Dragusin, Hojbjerg, Van de Ven and Vicario at Euro 2024
This summer's Euro 2024 is a matter of days away as attention turns to Germany where 24 nations will be battling it out to lift the Henri Delaunay Cup at Olympiastadion Berlin come Sunday 14 July.
The 17th edition of Europe's major international competition gets under way this Friday (14 June), as hosts Germany face Scotland in the 75,024-capacity Allianz Arena in Munich (kick-off 8pm UK).
With four Spurs players named in final squads for their respective national teams, that means holders Italy, Denmark, Netherlands and Romania are countries to keep a close eye on.
The European Championship format consists of six groups of four teams, with the top two from each group progressing automatically through to the last-16 as well as the four best third-placed sides.
Here's our complete guide to our Club representatives this summer and the key dates to set your calendars to watch them in action...
Italy
Guglielmo Vicario
Caps: Two
International debut: vs Ecuador - 24 March 2024
In perhaps holders Italy's strongest position given captain Gianluigi Donnarumma is their first choice, Guglielmo Vicario's emergence as one of the continent's finest shot-stoppers has only bolstered their strength in depth in the goalkeeping department.
At 27, 'Vic' heads into his first major tournament in the best form of his career. After an impressive, ever-present debut campaign for Spurs in the Premier League, the Italian's club form led to his international debut in a 2-0 win over Ecuador this year and is yet to concede in his two caps to date - having played the full match in their 0-0 draw with Turkey in a pre-Euros friendly on 4 June.
With Paris Saint-Germain's Donnarumma taking the No 1 spot, Vicario - meaning 'deputy vicar' in Italian - is an aptly named and highly talented back-up option in the Azzurri ranks.
Title defence
Current champions Italy head to Germany looking to defend their European Championship crown after beating England on penalties at Wembley Stadium in the delayed Euro 2020.
Three years on, it's all change for the Azzurri with a new Head Coach, new personnel and a new style of play. Luciano Spalletti, appointed after Roberto Mancini left for Saudi Arabia's national team, takes charge of his first major international competition.
Finishing second behind England in qualification, the holders have been drawn in what appears to be the so-called group of death with two-time winners Spain, knockout football specialists Croatia and Albania. To illustrate the competitiveness of Group B, Spain, Italy and Croatia sit eighth, ninth and 10th in the current Fifa rankings respectively.
Confirmed fixtures for your diary...
Saturday 15 June
Italy vs Albania (8pm UK)
Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund
Thursday 20 June
Spain vs Italy (8pm)
Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
Monday 24 June
Croatia vs Italy (8pm)
Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
Group B
Italy
Manager: Luciano Spalletti
Captain: Gianluigi Donnarumma
Best Euros finish: Winners (1968 & 2020)
Most caps in squad: Donnarumma (62)
One to watch: Nicolo Barella or Guglielmo Vicario (if he features)
Fifa rank: Nine
Spain
Manager: Luis de la Fuente
Captain: Alvaro Morata
Best Euros finish: Winners (1964, 2008 & 2012)
Most caps in squad: Morata (73)
One to watch: Rodri
Fifa rank: Eight
Croatia
Manager: Zlatko Dalic
Captain: Luka Modric
Best Euros finish: Quarter-finals
Most caps in squad: Modric (175)
One to watch: Modric
Fifa rank: 10
Albania
Manager: Sylvinho
Captain: Berat Djimsiti
Best Euros finish: Group stage
Most caps in squad: Elseid Hysaj (84)
One to watch: Kristjan Asllani
Fifa rank: 66
Denmark
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Caps: 77 / 10 goals
International debut: vs Sweden - 28 May 2014
If Vicario is just finding his feet at international level, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is a well-travelled midfielder who is embarking on his third major tournament with Denmark.
Pierre's first taste of a finals came at Euro 2020, playing every minute of the Dane's journey to the semi-finals where they fell 2-1 to England after extra-time, before again not missing a minute at the 2022 World Cup where they endured a group stage exit in Qatar.
The 28-year-old is such an important player for his nation and has hit a hot streak heading into this summer's tournament, with two goals in as many games in both warm-up friendlies in wins over Sweden - where he captained the side for the first time - and Norway. A decade into his international career, the Dane has experience of playing in Germany with Bayern Munich, is a leader in the dressing room and a vital cog in their midfield unit alongside former Spur Christian Eriksen.
Out for revenge
Winners in 1992, Denmark upset the odds at Euro 2020 when they recovered from losing their opening two group games to progress to the semi-finals but narrowly lost out to England after 120 minutes at Wembley.
Galvanised by a team spirit that came from national hero Eriksen's harrowing cardiac arrest on the pitch in their opening game defeat to Finland in Copenhagen on 12 June 2021, Head Coach Kasper Hjulmand has opted for experience and togetherness after selecting very similar personnel once again.
Qualifying top of a group consisting of Slovenia and Finland, the Danes will be out for revenge in Germany as they have been drawn against Gareth Southgate's England in Group C, as well as familiar foes Slovenia plus Serbia.
Confirmed fixtures for your diary...
Sunday 16 June
Slovenia vs Denmark (5pm UK)
MHPArena, Stuttgart
Thursday 20 June
Denmark vs England (5pm)
Waldstadion, Frankfurt
Tuesday 25 June
Denmark vs Serbia (8pm)
Allianz Arena, Munich
Group C
Denmark
Manager: Kasper Hjulmand
Captain: Christian Eriksen
Best Euros finish: Winners (1992)
Most caps in squad: Simon Kjaer (132)
One to watch: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Fifa rank: 21
Slovenia
Manager: Matjaz Kek
Captain: Jan Oblak
Best Euros finish: Group stage
Most caps in squad: Jasmin Kurtic (91)
One to watch: Benjamin Sesko
Fifa rank: 57
England
Manager: Gareth Southgate
Captain: Harry Kane
Best Euros finish: Runners-up
Most caps in squad: Kane (91)
One to watch: Jude Bellingham
Fifa rank: Four
Serbia
Manager: Dragan Stojkovic
Captain: Dusan Tadic
Best Euros finish: N/A
Most caps in squad: Tadic (108)
One to watch: Tadic
Fifa rank: 33
Netherlands
Micky van de Ven
Caps: Four
International debut: vs France - 13 October 2023
Joining the Club from German side Wolfsburg in August 2023, Micky returns to Deutschland off the back of a stellar debut campaign for Spurs in what will be his first taste of a major international tournament.
It's no secret that Micky's fast, like fastest in the Premier League levels clocked at 37.38 km/h against Brentford in January, but also the 23-year-old's performances have made him a huge hit at Spurs and is a young prospect Dutch fans will be excited about.
Without a senior cap and a relative unknown on the world stage upon his arrival in north London, the flying Dutchman's early season form earned him a maiden senior international call-up and debut two months after signing. A hamstring injury sustained in November ruled him out for two months but he quickly picked up where he left off to end up claiming our Player of the Season - as voted by supporters. The defender has four caps to date and recently made his full debut in a 4-0 win over Canada in a pre-Euros friendly.
Hopeful Holland
In his second spell in charge of the national team, Ronald Koeman - a key player in the Dutch's Euro 1988-winning side in Germany - leads Oranje into what will be his first major finals at the helm. Despite overseeing their return to the continent's major in Euro 2020 - after they failed to qualify four years prior - Koeman left for Barcelona in August 2020 before the rescheduled Euros in 2021.
This time around, qualification got off to an iffy start when several players fell victim to an illness bug which led to a 4-0 away loss to France in the first round of qualification. Holland did bounce back to qualify runners-up behind Les Blues who they have been drawn alongside in Group D. With two nations inside the world's top 10 and all four in the top 30, this group is nicely poised.
Confirmed fixtures for your diary...
Sunday 16 June
Poland vs Netherlands (2pm UK)
Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
Friday 21 June
Netherlands vs France (8pm)
Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
Tuesday 25 June
Netherlands vs Austria (5pm)
Olympiastadion, Berlin
Group D
Netherlands
Manager: Ronald Koeman
Captain: Virgil van Dijk
Best Euros finish: Winners (1988)
Most caps in squad: Daley Blind (107)
One to watch: Micky van de Ven
Fifa rank: Seven
Poland
Manager: Michal Probierz
Captain: Robert Lewandowski
Best Euros finish: Quarter-finals
Most caps in squad: Lewandowski (150)
One to watch: Lewandowski
Fifa rank: 28
France
Manager: Didier Deschamps
Captain: Kylian Mbappe
Best Euros finish: Winners (1984 & 2000)
Most caps in squad: Olivier Giroud (133)
One to watch: Mbappe
Fifa rank: Two
Austria
Manager: Ralf Rangnick
Captain: Marko Arnautovic
Best Euros finish: Round of 16
Most caps in squad: Arnautovic (112)
One to watch: Marcel Sabitzer
Fifa rank: 25
Romania
Radu Dragusin
Caps: 17
International debut: vs Greece - 25 March 2022
Still only 22, Radu Dragusin carries the expectation of a nation as one of Romania's star players. His record speaks for itself as Romania are yet to lose and have kept seven clean sheets in the 12 games when Radu has played the full match.
After debuting in March 2022, the defender was a mainstay throughout the Tricolours' 10-game unbeaten Euro 2024 qualification campaign which included six shutouts to secure their place at the finals for the first time in eight years.
Radu left his homeland as a 16-year-old to join the academy of Italian giants Juventus in 2018 and was in the first-team setup within two years. Loans in Italy's top two tiers brought first-team experience before a permanent move to Genoa and impressive performances led to his Spurs move in January 2024. The physical, imposing centre-back has made nine Premier League appearances so far and added crucial depth to our defensive ranks.
Romania's return
Romania return to a major tournament having missed out on both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the previous Euros. It marks 30 years since one of the nation's most famous victories when they knocked out an Argentina side boasting Diego Maradona in the Round of 16 at the 1994 World Cup.
In what will be their sixth European Championship appearance, the Tricolorii's best performance came at Euro 2000 where one of the country's most iconic players, Gheorghe Hagi - the hero of that World Cup run - inspired Romania to the quarter-finals before his retirement a year later.
The current crop now features Hagi's son, Ianis - who is on the books at Scottish side Rangers - alongside Radu and national team coach Edward Iordanescu has created a tight-knit group that are resilient and hard to beat.
Confirmed fixtures for your diary...
Monday 17 June
Romania vs Ukraine (2pm UK)
Allianz Arena, Munich
Saturday 22 June
Belgium vs Romania (8pm)
RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne
Wednesday 26 June
Slovakia vs Romania (5pm)
Waldstadion, Frankfurt
Group E
Romania
Manager: Edward Iordanescu
Captain: Nicolae Stanciu
Best Euros finish: Quarter-finals (2000)
Most caps in squad: Stanciu (70)
One to watch: Radu Dragusin
Fifa rank: 46
Ukraine
Manager: Serhiy Rebrov
Captain: Andriy Yarmolenko
Best Euros finish: Quarter-finals
Most caps in squad: Yarmolenko (118)
One to watch: Mykhailo Mudryk
Fifa rank: 22
Belgium
Manager: Domenico Tedesco
Captain: Romelu Lukaku
Best Euros finish: Runners-up (1980)
Most caps in squad: Jan Vertonghen (154)
One to watch: Kevin De Bruyne
Fifa rank: Three
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