Euro 2020: Who is likely to qualify?

Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar

Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri is a huge talent

This group could be surprisingly tricky to call, depending on how the Republic of Ireland can recover from a disastrous Nations League campaign that saw manager Martin O’Neill relieved of his job. If new boss Mick McCarthy can recapture the kind of spirit that saw him lead the Republic to the World Cup in 2002, anything is possible.

Sure, the Irish don’t have the quality that they did back then in Roy Keane, Robbie Keane and Damian Duff, but in Declan Rice and Michael Obafemi, they have exciting young talent, as well as stalwarts like Jeff Hendrick, Shane Duffy and Robbie Brady.

It won’t be easy for them, however, as they face recent nemesis Denmark – who defeated them in a qualifying playoff for the World Cup and topped their Nations League group, although they didn’t defeat the Republic in either of the games between the two. With key man Christian Eriksen in the form of his life though, they’re definitely a dangerous side.

Switzerland have also looked excellent recently; they surprised everyone by topping their Nations League group, and thumped Belgium 5-2 in a remarkable final match. The Swiss always tend to fly under the radar, but in Xherdan Shaqiri they have a genuine top-class talent capable of dismantling any team on his day.

Georgia aren’t likely to qualify, but after a strong Nations League campaign saw them top their group with 5 wins and 1 draw, they’ll be looking to pull off a potential upset of one of the bigger sides, which makes things more interesting. Gibraltar meanwhile continue to improve, but will clearly struggle here.

Overall I’d favour the Swiss to win the group, with Denmark most likely finishing as runners-up due to the Republic of Ireland being in a clear transition period. To see the Irish pull a miracle off wouldn’t be a massive shock, though.

Prediction: Switzerland and Denmark to qualify