With the curtains closed on the 2023/24 domestic seasons across the world, European fans are gearing up for this summer’s European Championships in which 24 of the continent’s best teams will battle it out in Germany to lift the prestigious Euros trophy.
As with every renewal, there are some teams that look to have superior squads and are capable of walking away with the trophy this summer, however, there look to be three main contenders in this year’s competition, all of which possess the talent that can push them across the line this summer.
We preview the top three teams in the market below ahead of Euro odds for 2024.
England to win the Euro
In the last edition of the competition back in 2021, England got stung by Italy in the final to lose out on their chance to win their first-ever Euro title. However, this year, Gareth Southgate seems to have had the pick of the bunch when selecting which English players will be flying the flag for their country this summer, with plenty of emerging talents to be excited for.
England do enter the tournament as stand-alone favourites at 3/1, with a wealth of top-class players available to Southgate, however it’ll come down to his tactics and who he plays where which will have the biggest impact on England’s success. As well as being favourites for the outright title, three Englishmen feature in the top five of the betting for UEFA Player of the Tournament, with Jude Bellingham (9/1), Harry Kane (10/1) and Phil Foden (12/1) seemingly intent on making their mark in Germany this summer.
As far as group stages go, England look to have a pretty easy ride with only Denmark, Serbia and Slovenia to dismiss before heading into the knockout stages. Before a ball has been kicked, England sit as the overwhelming favourites to top the Group C at 4/11.
France to win the Euro
Naturally, as runners-up in the World Cup final, France find themselves slightly adrift of England in the market at 7/2, marking them as the second favourites for this year’s competition. As with many of the top teams, France in particular have always been strong in both European Championships and World Cups alike with some incredible depth when it comes to squad selection.
It will however take some work in their group stage, as they come up against the Netherlands and Austria who can cause some issues for them, but Poland shouldn’t be playing too much on their mind. France are 8/15 favourites to come out victorious of the group stage and they’ll be relying heavily on the form of their star player, Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe is the market leader for the UEFA Player of the Tournament at 7/1 and Top Goalscorer at 5/1 and, given his performance in the World Cup final in which he scored a hat-trick, it’s safe to say he can make all the difference if he’s at his best.
Germany to win the Euro
The home nation enter the tournament as third favourites at 5/1 and, with plenty of their home fans cheering them on around the country, that could pay dividends by bolstering their campaign altogether. They are three-time winners of the competition and came third back in 1988 when they last hosted.
As we well know, tournaments of this nature bring forth plenty of upsets and the phrase ‘anything can happen’ more than applies to the Euros, so it’d be remiss to write off any of the smaller teams in halting advances out of the group stages. Germany have been bunched up with Switzerland, Hungary and Scotland, who despite not being favoured in the market could certainly put a spanner in the works, however Germany are rightful favourites at 2/5 to emerge unscathed and top Group A.
Euro winner predictions
Despite being speculative at this stage, the market reflects the standards of each team and their chances, and we think England have a good chance of finally being able to shout ‘it’s coming home’ at the top of their lungs. It would seem that should all go well for both teams, a semi-final between France and England could be on the cards, with prospective final opposition in Germany, Spain or Portugal.
Regardless of the outcome, the Euros are always the highlight of the summer for football fans, and will undoubtedly provide us all with plenty of entertainment.
