Former Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm mentioned neither Germany or England as favourites to win the Euro 2024. In his own prediction, it’s France that should be favoured to win their second title in the tournament.
Didier Deschamps is spoiled with the talents France have in all positions. From the back to the front, the well-known names dominated the list that was published by Squawka lately. Under the post, there are Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Alphonse Areola (West Ham), and Brice Samba (Lens) who are the first choices in their respective clubs.
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Philipp Lahm is impressed with France’s talents
On the defensive line, the likes of Theo Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano, Ibou Konate and Benjamin Pavard are favourites to be the first picks. From midfield to the front, the France squad are glittered with stars, from Eduardo Camavinga to Aurelien Tchouameni, Antoine Griezmann to Kylian Mbappe are serious threats for any opponents.
These are the reasons why Lahm surprisingly did not favour his own country Germany, who will act as host in this tournament. Speaking to AFP the eight-time Bundeliga winner said that the reason he believes France would be the stronger contender is the squad’s depth they have.
“France [are the favourites]. Quite simply because they have, I’d say, 40 players that are very talented,” he said via Goal. “They have a very balanced group and can easily make changes, bring players off the bench that could legitimately start, but what is the most important is to be a team on the pitch.”
Expecting more from Germany’s young players
However, Lahm has expressed his optimism over Germany’s squad prior to the Euro. The current Euro 2024 tournament director mentioned some factors that make Germany worth watching.
“(Germany) performed completely differently,” he said. “We had an established midfield and of course very, very young, dynamic, attacking players. And of course that brings self-confidence. But we can only know for sure over a longer period of time.”
Germany’s victory over France a few days ago has awakened the world’s attention to take the four-time world champions seriously. Lahm also said that he was expecting more from the young players in the national team.
“Super-talented players like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz are still relatively young but have a lot of experience. They certainly have the talent to raise the German national team to another level, but it’s important everything fits together, that the pieces of the puzzle fit together — and that was certainly the case in 2014. Everyone identified with their role and made their skills available to the team.”