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Euro 2020 Group C preview: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia - fixtures, squads, match schedule, predictions

Euro 2020 Group C preview: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, North Macedonia - fixtures, squads, match schedule, predictions

Group C could be wide open at Euro 2020 with plenty of opportunity for drama.

Netherlands have a promising squad as this summers tournament, but there is always room for an error with this Dutch side - and Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia will all be looking to steal a march if they slip up.

Euro 2020 Group C preview

Netherlands

Euro 2020 fixtures: vs. Ukraine in Amsterdam, June 13; vs. Austria in Amsterdam, June 17; vs. North Macedonia in Amsterdam, June 21

Qualifying: Group C runner-up

Euro 2016 result: Did not qualify

Best result: Champion (1988)

FIFA ranking: 16th

Coach: Frank de Boer (Netherlands)

 (AFP via Getty Images)
(AFP via Getty Images)

Squad

Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen, Tim Krul, Maarten Stekelenburg

Defenders: Nathan Ake, Daley Blind, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Denzel Dumfries, Jurriem Timber, Patrick van Aanholt, Joel Veltman, Owen Wijndal

Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong, Marten de Roon, Ryan Gravenberch, Davy Klaassen, Teun Koopmeiners, Donny van de Beek, Georginio Wijnaldum

Forwards: Steven Berghuis, Luuk de Jong, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo, Donyell Malen, Quincy Promes, Wout Weghorst

Key player: Memphis Depay — The forward is coming off the best scoring season of his 4{ years at Lyon, with 20 goals in the French league, and is expected to join Barcelona once his contract expires at the end of this month. Depay is fast and direct, as well as being dangerous from free kicks, and is a much more mature player from the one that struggled in a short spell at Manchester United from 2015-17.

Ukraine

Euro 2020 fixtures: vs. Netherlands in Amsterdam, June 13; vs. North Macedonia in Bucharest, June 17; vs. Austria in Bucharest, June 21

Qualifying: Group B winner

Euro 2016 result: Group stage

Best result: Group stage (2012, 2016)

FIFA ranking: 24th

Coach: Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)

Squad

Goalkeepers: Georgiy Bushchan, Andriy Pyatov, Anatolii Trubin

Defenders: Eduard Sobol, Illia Zabarnyi, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Denys Popov, Oleksandr Tymchyk, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Oleksandr Karavaev, Mykola Matviyenko

Midfielders: Serhiy Sydorchuk, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Mykola Shaparenko, Marlos, Yevhen Makarenko, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Viktor Tsygankov, Taras Stepanenko, Andriy Yarmolenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, Heorhii Sudakov, Roman Bezus

Forwards: Roman Yaremchuk, Artem Besedin, Artem Dovbyk

Key Player: Oleksandr Zinchenko — Converted into a left back at Manchester City, Zinchenko primarily plays as a central midfielder for Ukraine and is preparing to captain his country for the first time at a major tournament. He has the experience of being a Premier League title winner with City and started this season's Champions League final, with manager Pep Guardiola a fan of his positional play and ability on the ball in tight spaces.

Austria

 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Euro 2020 fixtures: vs. North Macedonia in Bucharest, June 13; vs. Netherlands in Amsterdam, June 17; vs. Ukraine in Bucharest, June21.

Qualifying: Group G runner-up

Euro 2016 result: Group stage

Best result: Group stage (2008, 2016)

FIFA ranking: 23rd

Coach: Franco Foda (Germany)

Squad

Goalkeepers: Daniel Bachmann, Pavao Pervan, Alexander Schlager

Defenders: David Alaba, Aleksandar Dragovic, Marco Friedl, Martin Hinteregger, Stefan Lainer, Philipp Lienhart, Phillipp Mwene, Stefan Posch, Christopher Trimmel, Andreas Ulmer

Midfielders: Husein Balic, Julian Baumgartlinger, Christoph Baumgartner, Florian Grillitsch, Stefan Ilsanker, Konrad Laimer, Valentino Lazaro, Marcel Sabitzer, Louis Schaub, Xaver Schlager, Alessandro Schopf

Forwards: Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch, Sasa Kalajdzic, Karim Onisiwo

Key player: David Alaba — Alaba has been a key member of Bayern Munich's defense, not in his long-time position of left back but as a center back where he uses his reading of the game and ability to launch attacks to great effect. For Austria, he is mostly used as an attacking midfielder and doesn't always carry his club form to the national team. Alaba has already agreed to join Real Madrid after Euro 2020.

North Macedonia

Euro 2020 fixtures: vs. Austria in Bucharest, June 13; vs. Ukraine in Bucharest, June 17; vs. Netherlands in Amsterdam, June 21

Qualifying: Playoff Path D winner

Euro 2016 result: Did not qualify

Best result: Never before qualified

FIFA ranking: 62nd

Coach: Igor Angelovski (North Macedonia)

Squad

Goalkeepers: Stole Dimitrievski, Damjan Siskovski, Riste Jankov

Defenders: Stefan Ristovski, Visar Musliu, Egzon Bejtulai, Kire Ristevski, Gjoko Zajkov, Darko Velkovski, Ezdzan Alioski

Midfielders: Arijan Ademi, Enis Bardhi, Stefan Spirovski, Boban Nikolov, Tihomir Kostadinov, Ferhan Hasani, Eljif Elmas, Daniel Avramovski, Darko Curlinov, Marjan Radeski

Forwards: Goran Pandev, Aleksandar Trajkovski, Ivan Trickovski, Vlatko Stojanovski, Krste Velkovski, Milan Ristovski

Key player: Goran Pandev — The 37-year-old Pandev, who has spent most of his career playing in Italy, scored the goal that earned North Macedonia a spot at Euro 2020, sparking wild celebrations ahead of the country's first appearance at a major tournament. He was a striker in the Inter Milan team that became the first Italian club to win the treble in 2010, claiming the league title, the cup and the Champions League, and has now represented his country for 20 years.

Additional reporting by AP.

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