Ronald Koeman believes Group D rivals France are the favourites to win Euro 2024 (Image: Getty)
Holland manager Ronald Koeman has snubbed Gareth Southgate's much-fancied England side and piled the pressure on Group D rivals France by electing them as his favourites to win Euro 2024.
Les Bleus open their tournament campaign against Austria on Monday, and Koeman will hope the added weight of expectation may cause them to slip up.
"There is not a big favourite but maybe France are a bit ahead of the rest because of their experience at big tournaments," the Dutchman said during a press conference on Saturday. "It could be an open fight between some big nations."
Koeman's Dutch camp was weakened by losing two key players leading into this summer's tournament. Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners were both withdrawn from the squad ahead of the Oranje’s clash with Poland on Sunday.
The Holland boss recently launched a dig at his former club, Barcelona, for ‘taking a risk’ by playing De Jong in April’s El Clasico. The midfielder suffered an ankle injury in the game against Real Madrid and hasn’t played since.
"We know that we will miss him, but pulling him out was a decision we took last week," Koeman said. "It’s not good to talk any more about this, because he’s not here. The team is good. The team is full of confidence."
Gareth Southgate's England side are fancied by many to go all the way in Germany (Image: Getty)
Koeman confirmed that Brian Brobbey will miss the Poland game but he expects the Ajax striker to be fit for Holland’s remaining group matches.
Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen and Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee were both given late call-ups to combat Koeman's last-minute injury concerns. Maatsen was in Mykonos with his girlfriend when the phone rang, while Zirkzee had to abandon a trip to Disney World in Florida.
The global media company has even invited Zirkzee to Disneyland Paris so he can finish his getaway once his national team duties have been served. Holland aren’t the only team being forced to reshuffle the pack.
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Sunday’s opponents, Poland, will be without talisman Robert Lewandowski when they take to the pitch at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion. And Koeman admits the veteran forward’s absence has been factored into his preparation for the showdown.
"Maybe it will change our plan a little bit," said the 61-year-old. "He has his own qualities, we know about Lewandowski, his quality and his threats. Normally they will play with two strikers if he’s not starting. We are analysing all their strikers."
