Chris Sutton’s predictions – Euro 2024 round of 16 matches
Eight of the 24 teams are going home, but which of the remaining teams will make it to the final of the 2024 European Championship on July 14 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin?
BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton was right about one of the surprise answers from the final group stage – he had chosen Austria as his dark horse before the tournament began and predicted that the country would beat the Netherlands – but overall he only got three of the twelve answers right.
You fared even worse, getting only two correct answers, giving you a total of 15 out of 36 (47%) correct in the group stage, compared to 16 (or 50%) for Sutton.
Can he or she do better this time? Below you can place your predictions for the Round of 16 matches, including England vs Slovakia and Sutton’s tip for the European title, France vs Belgium.
Round of 16 matches
SATURDAY, JUNE 29
Switzerland vs Italy
Olympiastadion Berlin / 5:00 p.m. BST
In the last group match, Switzerland and Germany drew, but were in the lead for a long time and looked set to top Group A.
I spoke to Danny Murphy about this game because he’s co-commentating on BBC TV and he’s a huge Switzerland fan, but since I never really agree with Danny, I’m going to go with Italy.
They are defending champions and managed to get the desired result in their last Group B match against Croatia.
To be fair, they did not deserve to lose, even though they only equalised in the 98th minute as they had the better chances.
I just have a feeling that Italy will do the same here and find a way to win, even though it will be very close.
Germany vs Denmark
I’ll be covering this game live for Radio 5 with Vicki Sparks and look forward to seeing what Germany do next.
They started the tournament like a rocket against Scotland and played well again against Hungary, but then struggled more against Switzerland. They fought back and got a draw. I’m a big fan of Niclas Fullkrug, who came on as a substitute and scored the goal for them.
National coach Julian Nagelsmann named the same starting eleven for each of the three group matches, but has to make at least one change here because Jonathan Tah is suspended after receiving two yellow cards.
We saw against England that Denmark are tenacious and well organised, and their full-backs play an important role in the formation. They also have Christian Eriksen who can get things going when they have the ball.
Nevertheless, I am convinced that the hosts will get through this game as well, because they have enough attacking power to overcome the Danish defense.
SUNDAY, JUNE 30
England vs Slovakia
Gelsenkirchen / 17:00 CEST
The criticism of England and especially Gareth Southgate at this European Championship was partly completely exaggerated.
Although they won their group, it seems that they were immediately judged in this tournament. Their performances were not that good, but first place was the first goal and they achieved it.
Now we are in the knockout phase and the draw has a lot to offer them, with France, Spain, Germany and Portugal facing each other on the other side.
If I were an English player now – and I have some experience in this respect, thinking back to my only international match against Cameroon in 1997 – I would think that we have not yet reached our full potential and that this is a great opportunity.
It is not always the team that starts a tournament the best that wins it. An example of this is Portugal in 2016, which started with three draws against Iceland, Austria and Hungary.
We all know that England can improve and that they should win this game.
I covered Slovakia in their first game of this Euro – their surprise win over Belgium – and they are well structured and well coached, but they lack the outstanding individual players they have had in the past with players like my old Celtic team-mate Lubomir Moravcik or, more recently, Marek Hamsik.
Slovakia will try to seize their moments, but if England score early, the win should be quite comfortable.
I expect Southgate to make one change from the team that drew with Slovenia, selecting Kobbie Mainoo in place of Conor Gallagher in midfield.
I actually want him to play Cole Palmer as his No.10, whose creativity in the 20 minutes he played in that game made England look like a far stronger team… but I don’t think he will.
Spain vs Georgia
I’m at this game for Radio 5 Live with Ian Dennis and what a history Georgia have had – I’m thrilled with what they’ve achieved in this tournament and the way they’ve done it.
They finished fourth in their qualifying group, where they lost 7-1 at home to Spain in September last year, but they made it here via the Nations League and surprised everyone.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is their only real star player, but as a team they have been a breath of fresh air in Germany with their approach. They don’t care about possession, but when they counterattack they are incredibly quick and really powerful.
With their performances so far, Georgia have shown everyone what a good team they are, but their problem here is that Spain were THE standout team of the group stage.
Spain are balanced, defensively disciplined and pose a real threat in attack. I remain with France as my favourite to win the European Championship, but Spain are the team to beat at the moment.
MONDAY, JULY 1
France vs Belgium
Belgian coach Domenico Tedesco has faced as much criticism as Southgate for his team’s start to the tournament.
France was also a big disappointment. The team was pragmatic and boring to watch and only managed to finish second in their group.
However, they often start slowly and I don’t change my mind now that they will win the whole thing in the end.
Portugal vs Slovenia
Portugal were already through when they lost to Georgia and made a lot of changes. I expect a very different performance from them this time.
This may have happened more in spite of Cristiano Ronaldo than because of him. I know that in Portugal you can’t say a bad word about him, but he is damaging the team because he can no longer move.
Of course he can still finish and has adapted his game, but everyone else has to adapt their game to him.
However, this game could suit Ronaldo well if Slovenia plays like they did against England, when they played in a 4-4-2 formation and defended deep.
Slovenia are extremely well organised, as we saw against England, but I believe Portugal have the quality, both individually and as a team, to beat them.
TUESDAY, JULY 2
Romania – Netherlands
I’m betting on Memphis Depay to shoot the Netherlands into the quarter-finals, but so far they have not been very convincing.
The Netherlands seem pretty unreliable to me, as Austria showed with their last win. Moreover, they only finished third in their group.
Romania has exceeded expectations and come this far. They will really try, but this will be the end of them.
Austria – Türkiye
I would like to stress that Austria was always one of my secret favourites for the 2024 European Championship.
Although I predicted them to finish third in their group, I not only predicted them to win the match against the Dutch, but also to be the surprise team before the tournament even really started.
After finishing ahead of France and the Netherlands in a difficult group, Ralf Rangnick’s team feels like they can climb any mountain and I expect more of that here.
Turkey are an interesting team – not exactly one of my outsiders, mind you – and their support is incredible.
They also have some exciting players and have scored some wonderful goals, but I think Austria’s organisation and intensity will make the difference again.
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