We asked David James who Euro 2024's dark horse would be - and the former England stopper had an intriguing answer
David James during his days as England number one
A wild Euro 2024 group stage comes to an end on Wednesday evening, with supporters being treated to a little bit of everything so far.
We've had upset wins, struggling favourites, big hitters making their mark, colourful fans, wonder goals and plenty of last-minute strikes as the early stages of the tournament have weaved a tapestry packed with narrative.
UK-based fans have also had the comforting familiarity of Scotland crashing out before the knockouts and England underwhelming in the group stage.
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We've also seen the football gods make a mockery of most people's predictions, not least because France and England - the two pre-tournament favourites with the bookies - managed just two goals each in the group stage as they limped into the last 16.
While that duo have underperformed, there is one team that is massively exceeding expectations in Germany. And if you were reading FourFourTwo before the tournament, you'll have been alerted to their dark horse potential by none other than former England goalkeeper David James.
The ex-Liverpool, Portsmouth and Manchester City stopper told us to keep an eye on Ralf Rangnick's Austria side, as he named them as his surprise package.
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Austria won a competitive Group D at Euro 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)
"My dark horses are Austria – I think they will do well," James told FourFourTwo earlier this month. "They’re going to be very well organised, very difficult to beat. It sounds a bit cliched, but they had a very successful qualification campaign."
And what a call that was, as former Manchester United boss Rangnick has led his side to the top of Group D, recovering from a narrow opening defeat to France before registering wins over Poland and the Netherlands.
The 3-2 win over the Netherlands was especially eye-catching, as the team's organisation and relentless high press was one of the best performances of the knock-out stage.
Next up for the Austrians will be a last 16 clash against the runner-up from Group F, which will be decided on Wednesday evening, with Turkey, the Czech Republic and Georgia all vying for second place behind Portugal.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
