Euro 2024 - Day 6 prediction: Wirtz to send Germany on their way to last 16

Action from Group A and B takes centre stage at Euro 2024 on Wednesday with three games to look forward to from across Germany.

Hamburg is set to be the first port of call, with Croatia and Albania going head-to-head as both sides go in search of their first points of the competition.

Next it’s off to Stuttgart where tournament hosts Germany will have the backing of the home crowd when they face Hungary.

To complete another intriguing trio of matches from Euro 2024, Scotland take on Switzerland knowing that defeat would likely see them miss out on the knockout stages of a major tournament once again.

TIP 1 - CROATIA TO WIN TO NIL @ 11/10

Croatia did not look like their usual selves when they suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Spain.

Trailing by three goals at half-time, Croatia improved in the second half and it’s remarkable they did not get on the scoresheet in Berlin, especially after missing a penalty and having the follow-up goal ruled out by VAR.

The Croats know they have plenty to work on but they don’t have to look too far back for some more encouraging defensive performances.

Croatia kept four clean sheets in their six games prior to their Euro 2024 opener and they should be capable of keeping Albania off the scoresheet on Wednesday at Volksparkstadion.

Albania gave Italy a scare in their opening Group B game when scoring after just 23 seconds of the contest from a poorly-taken Azzurri throw-in.

Italy showed their class to take back control in the early stages and even took the lead by the 16th minute thanks to goals from Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella.

Albania gave a good account of themselves against the reigning European champions but it’s hard to see them having enough quality across the park to overcome the Croats.

If Croatia can rediscover their defensive form from just before the Euros, they should be able to win to nil in Hamburg.

TIP 2 - FLORIAN WIRTZ FIRST GOALSCORER @ 21/4

One of the rising stars of German football, Florian Wirtz seems to be a player with the world at his feet at present.

Fresh from an unprecedented season at Bayer Leverkusen, with the club winning their maiden Bundesliga title and going unbeaten in the process, Wirtz has taken his great form into this major international tournament.

The 21-year-old bagged the opening goal of Euro 2024, as Germany wiped the floor with a Scotland side who looked out of their depth from the first whistle.

Wirtz has seemed to have made a habit of bagging early goals at international level.

Scoring in the 10th minute against the Scots, Wirtz also scored in the first minute of their 2-0 win over France in March this year.

Wirtz looks capable of bagging the first goal in Wednesday’s game, against a Hungarian side who were largely disappointing in their opening game against Switzerland.

Expected to give the Swiss a good game, the Hungarians went down 3-1 at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.

Hungary have been a thorn in Germany’s side in recent years, winning their last meeting and drawing the previous two encounters against Die Mannschaft.

Germany have a chance for revenge in Stuttgart and it’s worth considering Wirtz to bag the opener.

TIP 3 - SWITZERLAND TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE @ 3/1

Scotland’s Euro 2024 campaign was filled with optimism before a ball was kicked in Munich, with some 200,000 Scots believed to have travelled to Bavaria for the tournament opener.

Just a few minutes into the game against Germany and many will have realised it was going to be a long night at the Allianz Arena for manager Steve Clarke and his side.

A 5-1 shellacking was what Scotland got in the end and a substantial dose of reality for a nation hoping to reach the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time in their history.

That is still a possibility but the task is likely to be made even more difficult after their clash with Switzerland on Wednesday.

The Swiss looked impressive and made a resilient Hungarian side look pretty average themselves at the weekend.

Scotland have the likes of John McGinn and Scott McTominay who are capable of bagging a goal from midfield against the Swiss.

However, with Kwadwo Duah leading the line, Grant Xhaka in midfield, Manuel Akanji in defence and keeper Yann Sommer between the sticks, Switzerland have a strong spine of a team that can and should overcome the Scots.