England, Ronaldo and the biggest disappointments of Euro 2024

The group stage is now over and 16 of the 24 teams that started Euro 2024 in Germany are going through to the next round. With two days of rest until the knockout phase begins, let's review the big disappointments so far in the tournament.

Belgium was met with a hail of boos following their last group stage game. So bad were the vibes in the stand that captain De Bruyne abandoned his team's planned walk around the pitch to thank the fans. In a group in which it was the big favourite, they finished with the same points as Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania, only going to the second round thanks to their goal average.

While Portugal has navigated the group stage well (aside from their loss to Georgia anyway) the biggest disappointment in this side comes in the form of their superstar. Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored at all, and that is unusual in this type of tournament. Time passes for everyone, and CR7 will turn 40 in February.

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If you have to put a face on Belgium's poor first phase in the Euro 2024, Lukaku would be your poster boy. If The Belgian striker had executed his shots in front of the goal, he would be the top scorer of the tournament with six or seven goals to his name. That has not been the case.

The Croatian old guard has lived through a golden era that will go down in the history of the national team, but when the star of your team is still Luka Modric, who will turn 39 in September, there is clearly a lack of talent coming through.

As Football 365 put it: "Gareth Southgate is like someone who has been given a Ferrari to drive and only uses it in the slow lane." They have an excellent squad but on the field they look like headless chickens, physically exhausted and very far from the level they give in their top clubs in Europe. Something is wrong in England.

The same case as Southgate but with an even better squad. In fact, France has finished second in the group behind Austria, with a squad that could make two lineups that would scare the Devil himself.

France in general has been quite bad, but the Atlético de Madrid player, who usually comes out in big tournaments, is even worse. He has missed easy goals, he looks tired, slow and infected with the general malaise of his team.

The way the tournament has been set, Italy should win it and will do so in true Italian style. But they almost didn't even make it out of the group stage. If it weren't for a last-minute Zaccagni goal, their place would have been taken by a lackluster Croatia – as previously discussed.

Not too long ago, Jorginho was touted for the Ballon d'Or and even back then there was talk of him being an inflated and overrated player. This tournament is proving many of his detractors right. He was substituted at half-time in the match against Spain, the most important of the group stage for Italy.

Serbia has been awful in this edition. A team with people like Vlahovic (pictured), Milinkovic-Savic or Mitrovic has been unable to win a match and has finished last in a group that it shared with England, Denmark and Slovenia.

The Dutch center-back is standing out for all the wrong reasons. A usually rock-solid defender, Van Dijk has been a shadow of himself at this year's Euros, with countryman Rafael van der Vaart even calling him out for his 'lazy' defending that resulted in Austria's late victory over the Orange, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Well, now we're in the round of 16 there are no more second chances. All the pretenders will be found out soon enough – and we can't wait to see how it pans out!

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