We asked Gemini and ChatGPT:  Which national football teams are better, the Euro 2024 participants or those from the 2004 tournament?

*Since we are talking about European football in this article, we use “football” instead of “soccer” everywhere in the text.

The combination of sports and high technology has always sparked a need for people to reach new heights, set new records and set their sights on new opportunities. In the spirit of one of the most important sporting events this summer – EURO 2024, our team felt nostalgic for the magic of Zidane, Del Piero, Beckham, Gerrard, Maldini and all the other mega stars of European football from 20 years ago. And what would happen if their national teams from Euro 2004 could face their countrymen playing at Euro 24? You’ve asked yourself the same question more than once, haven’t you?

For us, the answer to the question “Which generation of footballers is better?” is clear – the stars from 2004, but what does AI think about it?

We asked Gemini and ChatGPT to find, analyze and compare the qualities and performances of the best players of the Euro 2024 “Big 5” with those of the 2004 European Football Championship. We focused on the teams of England, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, because if we were to compare all the strong teams, the article would be too long (sorry, but you won’t find anything about Cristiano Ronaldo in this post).

The process

For the purpose of our test, we chose the following 3 criteria (of course we do not claim that they are sufficient and the most credible, we just decided to be exactly those 3) to be answered by the two most used AI assistants:

• 11 starting players + 5 best reserve players
• In which team each footballer played in the season before the European Championship in which he participated
• If they could play one final match against each other, who would win – the Euro 2004 stars or the current Euro 2024 football influencers?

If we’ve managed to get your attention and you can’t wait to find out if any of your favorite footballers from the past have made it onto the AI rankings and how Gemini and ChatGPT ranked them, you’ll have to wait a little longer because first we want to show you the prompts we used for our test. Of course, we used identical prompts so that we don’t have a conflict of interest and have to disqualify someone from the match.

The prompts

Initial selection of players

Prompt: “Hello Gemini / ChatGPT, please prepare a list of 11 starting players + 5 best reserve players for the [country name] team at Euro 2004.”

As you can see, Gemini is doing quite well, even anticipating our future question about which team each player plays on. Did you notice how the Romanian Adrian Mutu found a place in the Italian national team? Not cool, Gemini, not cool at all!

ChatGPT did not offer us the teams in which the players played but took the initiative to add the position in which each player played.

Players’ club teams

Prompt: “In which team each footballer played in the season before Euro 2004?”

Most club teams with national players according to Gemini:

Also, Gemini decided that there was no need to include reserve team players in this table and only the starting 11 for their countries made it into the table.

Let’s see what our other quiz participant has to say on the subject:

Most club teams with national players according to ChatGPT:

Here we see that absolutely all the players are included in the table and there are no people added from different countries.

What is striking is that there are no major discrepancies between the names of the players the two AI assistants included in their lineups.

The AI final verdict

Most likely everyone reading this article knows the names of at least 6-7 of the current players from the group of, as we called them earlier, the “Big 5”, we decided to save our AI friends a resource. We didn’t make them look up the Euro 2024 player lineups, teams and positions, but if any of you want to find everything about them, the best place is on the official UEFA website.

So what outcome of the possible generational clashes did Gemini and ChatGPT predict? Here are their long-awaited answers:

Prompt: “if they could play at the final match, who would win it: England 2004 vs. England 2024; Germany 2004 vs. Germany 2024; Italy 2004 vs Italy 2024; France 2004 vs France 2024; Spain 2004 vs Spain 2024?”

ChatGPT’s prediction

Dream Final Showdowns: Euro 2004 Legends vs. Euro 2024 Stars

The hypothetical final matches between the Euro 2004 legends and the Euro 2024 stars of England, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain would be an epic clash of eras. Each match-up would bring different strengths and weaknesses to the fore. Let’s delve into who might win these dream encounters.

ChatGPT’s Overall Winner: Modern Star

While the legends of Euro 2004 bring a sense of nostalgia and individual brilliance, the modern players of Euro 2024 exhibit a higher degree of tactical sophistication, versatility, and technical skill. The evolution of football tactics, training methodologies, and player development gives the edge to the current generation, making them the likely victors in these dream final match-ups.

Gemini’s prediction

Here’s a breakdown of a potential final match between each nation and its past self, considering the strengths and weaknesses of each iteration:

Remember: These are just predictions based on player strengths on paper. In reality, factors like team form, injuries, and in-game tactics would all play a significant role in determining the winner.

Gemini’s overall winner: Modern Stars

An analysis of potential matchups between national teams and their past selves from 2004 predicts victory for the modern iterations across the board. This dominance is attributed to factors like improved tactical awareness, pressing styles, and a blend of youthful talent with experienced players. While the individual brilliance of past legends is acknowledged, the overall balance and adaptability of the modern teams are seen as giving them the edge.

Our Final verdict

As we can see Gemini is much more sparing of words and ChatGPT provides much more information, details, facts etc. However, what both AI tools unite around is that they think each of the teams participating in Euro 2024 will beat their 2004 teammates with ease.

Our team on the other side, as much as we like the AI and take advantage of all the opportunities and prospects it provides, cannot agree with the claims that the teams from 2024 are better and we stand firmly behind our belief that the 2004 teams would have beaten any of the Euro 24 finalists.