The Euros are officially underway and every nation has at least had one match under their belt providing some fans with optimism and some with trepidation about what is to come.

We already have a scroll of the goal of the tournament contenders and some big upsets in the first matchday providing us fans with plenty of excitement for what is next to come.

So, with that, let’s look at how the 24 teams are heading into the midway point of the group stage.

1. Germany (previous position: 2)

Like any good host, Germany got their summer party started with plenty of optimism and hope with a dominating 5-1 win against Scotland.

Jamal Musiala was the pick of the players wreaking absolute havoc down the left-hand side of the Scottish defence. His stat sheet included nine completed dribbles, a 100 per cent pass completion rate and one goal, earning him player of the match.

Toni Kroos was a close second, completing 102 out of 103 passes – still as vital as ever in Germany’s distribution and his final tournament.

But as Julian Nagelsmann noted in his press conference: “the collective won the match and the collective made sure that German football fans perhaps believe in us a little bit more”.

2. France (previous position: 1)

France probably could have won more than just 1-0 against Austria with the number of chances they produced but they come away with three points from it.

Marcus Thuram and Kylian Mbappe looked the most likely to score for France. But, their only goal was through an unfortunate own goal after a Mbappe cross was deflected by Max Wöber.

Most of the watch in the French training base in Paderborn now is whether Mbappe will play in their next match against the Netherlands after sustaining a broken nose while his goalless streak at the Euros continued for at least another game.

After being selected for this Euros squad seemingly out of the blue, N’Golo Kante has shown why Didier Deschamp selected him.

73 touches, six ball recoveries and two chances created more than justified his Player of the Match honours.

He has once again reminded the footballing world of his quality after playing in Saudi Arabia for the last year.

3. Spain (previous position: 4)

While Spain may not have led from a statistical point of view, they proved to be far more effective with the ball in comparison, helping convert their chances far better.

A scoring accuracy of 45.5 per cent compared to 31.3 per cent would be the deciding factor.

They were also far more aggressive when in possession. They managed 19 dribbles compared to Croatia having 12 which would coincide with their ten runs into the penalty area to Croatia’s three.

It would also mark the first time that Spain had less possession than their opponents – a first since the Euro 2008 final against Germany.

Lamine Yamal would also deliver in his Euros debut on the right wing.

With five dribbles completed, three attempts at goal and an assist, it was an amazing Euros debut for the 16-year-old and should hopefully build his case for the young player of the tournament.

4. England (previous position: 3)

A 1-nil victory may not be the score that England fans were wanting but any win in tournament play is a good win.

During the first fifteen minutes, they were dominant having 90 per cent of possession with their work ultimately culminating in Jude Bellingham’s goal to put them ahead for the rest of the match.

But after that, they let Serbia dictate the game, almost doubling their penalty area entries with 26 compared to England’s 14 after Bellingham’s strike, as well as having more possession.

Much of the post-match discussion was about why they retracted, with Erik ten Hag on Dutch television coming out to say that England was playing very passively.

Up next, they have a rematch of their Euro 2020 semis against Denmark, who will be looking to chalk up their first win in the tournament as England looks to confirm their knockout spot.

5. Portugal (previous position: 5)

Portugal managed a great escape from a potential upset against the Czech Republic to keep order within Group F.

Despite only leading the game for three minutes, Portugal was the better side throughout the 90 minutes and deserved to win the match.

Having nearly four times the number of shots at goal (19-5), eight times the attempts on target (8-1), thirteen times the corners (13-0) as well as winning out in defensive, middle and final third recoveries, it felt only a matter of time that they would hit the scoreboard.

That would come in the 69th minute, albeit via an own goal from Czech goalkeeper Jindřich Staněk parrying the ball away onto the boot of Robin Hranáč.

While they thought that they scored their winner in the 86th minute through Diogo Jota, only to have it overturned for offside, it was not until the 93rd minute when super sub Francisco Conceição actually netted the decisive goal three minutes after coming on.

Not a bad way to score your first international goal.

6. Italy (previous position: 6)

It would only be 23 seconds into their title defence when Italy would fall behind after a poor throw-in from Federico Dimarco and Albania swooped.

After the initial hick-up, Italy was able to pick themselves up and take back the lead within fifteen minutes thanks to goals from Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella.

Five Italian players, which were the centre-back pair of Alessandro Bastoni and Riccardo Calafiori, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Jorginho and Giovanni Di Lorenzo managed over 100 passes completed, each highlighting the level of possession they were able to maintain.

Especially considering that were able to develop 58 attacks compared to Albania’s 16; Italy’s control should give them a real chance against Spain for so long as they can turn it into more opportunities.

7. Netherlands (previous position: 7)

The Netherlands had a strong performance against Poland, winning 2-1, but it was almost undone by their poor finishing.

Out of the five players that had multiple shots, 17 attempts all up, only Cody Gakpo directed two of his attempts on target, with one finding the back of the net through a deflection for the 1-1 equaliser.

Wout Weghorst managed to once again play the role of the super sub for the Dutch, scoring a goal two minutes after coming on.

Nathan Ake would also have a great game, particularly from an attacking perspective providing both crucial assists, which were amongst the four chances he created for his nation.

8. Croatia (previous position: 8)

Looking from a purely statistical point of view, Croatia were the better-attacking team and should have finished with at least one goal (and probably would have without the penalty infringement).

From expected goals, possession, passing completion rate, and final third entries, there were very few stats on an attacking side that they did not lead. While they led in those stats, they just could not quite put it all together to see it materialise on the scoreboard.

And only five clearances for the match compared to Spain’s ten, when Spain had more passes within the final third, was reflective of the three-goal deficit.

They should be able to recover against Albania which should set them up for, at the very least, a third-place finish in the highly competitive Group B.

9. Switzerland (previous position: 12)

Ultimately, the repeated chances that Switzerland had compared to Hungary would help slowly erode the Hungarian defence, sealing the 3-1 win.

After finding his way back into the Swiss team at the back end of last year, Michel Aebischer – now playing out of position on the left instead of his usual central position – has managed to excel with a goal and assist.

On a side note, Granit Xhaka being awarded Man of the Match is now the fourth time that he has received the award in the Euros. That honour brings him level with the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Andrea Pirlo as the fifth player to do so since the award began at Euro 1996.

10. Denmark (previous position: 10)

It was only three years ago at the last Euros when Christian Eriksen had a medical episode in Denmark’s first match, preventing him from playing for almost a year. It only seems fitting that he would score the first goal, launching the Danes’ 2024 campaign by catching Slovenia off guard through a throw-in.

Eriksen seemed to rewind the clock and was instrumental in creating seven chances.

But no one was able to convert those chances, with the best one deflected within the six-yard box in the 55th minute, cementing a 1-1 draw.

With Denmark drawing in a game that they were expected by most to win, it does create more scenarios for how Group C might finish.

With England up next, a matchday where they would be the slight underdogs, Denmark may need to rely on other results on matchday three to get into the knockouts.

11. Belgium (previous position: 9)

After their game against Slovakia, Belgium, and in particular Romelu Lukaku, may not be particularly fond of VAR. Both goals to tie the match would be overruled by VAR with offside for the first and a handball in the build-up of play for the second.

It was not just Lukaku who had clear-cut chances that went awry. Jeremy Bakayoko, Yannick Carrasco and Jeremy Doku all had multiple shots to no avail.

Alongside this, Slovenia played their hearts out defensively.

Slovakia seemed to be able to hold themselves defensively, recovering the ball from those missed chances, and Belgium could not break them (or at least without the decision being overturned later).

12. Austria (previous position: 13)

Austria should hold their heads high despite a 1-nil defeat.

The own goal itself was quite unfortunate, with Maximilian Wöber trying to head the ball out towards the right side of the goal post, only to angle his header to the left.

The Austrians did have the majority of the possession compared to France and had 68 final third entries throughout the match, but their conversion to shots (six shots for a goose egg) largely originated from the midfield, with both forwards in Michael Gregoritsch and substitute Marko Arnautović struggling.

They had their best chance late with Patrick Wimmer running away with the ball on a fast break, looking destined to score until N’Golo Kante came in at the last moment and swiftly diffused the attack, before passing out to Mike Maignan without fault.

Austria now take on Poland next, which based on current results could decide who makes the knockout stage.

13. Hungary (previous position: 14)

It was a tale of two halves for Hungary in their first match.

The first half saw Hungary seem second best to Switzerland, and it quickly showed as they would close the half 2-nil down. They struggled to get the ball out of their half, with only 94 passes in the opposition half.

In the second period, they did have more chances and were rewarded with a goal thanks to Barnabás Varga. A cross from Hungarian captain Dominik Szoboszlai gave the game life with 20 minutes to go, only down one, but Breel Embolo’s strike would snuff out any hope left in added time.

Hungary plays Germany next which, going off expected results, may make entry to the knockouts harder given their opening loss. But they could yet become a wildcard team, if they can sneak into a third even second-place finish in the group.

14. Serbia (previous position: 15)

After Jude Bellingham scored the opening goal for England in the 13th minute, Serbia would bounce back and take control of the match.

After those 13 minutes, Serbia were ahead in areas such as possession and passes within their attacking half and had doubled their penalty area entries with 26 to England’s 14. However, they were not able to convert that onto the scoreboard.

And with credit to England’s defence, Serbia only managed one shot at goal within the 18-yard box. While we have seen some worldies scored from outside already within this tournament, it is rare for them to come off, and certainly not a sustainable mode of scoring.

But still, they can show that they have been able to go close with one of the favourites to win the competition, which should serve them well leading into their next game against Slovenia.

15. Ukraine (previous position: 11)

Ukraine is the first victim of a Euro upset, being beaten 3-nil by Romania.

They dominated possession for the entire game but struggled to convert their possession into shots on goal. It was only until the 76th minute they finally did direct one on target, and by then Romania already had three goals and had the match in the bag.

After a season to remember at Real Madrid, Andriy Lunin had a game to forget with a poor kickout after being pressured leading to Romania scoring its first goal. A second regretful moment gave Romania their second, as the ball slipped underneath the Ukraine No.1.

If they can rebound against Slovakia on Friday night and get three points, which they are favourites to do, then it will make for an incredibly interesting final matchday within Group E.

16. Romania (previous position: 22)

The reaction within Romania to this result could best be summed up by Andrei Rațiu’s reaction to Nicolae Stanciu’s wonder goal. With it being their first win at a men’s major tournament since 2000, Romania has been sent into a state of optimism by the team now known as the ‘Generation of Soul’.

While Ukraine had the bulk of the possession and shots at goal, Romania showed they could do more with less.

Outside of Denis Drăguş’ goal right in the six-yard box to put them up three-nil, Romania’s next best chance based on the xG measure would be at 0.06 according to Opta.

As I mentioned in the Early Euro Power Rankings, the key to Romania’s success was going to be their defence. Tottenham’s Radu Drăgușin demonstrated why with ten clearances as well as a 100 per cent win rate in defensive duels helping contribute to the clean sheet.

17. Slovakia (previous position: 21)

Slovakia joins Romania to form the Group E upset alliance which now sees Group E flipped from its expected results.

This was probably the bigger upset that took place across the group purely based on FIFA rankings, but Slovakia played incredibly well to get the result over Belgium.

Defensively led by captain Milan Škriniar, Slovakia were able to contain and prevent Belgium from getting good chances at goal. In balls recovered, Slovakia managed 40 compared to Belgium’s 32. They had more successful tackles with seven to Belgium’s five and managed 13 clearances to Belgium’s ten.

And with a bit of assistance thanks to VAR (and Snicko technology) disallowing both of Romelu Lukaku’s goals, Slovakia scraped home.

If they can beat Ukraine, it would be the first time that the side has had multiple wins in a major tournament since they were a part of Czechoslovakia in the 1990 World Cup.

18. Czech Republic (previous position: 16)

The Czech Republic were three minutes away from a monumental upset within the Euros, despite seemingly being the second-best team on the pitch.

By halftime, Portugal had nine attempts on goal to the Czech Republic’s one which they were able to soak up quite well defensively.

Managing 30 out of 34 clearances, as well as managing ten interceptions compared to Portugal’s four, showed how they were able to deal with the European powerhouse’s repeated chances.

Their goalkeeper Jindřich Staněk managed to complete seven saves throughout the game which is a tournament high at this edition of the Euros.

But by stoppage time, Portugal was able to get one more chance on goal and scored.

19. Slovenia (previous position: 19)

Playing in their first major men’s tournament since the 2010 World Cup, Slovenia was once again on the big stage and held on to get a point against Denmark.

As captain Jan Oblak acknowledged in an interview after the match, “for the first 20-30 minutes we were perhaps a bit afraid because some of our players are not used to such matches.”

But after that period and more so in the second half, Slovenia came into their own. In that second half, they were able to equal Denmark’s final third entry.

They also had a great defensive game; centre-back Jaka Bijol managed ten clearances for the match alone.

Oblak would also come up big putting his stomach out to prevent Rasmus Højlund from scoring in the 65th minute, which was arguably Denmark’s best chance outside of Eriksen’s goal.

20. Turkey (previous position: 20)

With a 3-1 win against Georgia, Turkey has managed their second win in a major tournament since their run to the semi-finals at Euro 2008.

The main point from Turkey has been the arrival of Arda Güler at a national level.

Usually playing off the bench for Turkey, Güler would play in only his third start out of his eight international caps and first in a major tournament, and he delivered.

Besides scoring one of the contenders for goal of the tournament, which outdid his teammate Mert Müldür’s opening goal, he played a great all-round game, helping create five chances for Turkey and earning him the Player of the Match award.

From a team perspective, Turkey were able to regain possession within the final third a lot more in comparison to Georgia. According to Opta, Turkey managed seven final-third ball recoveries compared to Georgia’s one, helping go a long way to their increased chances at goal.

21. Poland (Previous Position: 18)

Without Robert Lewandowski being able to play in their opening match, whatever chances Poland had of winning were diminished. And they were even more diminished after being placed on the backfoot for the opening 15 minutes by a flurry of chances from the Netherlands.

However, it would be Lewandowski’s replacement Adam Buska who would score against the run of play from a corner to take the unexpected lead.

Despite limited attempts on goal, Poland certainly made the most of them with eight out of the 11 coming within the 18-yard box – seven of those on target compared to the Netherlands four.

If not for the substitution of Wout Weghorst, Poland may have walked away with a point in tow en route to their clash with Austria, which according to reports will see Lewandowski return to the line-up.

22. Scotland (previous position: 17)

A red card to Ryan Porteous was the nail in the coffin for any comeback for Scotland but they struggled throughout the full 90 minutes.

Scotland could not find any way to get the ball forward, only having eight attacks for the game compared to Germany’s 63 as well as only having 198 passes completed to Germany’s 657.

However, despite not having a single shot on goal, they would still get a goal thanks to Germany’s Antonio Rudiger.

23. Albania (previous position: 23)

Albania could not have had a better start to their tournament.

With Nedim Bajrami scoring the fastest goal in Euros history against the reigning champions, it set up a possibility for an early upset within the second day of the tournament.

But they would be brought back to reality by Italy in the space of 15 minutes after the Azzurri scored two goals and took back the league.

Outside for the first minute, Albania was on the back foot and were unable to break up the copious amount of passes that Italy had going for them.

24. Georgia (previous position: 24)

In their first game at their major tournament debut, Georgia would fall short losing 3-1 to Turkey.

The losses in possession particularly in their defensive third and middle third would prove too costly for Georgia.

They did have the chance to take the lead when the game was 1-1 in the 35th and 37th minute, as well as tie the game at 2-2 in the 70th and 93rd minute but could not finish their chances.

Georges Mikautadze was the pick of the Georgian players, being very prominent within the attack with five attempts on goal. He managed to score one, putting him into the history books as the first player to score for Georgia at a major tournament.