Can Jude Bellingham be the difference maker for England at Euro 2024 (Photo: Getty)
Jamie Carragher has made his predictions for Euro 2024 and if he’s correct it’s not good news for Gareth Southgate and England…
Southgate has selected his 33-man preliminary squad and even with several worrying injury issues the Three Lions remain one of the favourites.
France, hosts Germany, Portugal and Spain will also be strong contenders but as history has shown us time and time again, anything can happen at a major tournament.
Former England and Liverpool defender Carragher is tipping Southgate’s side to top their group ahead of Denmark, Serbia and Slovenia, before beating Austria in the last 16.
Following that, they’ll defeat Hungary in the quarter-finals but then they’ll face France in the semis – a rematch of the 2022 World Cup where England lost 2-1 in the quarters with Harry Kane missing a penalty late on.
‘I don’t see how England beat France. I know it was very tight the last time they played and I always just feel that they’ve just got that [edge],’ Carragher told The Telegraph.
‘We’re talking about Harry Kane scoring a penalty, the tiny details. [Jude] Bellingham’s a gamechanger, two years on from the last tournament, playing for Real Madrid.
France have the best forward in the world at their disposal: Kylian Mbappe (Photo: Getty)
‘What I would say is England’s best team vs France’s best team is a toss of a coin. Some of the players who can’t get in the French team, they’re winning Champions Leagues, they’re playing for some of the biggest clubs in the world.
‘Look at [William] Saliba, he very rarely gets a chance. I think he’d be our best centre-back. I do believe he would be an absolute shoe-in in the England team.
‘They’ve still got player after player after player to come in. Can you imagine England losing Kane for that game or Bellingham?
Can Germany triumph on home soil? (Photo: Getty)
‘My one worry with England coming up against France… when I think of [Kylian] Mbappe, [Antoine] Griezmann, certainly two of the best in the world right now. I’m not sure we’ve got the defenders who can stop them.
‘I’m going to go for France to get through. I hope I’m wrong!’
Carragher is predicting Germany to make it to the final in Berlin on 14 July alongside France, due to their home support, but can’t see past victory for Les Bleus.
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‘I just keep coming back to the squad of France and who they could bring off the bench and what they could change,’ he added.
‘I just think Germany are in the final because they’re at home. I don’t think I’d ever put Germany in the final right now if this tournament was anywhere else. I look at maybe Portugal finding it tough in a stadium full of German supporters.
‘France would have that problem in the final but the experience they’ve got, players who have won the World Cup and been in [another] final. I just think France will just have enough to beat Germany in their own backyard.’
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