Euro 2024: the first match in the France group, England begins its competition… the program for this Sunday, June 16

Jude Bellingham et les Anglais sont parmi les favoris à la victoire finale. MAXPPP – ANDY RAIN

Poland and the Netherlands who face each other in the France group, one of the favorites, England, begins their Euro 2024 in the evening, here is the program for this Sunday June 16 in Germany. 

Ambitious Netherlands against a Poland deprived of Lewandowski

Before facing the Blues next week, the Netherlands begin their Euro 2024 campaign with optimism and appetite this Sunday in Hamburg (3 p.m.), against a Poland weakened by Robert Lewandowski's injury.

The two selections are playing an already decisive match in Group D where the France team, which will face Austria on Monday evening, is the ultra favorite. The meeting promises to be balanced between two nations which each won their two preparation matches, the Netherlands against Canada (4-0) and Iceland (4-0), Poland against Ukraine (3-1) and Turkey (2-1).

"Our victories gave us confidence before facing a good Polish team," said Batavian coach Ronald Koeman. "We are difficult to beat", also warned Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, stressing that as often, the selection included players from the best European clubs in its ranks.

The pragmatic Danes in search of a new lease of life in the face of

Exiting through the back door at the 2022 World Cup, the Danes, improbable winners of Euro 1992, are counting on experience and consistency to do well and reiterate their performance of 2021, where they reached the last four.

Three years ago, the Reds and Whites had moved beyond the tragedy of the cardiac arrest of their playmaker Christian Eriksen and transformed their participation into a fantastic epic, going as far as the end of the year. to reach the semi-finals, lost at Wembley against England. Three years later, after a sluggish or even mediocre qualifying campaign, marked by a humiliating 2-3 conceded to Kazakhstan, they are ready to compete for the tenth Euro in their history.

A competition that they will begin this Sunday late afternoon in Stuttgart (6 p.m.) against the Tom Thumb of this competition, Slovenia. With a clear objective during this Euro: to create a surprise, even to be "dangerous" like in March, when they won against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, betting on their team spirit.

England at the crossroads of its dreams and doubts

England of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham has a good winning lead at the Euro but also doubts to chase away, especially in defense, from Sunday (9:00 p.m.) against the Serbia, a match considered risky by the authorities.

The European vice-champions begin their campaign in Gelsenkirchen with a golden squad and pressure to manage, three years after their final lost on penalties against Italy in residence. "When you's one of the favorites, you have to appreciate that pressure", goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, already present as a starter at the 2018 World Cup (semi-final), said on Friday at the&# 39;Euro 2020 (final) and the 2022 World Cup (quarters).

For coach Gareth Southgate, whose contract expires in December, it is a question of finally getting to the end of a great competition and offering the # 39;England, motherland of football, a title it has been waiting for since the 1966 World Cup.