From Cristiano Ronaldo's last dance to England's golden opportunity: Why Euro 2024 will be a truly epic tournament

After the ridiculous decision to stage Euro 2020 games in several different countries, resulting in squads racking up an offensive amount of air miles and fans having to fork out a fortune to follow their teams, we once again (and maybe for the final time) have a tournament staged in one country.

In Germany, we also have an ideal host nation, at least from a sporting perspective. The quality of the stadiums is fantastic. Not one has a capacity of less than 46,000 - and they should generate amazing atmospheres for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, Germany is centrally located within Europe and, thus, easily accessible to most visiting supporters. Secondly, Germany boasts a fantastic footballing culture. Even the neutrals in attendance will make their voices heard during the games.

There's obviously no way of predicting exactly how things will pan out ,but if Euro 2024 is anything like the 2006 World Cup, we're set for a terrific tournament that captures the imagination not only of the host nation, but also the entire sporting world.

Even accounting for the Nations League safety net, Ukraine making it all the way to Germany represents something of a minor miracle. The players and their people have been living a nightmare for the past two-and-a-half years, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine having devastated an entire country.

The ongoing war also meant that the national team couldn't play a single qualifying or play-off match on home soil, and yet Sergiy Rebrov's men still managed to get through. "It is impossible to put into words what it means to us," midfielder Giorgiy Sudakov told GOAL. "But there was just this incredible sense of pride."

The goal now is to bring even more joy to their long-suffering families and friends by qualifying for the knockout stage - and they actually have every chance of doing so, having been drawn in the same group as Belgium, Slovakia and Romania. Second spot really is there for the taking for a squad that views Euro 2024 as far more than just a football tournament.

The European Championship has too many teams. The format is now farcical. The quality of the competition has been diluted. But more games obviously means more money for UEFA.

Still, for all the justified cynicism surrounding the recent expansion, it was undeniably moving to see the scenes of celebration that followed Georgia qualifying for the Euros for the first time in the nation's history. As delirious fans streamed onto the pitch to embrace the nation's new heroes after the play-off win over Greece at the Boris Paitchadze Dinamo Arena, impromptu street parties broke out all across the country.

"We are so happy! I have never experienced such an emotion in all my life," star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia admitted to 1TV Sport.

The draw has not been particularly kind to Georgia, who will face Portugal, Czech Republic and Turkey in Germany. It's difficult to see a team that finished fourth in their qualifying group reaching the knockout stage - even though four third-placed teams will progress.

However, as coach Willy Sagnol told UEFA, "What's certain is that no matter who we play, we will never give up - and give everything we have." It's also clear that if Georgia were to even pick up a point, it would spark more beautiful scenes of celebration back home.

This is it for England. The past eight years have been building towards this moment. After the embarrassment of being knocked out of Euro 2016 by Iceland, Gareth Southgate has restored national pride in the Three Lions.

However, after several near-misses at major tournaments, the pressure is now very much on the manager to finally end 58 years of disappointment by lifting a trophy. Southgate, who is likely to stand down after the Euros, certainly has the players to triumph in Germany, at least from an attacking perspective. England arguably have a more exciting group of forwards than any other country in world football right now.

But will Southgate get the best out of them? He's been accused of being too conservative in the past, but surely now is the time to let them off the leash? After all, attack is probably the best form of defence for a squad that looks worryingly weak at the back.

Will England win the Euros? It's so hard to know. But there's no doubt that their campaign is going to be absolutely compelling because the sense of anticipation is immense. It's now or never for Southgate's side.

We thought we'd seen the last of Cristiano Ronaldo at international level after his teary-eyed exit from the Qatar World Cup. We should have known better. Ronaldo remains relentless; the man simply does not stop. He's made a career out of confounding his critics and now, at 39 years old, he's looking to win the Euros for a second time. He's got a strong shot at doing so, too.

Portugal have top players in every area of the pitch and, if he's given the nod to lead the line by Roberto Martinez (in truth, Goncalo Ramos and, in particular, Diogo Jota are better options), the ageing forward will be surrounded by wonderful creative talents such as Rafael Leao, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes.

Ronaldo's also been in good goal-scoring form of late - albeit in the Saudi Pro League - so he's actually a decent bet to win the Golden Boot, given Portugal have a weak group and aren't actually scheduled to face a group winner until the semi-finals.

The most prolific player in the history of international football seems perfectly primed for the perfect Portugal send-off... provided he doesn't decide to continue until the 2026 World Cup of course!

Would winning the Golden Boot propel Ronaldo into Ballon d'Or contention? Potentially, but several other stars are presently well ahead of him in the pecking order and well placed to make waves at Euro 2024 themselves.

All eyes will obviously be on Kylian Mbappe in Germany. Having finally confirmed his long-awaited move to Real Madrid, the France forward says he feels "liberated". Mbappe was amazing at the 2022 World Cup - but could this apparent newfound sense of freedom inspire him to hit even greater heights this summer.

Mbappe has long been considered the best player in the world but, at 25, he's yet to win a Ballon d'Or and there's every chance he could be beaten to top spot by one of his new Real Madrid team-mates, Vinicius Jr or Jude Bellingham. The Selecao star, who scored in the final of the Champions League, will be expected to shine brightly for Brazil at the Copa America, while Bellingham is coming off the back of probably the best debut season we've ever seen from a Galactico at Real Madrid, and you can be sure if England lift the trophy, their 20-year-old attacking midfielder will be one of the main reasons why.

Then again, Bellingham's compatriots Harry Kane and Phil Foden would also enter the mix if the Three Lions go all the way, given they were the best players in Germany and England, respectively, last season.

But what about Toni Kroos? The classiest of classy midfielders is set to retire after the Euros - would you really be surprised if he bowed out by guiding the host nation to glory, given he won the Champions League in his final game at club level?

Obviously, this summer's tournament is all about the ultimate collective glory and deciding who gets to lift the Henri Delaunay trophy - but it's also likely to be crucial to the outcome of the battle for the Ballon d'Or too.