Euro 2024 week 2 takeaways: Imbalanced England, France miss Mbappe, Portugal look strong

The second week at the 2024 European Championship has come and gone, with a few of the leading contenders already punching their tickets to the knockout stages and plenty still to play for elsewhere.

Here are some of the key takeaways ahead of the third week in Germany.

Hype and England go hand-in-hand at major tournaments, yet heading into Euro 2024, there were genuine expectations that the current squad could finally end 58 years of disappointment; they have the necessary experience having reached the final three years ago, boast an embarrassment of attacking riches, and in Jude Bellingham have a world-class talent around which to build the team.

Two games in, though, the flaws of this England side have been horribly exposed, even before they come up against a top-tier opponent. The absence of a left-footed left-back to provide width on a flank where Phil Foden spends much of his time cutting inside to the centre has been problematic.

But it's the failed experiment of deploying Trent Alexander-Arnold, a natural full-back, in central midfield to utilise his range of passing that best highlights the issues facing manager Gareth Southgate. No team has ever won a major international tournament without a settled and fully functioning midfield, so the decision to play the Liverpool right-back alongside Declan Rice, despite minimal game-time together, has proved a risk not worth taking.

It has left England desperately short of control in the most critical area of the pitch, resulting in the Three Lions retreating and defending early 1-0 leads against both Serbia and Denmark. While they held on unconvincingly to win their opening game, they were fortunate to escape with a draw against the Danes.

Granted, England are top of