Season › 2023-24 › Opinion › Talking Points Everton players at the 2024 European Championships by Gary McCarty | 19/04/2024 0 Comments [Jump to last] Premier League stars will feature heavily at the upcoming European Championships in Germany, with some clubs sending a dozen or more players to the tournament. By contrast, just four Everton players are likely to feature this summer – Jordan Pickford (England), Amadou Onana (Belgium), Vitalii Mykolenko (Ukraine) and Nathan Patterson (Scotland). Pickford and Onana both feature for teams who are towards the head of the outright betting for Euro 2024, but only one of them appeals as a likely winner. The Everton goalkeeper is England’s undisputed number one ahead of Aaron Ramsdale and he will be expecting to make a deep run at the tournament this summer. Article continues below video content Pickford has been a fairly reliable performer for the Three Lions since making his debut in November 2017, keeping 28 clean sheets in 60 international appearances. However, his hopes of claiming a winners’ medal look slim despite several online bookmakers rating England as one of the favourites to lift the trophy. Gareth Southgate’s side have been unconvincing in recent matches, and head into the tournament with a major point to prove. Injuries to key defenders have left England looking fragile at the back – a factor which the top teams will be eager to exploit this summer. Southgate’s conservative management style is also likely to be a sizeable hindrance to Pickford’s hopes of returning home as a European champion. His penchant for playing safe has cost England dearly at previous tournaments and the same fate is likely to befall them in Germany. While Pickford looks set to miss out on silverware, Onana could be a good bet to emerge victorious with Belgium this summer. The latest betting odds for Euro 2024 rate Belgium as 14/1 shots to lift the trophy and that looks decent value given the strength of their squad. Belgium outplayed England in a recent friendly at Wembley Stadium before a late Jude Bellingham goal salvaged a fortunate draw for the home side. However, Domenico Tedesco’s side can take plenty of heart from the way they played on that occasion and they could go a long way at Euro 2024. The Red Devils have been touted to win international silverware for some time now, but have repeatedly come up short in major tournaments. Tedesco is more tactically switched on than his predecessor Roberto Martinez and that could be the difference between success and failure in Germany. Belgium have been handed a reasonably favourable opening group alongside Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia and should have little difficult topping their section. Mykolenko and his teammates will have other ideas after safely navigating through the Euro 2024 play-offs to book their spot at the tournament. Ukraine were unfortunate not to finish runners-up behind England in their group and have the ability to be troublesome if everything clicks into gear. While Pickford, Onana and Mykolenko should all feature in the last-16 this summer, Patterson may not be as fortunate with Scotland, that is if he is even fit to play after he undergoes surgery on a torn hamstring. They did extremely well to qualify for Euro 2024 behind Spain, but have landed in one of toughest groups at the tournament. Hosts Germany are the bookies’ favourites to win Group A, while Hungary and Switzerland will fancy their chances of progressing tot the knockout phase. Scotland played poorly in their recent friendlies against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, and are expected to make an early exit this summer. Patterson has become a regular fixture in the starting XI under manager Steve Clarke, but his interest in the tournament will likely end after the first three matches. Return to Talking Points index : Add your Comments » How to get rid of these ads and support TW © ToffeeWeb