injury and is not there to shoulder most of the nation's expectations.
They could have done with him too, given the mammoth task to escape from their group with Portugal, France, Germany.
20. Scotland
Group: D (England, Croatia, Czech Republic)
Scotland boogied into their first major tournament in 22 years courtesy of two dramatic penalty shootout victories. Steve Clarke has worked wonders during his time in charge, transforming Scotland into a well drilled unit with a winning mentality.
Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney and Scott McTominay offer genuine quality and although they are supplemented by a relatively average ensemble, team unity and togetherness can go a long way in major tournament football - as demonstrated by Wales in 2016.
Group game number two against England at Wembley promises to be a cracker.
19. Russia
Group: B (Denmark, Belgium, Finland)
Russia made light work of qualifying, winning eight of their 10 games and scoring 33 goals in the process. They stuttered somewhat in the Nations League and were on the receiving end of a 5-0 hiding from a traditionally low-scoring Serbia in their final group game.
Artem Dzyuba, Aleksei Miranchuk and Aleksandr Golovin carry their biggest creative threat, while former Chelsea man Yuri Zhirkov is still going strong at 37 years young.
18. Turkey
Group: A (Italy, Wales, Switzerland)
With Juventus' Merih Demiral and Leicester's Caglar Soyuncu, Turkey are built on a solid defensive foundation. They had a strong qualifying campaign, conceding just three goals, only losing once and getting the better of France. They remain the last team to beat France in a competitive fixture.
However, Turkey had a dismal Nations League campaign and were relegated from League B after winning just one game. It looks like this version of Turkey have shown up at the Euros.
17. Czech Republic
Group: D (England, Croatia, Scotland)
The Czech Republic were slightly unconvincing during qualification, finishing as runners up and conceding more goals than any other team who qualified automatically.
They however beat England thanks to a debut goal from 30-year-old forward Zdenek Ondrasek, and earned promotion to the top tier following a strong Nations League campaign.
16. Austria
Group: C (Netherlands, Ukraine, North Macedonia)
Qualifying by finishing above European giants North Macedonia, Slovenia, Israel and Latvia is not the biggest achievement in football history - but you can only beat what's in front of you and all that.
But with exciting RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and the ever dependable David Alaba, Austria have the makings of a decent side - and they topped their Nations League group to earn promotion to League A.
15. Wales
Group: A (Italy, Turkey, Switzerland)
Can they do it again? Wales go into Euro 2020 hoping to emulate their exploits from the glorious semi final summer of 2016.
The format will still largely be the same, with Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey key. But the emergence of Dan James, Joe Rodon and Neco Williams offers a further sprinkling of quality, and who wouldn't love to see Kieffer Moore becoming 2021's answer to Hal Robson-Kanu?
14. Sweden
Group: E (Spain, Poland, Slovakia)
Sweden will have realistic aims of escaping from a group that also includes Spain, Poland and Slovakia - but struggled to mix it with Europe's elite during their Nations League campaign as they suffered relegation from League A.
They lost five from six - but did beat Croatia in their penultimate group game - and lost just once during qualifying. Their 23 goals in qualification was more than any other second-place side.
13. Ukraine
Group: C (Netherlands, Ukraine, North Macedonia)
Ukraine are impossible to predict and we're still unsure if they're good at football or not.
They went undefeated during qualification and topped their group ahead of Portugal, before embarking on a bizarre Nations League campaign where they beat Spain and lost 7-1 to France.
Managed by Ukraine legend Andriy Shevchenko, they boast West Ham's Andriy Yarmolenko and Manchester City's Oleksandr Zinchenko in their ranks.
12. Switzerland
Group: A (Italy, Wales, Turkey)
Switzerland find themselves in a tantalisingly group at the Euros, featuring Italy, Wales and Turkey - all four will have realistic ambitions of progressing to the knockout stages.
The 2019 Nations League semi-finalists are a stubborn, hard to beat outfit, and with Xherdan Shaqiri, Denis Zakaria and Granit Xhaka, they possess three players of real quality.
11. Poland
Group: E (Spain, Sweden, Slovakia)
Poland breezed through their straightforward qualifying group, and have held their own in their top tier Nations League group with two wins, a draw against Italy and a pair of narrow defeats to the Netherlands.
In Robert Lewandowski they boast one of the most in form players in world football, and the Bayern Munich man is flanked by Arkadiusz Milik and Krzysztof Piatek to make a solid forward line.
10. Denmark
Group: B (Finland, Belgium, Russia)
Denmark came through qualification unbeaten and went into their final Nations League group game with a shot at qualifying for the semi finals.
With Kasper Schmeichel between the sticks, the Danes love a clean sheet, and they are blessed with a very solid spine.
They will play the rest of the tournament for teammate Christian Eriksen, who collapsed on the pitch in their opening game but is now, thankfully, on the mend.
9. Croatia
Group: D (England, Scotland, Czech Republic)
Croatia struggled in their top tier Nations League group, only avoiding relegation by the virtue of goal difference after losing five of their six matches.
It's effectively the same side that reached the World Cup final in 2018 but older; talisman Luka Modric remains as classy as ever and Ivan Perisic is still top drawer.
8. Germany
Group: F (Hungary, Portugal, France)
Having flopped at the 2018 World Cup, Germany bounced back to saunter through qualifying with seven wins from eight. And they only needed to draw with Spain to progress to the Nations League semi finals in their final group game.
They only needed to draw.
They lost 6-0.
With Leroy Sane, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Serge Gnabry, Manuel Neuer and co, this Germany team is world class. But something just isn't quite clicking at the moment.
7. The Netherlands
Group: C (Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia)
The Netherlands are not the footballing powerhouse the once were, but do have a talented squad that boasts the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Virgil van Dijk has missed the Euros following his season ending knee injury - but recent draws with Spain and Italy suggest the Dutch can still compete with European football's elite.
6. Spain
Group: E (Poland, Sweden, Slovakia)
Are Spain good or are Germany bad? The Spanish looked slick and unstoppable as they put Germany to the sword in their final Nations League group game to progress to the final four, having qualified unbeaten for Euro 2020.
Spain are not the side they once were - but few national teams will ever come close to that glorious 2008-2012 side.
Alvaro Morata appears to have found his groove again, Thiago Alcantara is among the best in the world, Mikel Oyarzabal and Ferran Torres are very exciting and Luis Enrique is back in the hot seat.
5. England
Group: D (Croatia, Scotland, Czech Republic)
England have one of their most young, exciting, talented teams in recent memory - so we all know how that usually pans out.
The Three Lions are spoilt for choice going forward with the blossoming Jack Grealish giving Gareth Southgate another selection headache. England are a bit light at the back and can struggle to break teams down who defend deep - but if a correct system is utilised and the spirit of 2018 is channelled, England could be right in contention to suffer another heart breaking semi-final exit.
4. Italy
Group: A (Turkey, Wales, Switzerland)
Italy have been quietly but confidently going about their business after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. They topped their Euro 2020 qualification group with maximum points, qualified for the Nations League semi finals and are unbeaten in their last 22.
Midfielder Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne are sheer class - the Italians just need a quality centre forward. If Ciro Immobile can recapture his club form for his country, Italy will be a force to be reckoned with.
3. Portugal
Group: F (Hungary, Germany, France)
Portugal lifted their maiden piece of silverware at Euro 2016 and go into Euro 2020 arguably with an even stronger side this time around.
They hit 22 goals in qualifying - but finished second to Ukraine - and were runners up in their top tier Nations League group. With Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota and Joao Felix, this is no longer a side that has to be entirely reliant on the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo.
2. Belgium
Group: B (Finland, Denmark, Russia)
Belgium were one of two teams to qualify for the Euros with a 100% record, and followed this up by progressing to the Nations League semi finals.
This crop of Belgian players have long been heralded as the golden generation and with the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku reaching their peak, this could be one of their final shots at a major trophy.
Wouldn't it be great if they did it with former Wigan duo Roberto Martinez and Shaun Maloney in the dugout?
1. France
Group: F (Hungary, Portugal, Germany)
World champions France still look like the team to beat heading into Euro 2020 - and have not lost a competitive game since June 2019.
They are a stronger outfit than the team who finished runners up at Euro 2016, and with Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, France look the pick of the bunch ahead of this tournament.