England go into Euro 2024 with an excellent chance of winning their first major trophy since 1966. There are two Chelsea players involved in Gareth Southgate’s squad this summer in Germany.
It is not just with England that Chelsea are well represented at the European Championships. Here are two Blues who will be in action for other nations and will have eyes on the trophy themselves.
Marc Cucurella (Spain)
Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella has been a regular in Spain’s starting XI in 2024. He will be hoping his performances for club and country this year have been enough to be in Luis de la Fuente’s team for Euro 2024.
Spain begin their campaign with a tough test against Croatia, and they are 20/23 in the Paddy Power football odds for that match. Should Cucurella be named in the starting XI, his job will be to stop the likes of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and Andrej Kramaric from finding the scoresheet.
In the bet on Euro 2024 outright market, Spain are fifth best in the betting at 8/1. They reached the semi-finals at the last edition of the European Championship, losing on penalties to the eventual winners, Italy. They were also victorious in the UEFA Nations League in 2023, defeating Croatia in the final.
Firts day at the office 💙 pic.twitter.com/TUxMZSvunx
— Marc Cucurella (@cucurella3) August 5, 2022
Cucurella was a key member of Mauricio Pochettino’s side, which finished the 2023/24 Premier League season strongly. He made a slow start to his career at Stamford Bridge, but he is now showing why the club paid £55 million to secure his services from Brighton.
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
Striker Romelu Lukaku was at AS Roma on loan last season, where he played most of the campaign for former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. The Blues player scored 21 goals in all competitions.
Romelu Lukaku has FOUR goals in 37 minutes 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mbcl11CcIl
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 19, 2023
Lukaku remains a key member of the Belgium team. He has now played 115 times for his country, scoring 85 goals. The 31-year-old has been part of the golden Belgian generation who have underperformed in big tournaments.
There is less pressure on Belgium heading into Euro 2024 as they are not being discussed as one of the favourites. The Red Devils are now managed by Domenico Tedesco, after Roberto Martinez left his role in charge of the nation in 2023.
Lukaku’s future beyond this summer at Chelsea is likely to be discussed with new head coach Enzo Maresca after the European Championship. The Italian is sure to be keeping a close eye on the striker’s performances in Germany, as will several major clubs across Europe, including his former clubs Roma and Inter Milan.
With the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Leandro Trossard, Youri Tielemans, and Orel Mangala all supporting him in the Belgium team, Lukaku should be one of the leading scorers in the tournament. However, they will need to prove themselves in the knockout stages when they face one of the bigger nations in the competition.
The final of Euro 2024 takes place on Sunday, 14th of July in Berlin. It will conclude the 17th edition of the international tournament.
