France looking for 3rd championship title at EURO 2024

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - The French squad is targeting a third European championship as Les Bleus will face Austria, the Netherlands and Poland to qualify for the knockout phase in EURO 2024.

Group D of the EURO 2024 has a clear favorite in France, which won the 1984 and 2000 tournaments and was the runner-up in 2016 with arguably their strongest squad ever, spearheaded by Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe.

Didier Deschamps' men who are the standouts of the tournament, are expected to breeze through the Group stage.

EURO 2024 will be Les Bleus' 11th appearance in the Euros history.

Only the Germans and the Spaniards lifted more UEFA Euro titles than France -- each with three.

France qualified for the 2020 tournament, collecting 22 points with seven wins and one draw without a defeat -- four points ahead of the Netherlands.

- France's EURO 2024 squad

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens)

Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Olympique Marseille), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), N'Golo Kante (Al-Nassr), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)

Forwards: Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)

- Netherlands 'the Oranje'

The Netherlands also known as 'the Oranje'​​​​​​​ suffered a shock with a last-16 exit from EURO 2020 at the hands of the Czech Republic.

After failing to be part of the EURO 2016 and World Cup 2018, Frank de Boer's men will seek to restore the lost pride of the team that have achieved some remarkable victories over time, including the EURO 1988 triumph.

Despite suffering from injuries, Barcelona's Frenkie De Jong and Atletico Madrid's Memphis Depay were included in the Dutch squad.

In addition, Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Manchester City's Nathan Ake will be key players for the Dutch team.

- Netherlands' EURO 2024 squad

Goalkeepers: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Mark Flekken (Brentford), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton)

Defenders: Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Girona), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Stefan de Vrij (Inter), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Ian Maatsen (Dortmund), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), Jerdy Schouten (PSV), Joey Veerman (PSV), Georginio Wijnaldum (Al Ettifaq)

Forwards: Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid), Jeremie Frimpong (Leverkusen), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Donyell Malen (Dortmund), Xavi Simons (Leipzig), Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim), Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna)

-Austria

The Austrian National Team has participated in the championship on three occasions. Their greatest success came in 2020 when they managed to advance past the group stage to the Round of 16.

Borussia Dortmund's Marcel Sabitzer, Hoffenheim's Florian Grillitsch, Bayern Munich's Konrad Laimer and Christoph Baumgartner are notable players.

Their presence on the field significantly challenges their opponents.

Inter Milan's Marko Arnautovic and Freiburg's Michael Gregoritsch will be key assets for Austria.

-Austria's EURO 2024 squad

Goalkeepers: Niklas Hedl (Rapid Wien), Heinz Lindner (Union SG), Patrick Pentz (Brondby)

Defenders: Flavius Daniliuc (Salzburg), Kevin Danso (Lens), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Phillipp Mwene (Mainz), Stefan Posch (Bologna), Leopold Querfeld (Rapid Wien), Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord), Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg), Maximilian Wöber (Monchengladbach)

Midfielders: Christoph Baumgartner (Leipzig), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Marco Grull (Rapid Wien), Florian Kainz (Koln), Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Prass (Sturm Graz), Marcel Sabitzer (Dortmund), Romano Schmid (Werder Bremen), Matthias Seidl (Rapid Wien), Nicolas Seiwald (Leipzig)

Forwards: Marko Arnautovic (Inter Milan), Maximilian Entrup (Hartberg), Michael Gregoritsch (Freiburg), Andreas Weimann (West Bromwich Albion)

- Poland

Poland will go into the European Championships as one of the dark horses.

There is no doubt that Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski will be the biggest threat to opponents.

The prolific striker is Poland’s most-capped star with 148 appearances and the country’s top goal scorer with 82.

The 35-year-old legend will be accompanied in forward by Napoli's Piotr Zielinski and Fenerbahce's Sebastian Szymanski.

-Poland's EURO 2024 squad

Goalkeepers: Marcin Bulka (Nice), Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus)

Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Bartosz Bereszynski (Empoli), Przemysław Frankowski (Lens), Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal), Tymoteusz Puchacz (Kaiserslautern), Bartosz Salamon (Lech Poznań), Sebastian Walukiewicz (Empoli)

Midfielders: Paweł Dawidowicz (Hellas Verona), Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Jakub Moder (Brighton), Jakub Piotrowski (Ludogorets), Taras Romanczuk (Jagiellonia Białystok), Bartosz Slisz (Atlanta United), Damian Szymański (AEK Athens), Sebastian Szymański (Fenerbahçe), Kacper Urbański (Bologna), Nicola Zalewski (Roma), Piotr Zieliński (Napoli)

Forwards: Adam Buksa (Antalyaspor), Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Krzysztof Piątek (Basaksehir), Michal Skoras (Club Brugge), Karol Swiderski (Hellas Verona)

Group D fixtures:

June 16: (1300 GMT) Poland vs. Netherlands - (Volksparkstadion Hamburg)

June 17: (1900 GMT) Austria vs. France - (Dusseldorf Arena)

June 21: (1600 GMT) Poland vs. Austria - (Olympiastadion Berlin)

June 21: (1800 GMT) Netherlands vs. France - (Leipzig Stadium )

June 25: (1600 GMT) Netherlands vs. Austria - (Olympiastadion Berlin)

June 25: (1600 GMT) France vs. Poland - (BVB Stadion Dortmund)