Home of football statistics and historyFootball fans are in for a treat this summer, with the 2024 European Championship in Germany set to deliver a thrilling festival of international football.
Reigning champions Italy will be eager to defend the title, but several other teams have a genuine chance of preventing them from retaining the prestigious trophy. Online bookmakers are undecided on who will be crowned Euro 2024 champions, highlighting how difficult it is to predict the winner of the tournament.
England
Individuals planning to bet this summer will find numerous appealing casino promotions available from various bookmakers, including the generous bwin sign-up offer for new members. This could be particularly tempting for those anticipating a significant wager on England to end their lengthy period without major tournament success.
The 1966 World Cup champions have massively underachieved over the past few decades, but have been touted as potential winners this summer. England suffered a couple of minor hiccups during the qualifying stage, but they still finished a long way clear of Italy and Ukraine in Group C.
While the Three Lions’ squad is packed with talented players, their hopes of success are undoubtedly hindered by the cautious nature of manager Gareth Southgate. The 53-year-old’s safety-first approach has helped England qualify easily for major tournaments, but he has failed to deliver results when the chips are down in major tournaments.
An opening group containing Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia has the potential to be tricky, which makes odds of 4/1 to win Euro 2024 unappealing from a punting perspective.
France
Thankfully, the same cannot be said about some of the other main contenders. These include France, who are rated as the joint favourites to win the tournament alongside England. Quite how the bookmakers think the Three Lions are realistic challengers to France is anyone’s guess given the respective strength of each squad.
Les Blues have a world-class starting XI, while their back-up options are the envy of any of the other nations with designs on winning the tournament. Their standout performer is striker Kylian Mbappe, who will be eager to impress on the international stage before his long-awaited summer move to Real Madrid.
France are unquestionably a more enticing option than England at odds of 4/1 to win Euro 2024, although it would be foolish to think they have a free run at clinching the title.
One of the biggest threats to their hopes is Portugal, who breezed through the qualifying round with a perfect record of 10 wins in 10 games. Cristiano Ronaldo will be eager to spearhead another run at a Euro title, particularly given this is likely to be his penultimate appearance in a major tournament.
The Other Contenders
Hosts Germany could also be dangerous on home soil, although recent friendly defeats against Turkey and Austria have ramped up the pressure on manager Julian Nagelsmann.
Reigning champions Italy have been paired in Group B with Spain, who look a tempting proposition at odds of 8/1 to win the tournament. Veteran manager Luis de la Fuente has a plethora of talented players at his disposal and Spain could mount a strong challenge to win their fourth European title.
Belgium will fancy their chances of making progress this summer after being paired with Slovakia, Romania and Play-off winner B in Group E. Domenico Tedesco’s team were largely untroubled during qualifying and will head into the tournament believing they can finally win major silverware.
Their group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was a massive disappointment and they will be keen to set the record straight in Germany. Odds of 14/1 will tempt punters searching for some each-way value and Belgium may well be the most prudent bet in what promises to be a wide-open tournament.
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