New Delhi, June 11 : With club football now over in the top European leagues, fans have now turned their attention to the 2024 Euros to see which of the top 24 countries in Europe takes home the ultimate prize.

In an exclusive conversation with IANS, former Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri labelled England as favourites to win the trophy for the first time in the country's history.

"For contenders, if I have to pick one, put my neck on the line and then get trolled afterwards. I would say England," Chhetri told IANS.

England came agonizingly close last time as they faltered in the penalty-shootouts of the finals of the 2020 Euros at Wembley.

Many questions are being raised about manager Gareth Southgate's chosen squad for the tournament, which has seen big names like Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, and James Maddison miss out on the list of players, who traveled to Germany for the tournament.

"James Maddison (exclusion from the England squad) is a little bit of a shocker for me, Grealish and Rashford didn't play much domestically, so you can understand. And also you see the kind of talent he has at his disposal, you can't go wrong. What we have seen is a lot of times he has played two number six's. Even against teams that they should have gone more attacking. You saw two defensive midfielders playing. I hope he is more adventurous," added the 39-year old.

Despite the exclusions, no one can question the amount of talent and potential the squad possesses with names like Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka forming a young core of the squad led by England's all-time leading scorer, Harry Kane.

"I hope Jude will start. I really hope Foden plays number 10 because I'm a big Foden fan and I hope they are a little bit more attacking minded. And as far as the balance of the team is concerned, I think they are in a very sweet spot. In the last six to seven years, we have seen the upward trajectory of England. And now the youngsters like Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, they are no more youngsters. They are world beaters," concluded India's all-time top scorer.

Chhetri is the expert panelist on Sony Sports Network's studio show Football Extraaa for UEFA EURO 2024.

/IANS