Who Are the New Favourites of the 2015 U21 European Championship?

We've now seen every team face off in this year's U-21 European Championship, and as such, we can slowly begin to put together an idea of who really looks ready to go all the way and claim the tournament as their own. 

Eight teams, four games, nine goals and even three red cards have made the opening skirmish of this summer's tournament a fascinating joy to behold—with each team truly offering something unique as the pinnacle of youth football on the continent today. 

What has made the tournament all the more fascinating is the manner in which the games simply haven't gone as planned. Every newspaper and media outlet had their own favourites pinned to the mast, yet such predictions have already been thrown out the window just three days into the campaign. 

This European Championship looks as open as ever and is just waiting for someone to step up and claim it as their own. So just who are the new favourites for this competition?

Before we get stuck into what many will consider the obvious choices for such a title, it's worth mentioning a dark horse that has popped up over the course of the first round of action. 

Denmark kicked things off in this year's opening game against hosts Czech Republic with a 2-1 win that only came about after going a goal down.

The hosts had hit the ground running—a regular occurrence at international tournaments—and found themselves a goal to the good when impressive right-back Pavel Kaderabek opened the scoring in the 35th minute. Denmark were suddenly looking fragile in their very first game.

Then the second half came. An invigorated Denmark, powered by a determined Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Pione Sisto, pulled the game back in their favour with two goals in the 56th and 84th minutes. 

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Initially, it had looked as though Jess Thorup's side may have been full of hot air ahead of the tournament, but in the end they proved just why so many had awarded Denmark the title of dark horses. This team can hurt any in the competition this year and could well surprise a few folk by going all the way.

When we turn to the more established favourites in the competition, we begin with the team many thought were the notable favourites going into this summer excursion: Germany.

The 2009 champions may have stumbled in tournaments since then, but the squad Germany were able to amass for this competition is quite simply head and shoulders above the rest. 

Nowhere else in this competition would you find a player with the quality and experience of Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen—who recently won the Champions League a few weeks ago, if you hadn't noticed—joined by Bundesliga regulars and proven stars Kevin Volland and Max Meyer among a number of other talents. 

What should have been a smooth opening game against Serbia turned into a battlefield in which Germany left with a number of bruises and scratches. They'll have to mend quickly before their clash with high-flying Denmark on Saturday.

Serbia may have floundered in the second half, but they were certainly worth the goal and the point they took off Germany on the day. Add to that the red card to instrumental left-back Christian Gunter and it was certainly a game the Germans just didn't expect or need. 

However, what will baffle those back home will not be the result but rather the manner in which Horst Hrubesch had set up his team in the first place. Rather than play the industrious Johannes Geis in midfield alongside Emre Can, the German coach instead opted for Moritz Leitner—a technical yet shy playmaker on the ball. 

Similarly, Hrubesch's decision to stick by Kaiserslautern goalscorer Philipp Hofmann—one of the few players in the squad who doesn't play regularly in the Bundesliga—did very few favours for him. The lone striker huffed and puffed against an average Serbia defence, all while Volland was pushed out wide and the likes of Serge Gnabry and Maximilian Arnold watched from the sidelines.

It's these tactical decisions that ultimately stole two points from Germany in their opening game and what may end up costing them the entire competition—they will come up against better sides later on in the tournament. 

Ironically, it seems as though Germany are increasingly likely to stumble and fall under their own great weight of expectation. Sure, this squad is bursting with quality, but it's these decisions between one player and the next three that seem to be limiting Hrubesch's hold on the team as a whole. 

As such, it would make sense to bring Germany's expectations for this tournament down a notch or two. They could certainly still go on to win it, but at the moment, they don't look like the best team in this competition, despite the embarrassment of riches within their squad. 

Another team that stumbled through their opening game was Italy, yet unlike their German counterparts, the Azzurri were unable to pick up a single point as they lost 2-1 to Sweden at the Eden Stadium in Prague. 

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Luigi Di Biagio's side came into this tournament with a similar level of optimism to the other favourites, yet within 90 minutes of football on Thursday afternoon, it looked as though the Italians were already getting knocked out of the competition. 

Things started perfectly for Di Biagio's side, when Andrea Belotti was brought down in the Sweden box halfway through the first 45 to earn his side a penalty and their opponents a red card. Young starlet Domenico Beradi stepped up and calmly knocked the ball past Patrik Carlgren in goal. Italy were a goal and a man to the good and looked certain to score again as both sides went into the break. 

Then the madness started. Sweden, despite being a man down and offering very little in the first half, went on the attack after coming out all guns blazing in the second half. After just 10 minutes, Italy's defence buckled when a Swedish corner wasn't dealt with properly, allowing Oscar Lewicki to fire the ball across the Italy six-yard box toward an in-place John Guidetti. 

With the wind in their sails, Sweden took the game to Italy and were rewarded for their bravery in the 80th minute when Stefano Sturaro foolishly lashed out at an opponent and earned himself a straight red.

From there it was one-way traffic. Six minutes later, Isaac Kiese Thelin scored the second penalty of the day and Sweden finished with all three points against the odds.

In a match that was most certainly regarded as a must-win for the Italians, Di Biagio's men go into their next match against a formidable Portugal side needing all three points if they have any hope of qualifying for the next round.

Yet after a result like that, it's hard to see this team as anything like favourites for such a competition.  

Staying in Group B, we have another European giant in England, and the side initially had high hopes of truly sinking their teeth into this competition and seeing what they could bite off. Unfortunately, "bite" is the word that one would least associate with the side that showed up to face Portugal in Prague on Thursday night. 

Gareth Southgate certainly arrived in the Czech Republic with a notably strong squad this month. From Jack Butland of Stoke City in goal and Arsenal's Carl Jenkinson in defence, to Southampton's James Ward-Prowse and the Tottenham Hotspur trio of Tom Carroll, Alex Pritchard and, of course, Harry Kane—England looked ready for battle. 

Indeed, Southgate's side looked structured and well-drilled in the opening 45 minutes against a superior Portugal side, with Jenkinson running the right flank well alongside a sturdy central-defensive partnership of Liam Moore and Ben Gibson. Portugal were jinking between the lines, but at half-time, not a goal had been scored, and England would have been proud of their performance. 

It was only once the game began to get stretched in the second half that things began to turn in Portugal's favour and where England simply couldn't match their opponents on the day. England had been built to withstand attacking sides, but it was the forward men of Kane and Co. that ultimately offered very little on the night and allowed the Portuguese to see out the game with a single goal. 

Despite the defeat, England should be able to take plenty from the game itself. Unlike Germany or Italy, England weren't exactly expected to take much from the opening skirmish against a better team and will go into the next match with Sweden quietly confident of picking up a result. 

Although Southgate's side were always going to be placed behind the other three, England look as though they came out of the opening fixtures with fewer bumps and bruises than either of the two aforementioned nations. If they can keep that going, then who knows where they may end up finishing this summer.

Perhaps the best compliment one can pay to this English side is the fact their opening-day opponents, Portugal, have indeed moved into pole position for the title of "new favourites" within the U-21 Championship. 

Portugal's manager, Rui Jorge, would have been well aware of the quality his side possess when they qualified for the competition after eight wins in eight from their qualifying group. Yet little did the rest of Europe know just how good this side was. 

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Much of Jorge's squad is based in Portugal with just a handful of exceptions, such as Ricardo Horta of Malaga, Valencia's Joao Cancelo and, of course, Bernardo Silva of Monaco, making waves outside of their home nation. 

We've already mentioned how England did well to hold off what seemed like an inevitability on Thursday night when they came up against this side, yet it will undoubtedly be the coming clashes with Sweden and Italy that should offer a real example of just what this team are capable of.

Silva, who played 45 games for Monaco last season, dances through defenders with the ball with the ease and perfection of a young Deco. Alongside him in midfield stands the Goliath William Carvalho, who can either jink past his marker or simply roll straight through him with just as much ease. 

A whole host of other, notable players litter the Portugal team, but it is these two who will undoubtedly take some matching in the coming games. England certainly didn't have the midfield to keep them quiet, and it's unlikely that Italy or Sweden will too. 

Yet Portugal offer much more than simply two exceptional midfielders. Jorge has his team playing as one constant attacking machine that enjoys passing the ball around the opponent before hitting them with force and numbers in attack.

Alas, after all eight teams had said and done all they could in the opening 90 minutes of their competition, only Portugal stood out among the favourites without a single mark on their record. It is they, rather than the might of Germany or the experience of Italy, who now look set to lead the way in this competition over the next few weeks. 

Portugal are now the team to beat, and it will take something special to overcome them if the rest hope to win this trophy.