Former England star Jamie Carragher has predicted that England will miss out on the title at the 2024 UEFA European Championship, hosted in Germany, with France lifting the trophy. Specifically, Carragher forecasts that England will fall in the semi-finals against France due to their inferiority against the French side.
England’s Euro campaign is set to begin on June 17th against Serbia, with fans hoping for their first-ever European Championship triumph. However, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Carragher expressed a contrasting opinion. He believes that while the contest between England and France is close, the depth of the French squad gives them the edge.
Carragher commented: “I think it’s a coin toss between England and France. But you look at players who didn’t make the French squad, they’ve won the Champions League and play for the biggest clubs in the world. Imagine England without Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham? France has others to step in.”
In contrast, he feels England lacks sufficient depth in crucial positions, especially defensively, with no obvious candidate to contain world-class forwards like Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann. “Take William Saliba, he doesn’t get many chances with the French national team. Yet, if he were English, I’d say he’d be our best center-back. My concern is facing Mbappé and Griezmann, two of the best in the world. We don’t have a defender who can stop them.”
Recalling England’s quarter-final loss to France in the 2022 World Cup, Carragher argues that this defeat supports his argument. Despite a tightly contested match, England lost 1-2, and Carragher envisages a similar scenario unfolding in the Euros.
On the other side of the draw, Carragher anticipates Germany, boosted by home support, reaching the final but ultimately failing to overcome France. Consequently, according to Carragher’s analysis, France is poised to win the Euros for the first time since 2000.