EURO 2020 Group F: Clash of strong competitors

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Football fans cannot wait to watch the fierce competition in the UEFA EURO 2020 Group F as it includes game's heavyweights France, Germany and the EURO 2016 champions Portugal, as well as the group underdogs Hungary.

The pan-European football tournament is set to start on Friday.

The EURO 2016 runners-up France are targeting the EURO 2020 title, they are among the favorites.

France, who lost the 2016 final 1-0 to Portugal at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to return to their glorious old days.

"Les Bleus" (The Blues) won the EURO title twice; 1984 and 2000.

France is full of stars such as Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, Chelsea's tireless midfielder N'Golo Kante, Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema.

'Les Bleus' won the UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying Group H with 25 points to qualify for the tournament. France were in the same group as the Turkish national team as Turkey troubled them in the group, beating the French 2-0 at home and getting a 1-1 draw in Saint-Denis. The top two teams in this group, France and Turkey, went to the finals directly.

France squad for EURO 2020:

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Mike Maignan (Lille)

Defenders: Leo Dubois (Olympique Lyon), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea), Jules Kounde (Sevilla), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Clement Lenglet (Barcelona), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Lucas Digne (Everton), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich), Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Monchengladbach), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)

- Germany want to have 1996 success again

Triple EURO champions Germany are one of the title contenders in this group. Having won this title in 1972, 1980 and 1996, Germany wants to add another major cup to their trophy cabinet.

In 1972 and 1980, the team was West Germany. The country reunified in 1990.

In addition to the European success, Germany are the four-time World champions (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014).

The EURO 2016 semifinalists, Germany have two players of Turkish descent, Ilkay Gundogan and Emre Can.

The German players will be stepping on the pitch as they would want to give a farewell gift to their longtime manager Joachim Low.

Low will step down as Germany manager after the EURO 2020, the German football body confirmed in March.

Germany won the UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying Group C with 21 points to go to the EURO 2020 directly. They scored 30 goals but conceded seven.

Germany squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Bernd Leno (Arsenal), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Defenders: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Monchengladbach), Robin Gosens (Atalanta), Christian Gunter (Freiburg), Marcel Halstenberg, Lukas Klostermann (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Robin Koch (Leeds United), Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Emre Can (Borussia Dortmund), Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jonas Hofmann, Florian Neuhaus (Borussia Monchengladbach)

Forwards: Kevin Volland (Monaco), Timo Werner (Chelsea), Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)

- Portugal eyes to retain 2016 success

Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal will compete to keep their 2016 success in the EURO 2020.

They were the 2016 champions after beating hosts France 1-0 in the final.
Portugal has been one of the prominent football nations in history as there were many famed football stars such as Eusebio, Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Nuno Gomes and Nani who played for this country.

Called "Selecao" (The Selection), Portugal were the qualifying Group B runners-up to qualify directly for the EURO 2020.

Ukraine won the group stage with 20 points. Portugal bagged 17 points to end this stage in the second spot.

Portugal netted 22 goals and conceded six others.

In addition to 36-year-old superstar Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota and Joao Felix are among the Portuguese threats against opponents in the EURO 2020.

Portugal squad:

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Olympique Lyon), Rui Patricio (Wolverhampton), Rui Silva (Granada)

Defenders: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Nelson Semedo (Wolverhampton), Jose Fonte (Lille), Pepe (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Nuno Mendes (Sporting Lisbon), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders: Danilo Pereira (PSG), Joao Palhinha (Sporting Lisbon), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Moutinho (Wolverhampton), Renato Sanches (Lille), Sergio Oliveira (Porto), William Carvalho (Real Betis)

Forwards: Pedro Goncalves (Sporting Lisbon), Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid), Rafa Silva (Benfica)

- Hungarian team's tough task

The Hungarian national team is seeking a miracle against the tournament favorites, France, Germany and Portugal.

These powerful teams' participation in the same pool meant a "group of death" for Hungary.

Hungary reserved its place to the EURO 2020 groups via playoffs.
They completed the qualifying Group E in the fourth spot with 12 points to make the playoff stage. Croatia and Wales were the top two teams in Group E to directly qualify for the finals.

Hungary, respectively beat Bulgaria 3-1 in the playoff semifinals and Iceland 2-1 in the final to proceed to this summer's tournament.

They did their EURO best in 1964 as Hungary came third in that tournament.

Hungary did not qualify for the European football championships for 44 years. In the EURO 2016, Hungarians were eliminated in the Round of 16.
Fenerbahce defender Attila Szalai and Kasimpasa's Kevin Varga are currently in the Hungary squad.

Hungary squad:

Goalkeepers: Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig), Denes Dibusz (Ferencvaros), Adam Bogdan (Ferencvaros)

Defenders: Gergo Lovrencsics (Ferencvaros), Endre Botka (Ferencvaros), Adam Lang (Omonia), Akos Kecskes (Lugano), Attila Fiola (Fehervar), Willi Orban (RB Leipzig), Attila Szalai (Fenerbahce), Bendeguz Bolla (Fehervar)

Midfielders: Loic Nego (Fehervar), Adam Nagy (Bristol City), Laszlo Kleinheisler (Osijek), David Siger (Ferencvaros), Daniel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union), Andras Schafer (Dunajska Streda) Tamas Cseri (Mezokovesd), Filip Holender (Partizan)

Forwards: Adam Szalai (Mainz), Roland Sallai (Freiburg), Nemanja Nikolic (Fehervar), Kevin Varga (Kasimpasa), Roland Varga (MTK), Szabolcs Schon (Dallas), Janos Hahn (Paks)

- Group F fixtures:

June 15 (1600 GMT): Hungary vs. Portugal (Puskas Arena - Budapest)

June 15 (1900 GMT): France vs. Germany (Allianz Arena - Munich)

June 19 (1300 GMT): Hungary vs. France (Puskas Arena)

June 19 (1600 GMT): Portugal vs. Germany (Allianz Arena)

June 23 (1900 GMT): Portugal vs. France (Puskas Arena)

June 23 (1900 GMT): Germany vs. Hungary (Allianz Arena)