Ahead of Friday's opening game of UEFA Euro 2024 between Germany and Scotland, TSN Soccer Analyst and former Scottish international Steven Caldwell has made his picks for the tournament.

Caldwell has no shortage of upsets and surprises in his bracket, including seeing his home nation through to not only the Round of 16, but also the quarter-finals. 

Watch every game of UEFA Euro 2024 LIVE on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.

Caldwell's selections are as follows (winners in bold):

Caldwell's UEFA Euro 2024 Round of 16 Picks

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Croatia vs. Netherlands
Germany vs. Denmark
Portugal vs. Italy
Austria vs. Ukraine

Belgium vs. Scotland
France vs. Czechia
England vs. Turkey
Switzerland vs. Spain

Caldwell sees Croatia topping the World No. 7 Dutch side in a low-scoring contest that would be one of the headline matches of the Round of 16. 

A win for Portugal sets up a promising path to at least the semifinal, with the winner of Austria and Ukraine awaiting in the quarters. 

In a shock pick, Caldwell is backing Scotland to down a "vulnerable" Belgium side in a potential Cinderella story. Scotland has never advanced out the group round at the Euros and went without a win at UEFA Euro 2020, though the side managed a scoreless draw against England.


Caldwell's UEFA Euro 2024 Quarter-Final Picks

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Croatia vs. Germany
Portugal vs. Austria

Scotland vs. France
England vs. Spain 

A Germany-Croatia match will be headlined by long-time teammates Toni Kroos and Luka Modric going head-to-head for the final time. Caldwell likes the host side to win the matchup and advance to the semifinal in Munich.

The Scottish dream comes to an end against the reigning champions in France, while Caldwell backs Spain to take a heavyweight matchup against the England, who suffered a 1-0 loss to Iceland in a warmup game last week.

"I'm not feeling great about England going into this tournament, even though they've got all the pieces," Caldwell explained. "I don't think that they're going to play to their full potential."


Caldwell's UEFA Euro 2024 Semifinal Picks

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Germany vs. Portugal
France vs. Spain

Caldwell believes Germany will edge Portugal for a spot in the tournament final in Berlin, while Spain finally keeps France out of a tournament final, taking their own step forward. 

"I just feel Spain are such a good a side," Caldwell said. "Young, exciting vibrant. They're winning it [versus France], they're playing Germany in the final."

 

Caldwell's UEFA Euro 2024 Winner

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Germany vs. Spain

After going out in the Round of 16 at Euro 2020 and failing to escape the group round at the 2022 World Cup, Caldwell believes Germany can rally to take their first Euro title since 1996 and first major title since the 2014 World Cup.

"Don't hate me at home, I did my best with this, but I've got Germany in the final in Berlin, celebrating with the home fans," Caldwell said as he revealed his final pick. 

Caldwell's projected champion - Germany - will kick off the tournament at 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT. Friday LIVE on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App..