A recent World Cup winner ranked second in the world, two well-functioning functional sides, and an orange-tinted basket-case who could implode or be majestic. Group D is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
When it comes to thrills and spills however, the Netherlands do a lot of the heavy lifting.
France are a well-oiled machine who have only once failed to progress from the group stage at the Euros since 1992. Their industrious midfield will ensure they control proceedings. Their explosive forward-line will see them through.
As for Poland and Austria, inventiveness and risk will be kept to a minimum. They have their game-plans and they will stick to them.
Which leaves a Holland side still in an experimental phase to be the great unknown. Ronald Koeman may flinch at the prospect, but if any of the fixtures in their group turn out to be memorable, it will surely involve them, one way or the other.
France
Les Bleus coasted through their qualifying campaign, starting in imperious fashion with a four-goal deconstruction of Holland before edging their way past Ireland and Greece.
They ultimately completed their task unbeaten, conceding only three times in eight games while scoring 28. Just shy of a third of those were converted by Kylian Mbappe.
Included in that peerless run was a 14-0 decimation of Gibraltar and while it’s easy to highlight the vast disparity between the teams it’s also worth acknowledging that not many elite sides would show such ruthlessness, prepared to go again and again.
France were 7-0 up at the break and virtually every other top outfit – at international or club level - would have taken their foot off the gas thereafter.
This partly refutes the charge Didier Deschamps’ men often face, of being arch-pragmatists who just do enough and no more.
Elsewhere, a couple of friendly losses to Germany are blots on the landscape but all told, the second favourites in the Euro odds come into this tournament in decent shape and moreover will be one of the most settled squads competing this summer.
Deschamps values stability above all else, possibly because as a player he so often saw first-hand great French collectives bicker and combust, self-sabotaging their hopes.
Wins against Holland home and away in qualifying act as handy precursors of what may lie ahead but even so, easier groups are found elsewhere. Neither Poland nor Austria count as minnows while the Netherlands will be seeking revenge.
In megastar Mbappe and the always influential Antoine Griezmann, France possess the firepower to blitz their way to the knockouts but it will be interesting to see what mentality is carried into the tournament.
After all, this is a team that has reached consecutive World Cup finals but suffered heartache in their last two Euros.
Star Man
It has to be Mbappe, the winger’s lightning-quick footwork and lethal aim capable of undoing any defence at any given moment.
When at the peak of his powers the 25-year-old amounts to a cheat code.
Who is France’s Manager?
In situ for 12 years, Deschamps has given almost every member of his squad their international bows and having such an intuitive understanding of their strengths and weaknesses is a major plus, an advantage over many of his peers.
Furthermore, he has the players’ loyalty and trust from guiding them to World Cup glory in 2018.
Netherlands
Oranje are a fun, unpredictable team to watch, not to mention a team full of contradictions, and if this makes them a neutral’s favourite it must be an enormous source of frustration for Ronald Koeman as he unsuccessfully attempts to build a solid base at the back and have them hard to beat.
In truth, they are anything but, or at least they routinely come unstuck against superior opposition, losing to Croatia, Italy, France and Germany in the last calendar year.
In those four defeats, Holland shipped in 2.7 goals per 90.
Against sides ranked lower than them, however, the style is turned on and the goals flow and if this suggests that six points can be attained from Poland and Austria but a loss beckons at the hands of the French, then a potential problem lies in wait.
Finishing as runner-up in Group D puts them directly in line to face Portugal in the quarter-finals and Ronaldo and company have knocked them out of three major tournaments in the past.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First we must acknowledge that Koeman is blessed with arguably the best stable of defenders at the tournament, with Virgil Van Dijk a totem, and Matthijs De Ligt a class act.
On the left of a back three Nathan Ake has been brilliant for Manchester City this term while Stefan de Vrij is an outstanding back-up.
Scampering down the right, Denzel Dumfries is one of the finest of his type in world football.
Elsewhere though, for all that Koeman has experimented this past year in order to find the right balance, this is a team lacking in genuine quality.
Memphis Depay is no longer the player he recently was, and with Xavi Simons unfancied the Dutch persist in forlornly hoping that Wout Weghurst’s physical attributes translate to match-winning goals.
Their midfield meanwhile is one that can be over-powered and played through.
Star Man
Three ankle injuries over the course of this season has cast a doubt over Frenkie De Jong’s availability this summer.
The entire Dutch population will be praying he gets fit in time because without him that midfield three looks decidedly suspect.
Who is the Dutch Manager?
In his second stint in charge of Oranje, Ronald Koeman has shown little inclination to change a managerial style that brought mixed results last time out.
The players are trusted to be tactically flexible in-game and not always is that trust warranted.
Poland
This is Poland’s fifth straight Euros but their track record when reaching the tournament is negligible, progressing out of their group just once.
That was in 2016, when a succession of 0-0s, 1-0s and 1-1s took them as far as the quarters and if that’s how rarely they scored when Robert Lewandowski was in his prime at 27, what about now?
The arch-poacher turns 36 this August and his trademark darts into the box, hoping for that accurate low cross, have become few and far between.
Indeed, whether its due to limitation or by design this is a team not exactly known for its goal-scoring prowess, a 5-1 bettering of Estonia recently being very much an outlier.
Instead, Michal Probierz focuses on making his side extremely difficult to break down, its defence and midfield working as a single unit.
Even counters at the most opportune moments invite only two or three men forward.
The Eagles’ play-off victory in Wales epitomises this uber-cautious approach, one that regrettably we’ll see across all three of their games this summer. Poland’s first shot on target that evening was when Lewandowski opened the scoring in the penalty shoot-out.
Star Man
If a team is going to persist with a low block in most of their fixtures they better hope to have a decent keeper. In Poland’s case they absolutely do, with Juventus’ Wojciech Szczesny a veteran of major competitions.
The seasoned pro has seen it all and saved most of it.
Who is Poland’s Manager?
It’s staggering to think that Michal Probierz got the job under the mandate of Poland becoming more adventurous.
Promoted from coaching the under 21s the former Widzew Lodz midfielder was supposed to be an antidote to his predecessor Fernando Santos who presided over some stultifying fare. Alas, it’s more of the same.
Austria
To wildly paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to go into a major tournament minus your best player may be regarded as a misfortune. To also lose your best forward looks like carelessness.
Except it isn’t carelessness at all, just cold, rotten luck for Austria who first saw their captain David Alaba succumb to an ACL tear in December, before 6ft 7 striker Sasa Kalajdzic suffered the same fate in February playing for Eintracht Frankfurt.
Prior to these substantial setbacks it was all looking so rosy for Das Team as they prepared for a fourth Euros in five editions.
Revitalised by Ralf Rangnick’s tactical ingenuity and encouraged to open up more and entertain the fans, Austria breezed through their qualifying group, comfortably seeing off Sweden and staying at Belgium’s shoulder throughout.
With Bayern’s Konrad Laimer down the right, and Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer on the left, they possessed genuine quality in attacking areas, all bolstered by Christoph Baumgertner’s box-to-boxing centrally. And they had the superb Alaba raising the bar, and Kalajdzic to finish off chances.
Understandably, they were pitched as ‘dark horses’ in the football betting, a side capable of putting together a surprising run to the late stages.
Now? Now expectations have been lowered. Austria still press aggressively, and are still capable of pulling off impressive wins, as evidenced by a recent 2-0 triumph over Germany.
But finishing third and gaining a back-door entry to the knockouts seems like a best-case scenario.
Star Man
Christoph Baumgertner has not had his finest of seasons at RB Leipzig, struggling for form in parts, but he rarely lets his country down.
His energy and link-up play makes him a key component in Austria’s set-up.
Who is Austria’s Manager?
Much maligned in England due to his disastrous stint at Old Trafford, Rangnick is a well-respected figure on the continent, viewed as the ‘Godfather of gegenpress’.
Clearly international football suits the 65-year-old who recently turned down an approach by Bayern Munich.
Key Matches In Group D
Holland versus France is an obvious marquee match-up, but Austria’s meetings with each giant is worth an entry in your diary.
Das Team have it in them to spring a shock and France are especially in danger being traditional slow starters.
Euro 2024 Group D Fixtures
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16th June, 2pm – Poland v Netherlands
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17th June, 8pm – Austria v France
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21st June, 6pm – Poland v Austria
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21st June, 8pm – Netherlands v France
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25th June, 5pm – Netherlands v Austria
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25th June, 5pm – France v Poland
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
