Euro 2024 is just around the corner, with twenty-four nations battling out for the Henri Delaunay Cup in Germany, with the hosts kicking off the tournament against Scotland at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
With millions of pounds expected to bet on the tournament, there will be numerous betting promotions for punters across the month-long event, but who are the favourites to win? Check out a brief rundown of the main contenders.
The Favourites
According to numerous bookmakers, there are realistically five nations with a genuine chance of winning the UEFA European Championship.
England go in as narrow favourites, looking to go one better than their penalties loss to Italy in 2021. In attack, the Three Lions look brilliant, especially with Bellingham and Foden both having amazing seasons and captain Harry Kane once again scoring a hatful of goals, but defensive questions still need answering.
France is just behind and arguably has the best squad, led by Kylian Mbappe. An in-form William Saliba in the backline and the return of Ngolo Kante will only boost the side further, but Didier Deschamps’ side has been a little below par in recent contests, so they will need to pick up the pace again.
Germany is next, with the hosts finally returning to form, beating both Holland and France recently, which coincided with the return of Toni Kroos to the international fold, however, it will be interesting to see how they manage the huge expectation on their shoulders as host nation.
Portugal will be looking to repeat the 2016 victory, with Roberto Martinez having an embarrassment of riches in attack, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes in the side, while at the back Ruben Dias marshals a very competent defence, they could well go all the way in Germany.
Spain is the last of this quintet, with the side going about their business as usual, winning plenty of games, including a UEFA Nations League final and refreshing the squad with youngsters such as Lamal and Nico Williams. They arguably have the best holding midfielder in the world with Rodri and not many mentions them as favourites here, which may be a blessing in disguise for Luis De La Fuente.
The Possibles
After the main group of favourites, three sides could go all the way if they play to their best, with one of them the current holders.
Italy won in 2021, beating England on penalties, but have spent time rebuilding the side after a large chunk of the squad went into international retirement. They may not be quite the force they were, but a chance to retain their crown may just give the Azzurri that extra push to the later stages.
Belgium and Holland feature in this trio, with both sides flattering to deceive for many years. The Belgians still have the remains of their “golden generation” and a fit Kevin De Bruyne, but it may be a step too far for the Red Devils.
By contrast, the Dutch look to be an exciting team, with plenty of young talent coming through. They will certainly cause a fright or two, but I think this tournament may come too soon, with the 2026 World Cup likely to see a more experienced Oranje side push on further.
The Outsider
All of the above nations are no higher odds than 18/1 across many betting markets to win Euro 2024 and the rest are 40/1 or greater, so finding genuine value with an outsider is tough, but not impossible.Croatia is probably the pick of the rest of those outsiders, with Luka Modric still pulling the strings for the side at 38 years old. It is easy to forget that they narrowly lost on penalties to Spain in the UEFA Nations League last Summer, so despite an ageing side, they still have plenty about them to go far, with Andrej Kramaric scoring the goals.
