Group B of EURO 2020: Belgium eager to win 1st major trophy with golden generation

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ANKARA (AA) – Belgium, Denmark, Russia, and Finland will contend in the Group B to advance to the EURO 2020 knockout phase.

Matches in the Group B will be held at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark and at Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia between June 12- 21.

- Belgium

Belgium came in first in the qualifiers stage with an impressive performance to win all ten games in the Group I.

The team is seeking the first major cup in its history under manager Roberto Martinez with the golden generation which moved to the semifinals in the 2018 World Cup.

Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne are key players for Belgium in EURO 2020.

Lukaku, regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe, led Inter Milan to the Serie A title this season with 30 goals, while De Bruyne is the winner of the latest award by PFA Men's Players for the player of the year.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge), Mats Selz (Strasbourg)

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Hertha Berlin), Jason Denayer (Lyon), Thomas Vermaelen (Vissel Kobe), Jan Vertonghen (Benfica)

Midfielders: Timothy Castagne (Leicester), Nacer Chadli (Medipol Basaksehir), Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Leander Dendoncker (Wolves), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund), Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund), Dennis Praet (Leicester), Youri Tielemans (Leicester), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Borussia Dortmund)

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Crystal Palace), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace), Jeremy Doku (Rennes), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Leandro Trossard (Brighton)

- Denmark

Denmark booked their place at the tournament after they completed the qualifiers with four wins and four draws in the Group D.

They want to win their second European trophy under head coach Kasper Hjulmand after a fairytale EURO 1992 victory.

With 36 goals in 106 appearances for Denmark, Inter Milan’s attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen is a vital part of his national team along with RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen and Kasper Schmeichel from Leicester City.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), Jonas Lossl (Midtjylland), Frederik Ronnow (Schalke)

Defenders: Jens Stryger Larsen (Udinese), Simon Kjaer (AC Milan), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Joachim Andersen (Fullham), Daniel Wass (Valencia), Mathias Jorgensen (Copenhagen), Joakim Maehle (Atalanta), Jannik Vestergaard (Southampton), Nicolai Boilesen (Copenhagen)

Midfielders: Mathias Jensen (Brentford), Christian Norgaard (Brentford), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham), Thomas Delaney (Dortmund), Anders Christiansen (Malmo), Christian Eriksen (Inter Milan), Mikkel Damsgaard (Sampdoria), Robert Skov (Hoffenheim)

Forwards: Martin Braithwaite (Barcelona), Andreas Cornelius (Parma), Andreas Skov Olsen (Bologna), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig), Kasper Dolberg (Nice), Jonas Wind (Copenhagen)

- Russia

Standing behind leaders Belgium, Russia had eight wins and two losses in the Group I of EURO 2020 qualifiers.

Their best finish was recorded in EURO 2008 when they moved to semifinals.

Zenit St Petersburg forward Artem Dzyuba is a key player of the squad as he scored 29 goals in 52 games for his nation.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Yuri Dyupin (Rubin Kazan), Matvei Safonov (Krasnodar), Anton Shunin (Dinamo Moscow)

Defenders: Georgi Dzhikiya (Spartak Moscow), Igor Diveev (CSKA Moscow), Yuri Zhirkov (Zenit), Vyacheslav Karavaev (Zenit), Fedor Kudryashov (Antalyaspor), Andrei Semenov (Akhmat Grozny), Mario Fernandes (CSKA Moscow)

Midfielders: Dmitri Barinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Rifat Zhemaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Maksim Mukhin (CSKA Moscow), Aleksandr Golovin (Monaco), Daniil Fomin (Dinamo Moscow), Roman Zobnin (Spartak Moscow), Alexei Ionov (Krasnodar), Daler Kuzyayev (Zenit), Andrei Mostovoy (Zenit), Magomed Ozdoev (Zenit), Denis Makarov (Rubin), Aleksei Miranchuk (Atalanta), Denis Cheryshev (Valencia)

Forwards: Artem Dzyuba (Zenit), Anton Zabolotny (CSKA Moscow), Aleksandr Sobolev (Spartak Moscow)

- Finland

Finland qualified for this year’s tournament after they ended the Group J second in the qualifiers with 18 points behind Italy.

Manager Markku Kanerva led Finland to their first major competition, EURO 2020.

Teemu Pukki is the most valuable player in the Finnish squad and the Norwich City striker forward scored ten goals in qualifiers.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Lukas Hradecky (Leverkusen), Jesse Joronen (Brescia), Anssi Jaakkola (Bristol Rovers)

Defenders: Paulus Arajuuri (Pafos), Daniel O'Shaugnessy (HJK Helsinki), Joona Toivio (Hacken), Leo Vaisanen (Elfsborg), Sauli Vaisanen (Chievo), Robert Ivanov (Warta Poznan), Jere Uronen (Genk), Nikolai Alho (MTK Budapest), Jukka Raitala (Minnesota United), Pyry Soiri (Esbjerg)

Midfielders: Glen Kamara (Rangers), Robert Taylor (Brann), Robin Lod (Minnesota United), Joni Kauko (Esbjerg), Onni Valakari (Pafos), Rasmus Schuller (Djurgarden), Thomas Lam (Zwolle), Tim Sparv (Larissa), Fredrik Jensen (Augsburg), Lassi Lappalainen (Montreal)

Forwards: Joel Pohjanpalo (Union Berlin), Marcus Forss (Brentford), Teemu Pukki (Norwich City)

EURO 2020 is scheduled to be held in 11 cities from June 11 to July 11, featuring 24 teams.