Euro 2024 team-by-team preview: Who will be European champs? - ESPN

Club football? It's over. Put it out of your mind, at least for the next six weeks. Summer is international soccer season, and that formally begins on Friday when Germany and Scotland kick off Euro 2024.

The 17th edition of the European Championship will take place in 10 cities across Germany, from Hamburg in the north to Munich in the south, Düsseldorf in the west to Berlin in the east. Between June 14 and July 14, one of the most atmospheric footballing nations in Europe will welcome the rest of the continent to its symphonic stadiums.

There is no shortage of intrigue at the Euros. Will this be 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo's final international tournament? Will England lift their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup? What can Georgia offer on their European Championship debut? Can Italy repeat as champions? What of other tournament favourites such as France and Spain? Or the hosts?

To answer those questions, ESPN dissected all 24 teams who've freshly arrived in Germany, detailing which players you can't afford to miss, which burgeoning player is preparing to become a household name, what will hold teams back from winning and what each nation's chances are at the Euros.

Nickname: Kuqezinjtë (The Red and Blacks)
FIFA rank: 66
Euro 2024 group: Group B
Manager: Sylvinho
Record in past 12 months: 7W-3D-2L
Group stage fixtures: Italy (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET); Croatia (June 19, 9 a.m. ET); Spain (June 24, 3 p.m. ET)
ESPN BET odds to win Euro 2024: +50000

Can't-miss star: Kristjan Asllani. There are a few familiar names in here. You have Brentford's Thomas Strakosha in goal and Chelsea's Armando Broja up front. He has struggled for match time this season, so if you're looking for an in-form player, then it's either Atalanta's