Who are the contenders and pretenders going into the much anticipated Euro 2020 competition next month?
A year after UEFA Euro 2020 was originally supposed to get underway, the tournament is finally almost upon us. Rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic that raged across Europe last year and wreaked havoc with sporting events the world over, it’s been an unprecedented long wait for the resumption of the biggest national competition on the European soccer landscape. But now that it has and only a few weeks remain before the best of Europe’s national soccer squads fly their country’s flag high at the prestigious Euros, we look at the robust serving of betting odds that’s on offer with many online sportsbooks in search of the top contenders to spot.
As per Bovada Sportsbook (see odds listed below), the top contenders are France, England, Belgium, Spain and both Germany and Portugal. These six nations are priced in triple-digits and rank amongst the best national teams in FIFA’s rankings. However, there are teams a few rungs lower on the betting list (the so-called pretenders) that could surprise. Those teams are Italy, Netherlands, Croatia and Denmark.
Naturally, World Cup champions France are the team to beat at +450. Didier Deschamps’ France are the overwhelming faves in the eyes of many bettors, even though both England and Belgium nip at their heels as the second and third faves at +500 and +550, respectively. The embarrassment of riches at Deschamps disposal is the envy of any coach. Paul Pogba, Antoine Greizmann, Hugo Lloris and Raphael Varane are just some of the many named to the squad recently, as well as veteran Karim Benzema who’s received a call to national duty after almost a six-year absence.
Alas, Les Bleus have been drawn into Group F which is in no uncertain terms the proverbial group of death in the tournament. With Germany, Hungary and defending Euro champions Portugal contained within, it’s going to be a right tussle to advance out of the round robin stage. Not for nothing are both Germany and Portugal therefore tipped at +900 to win the tournament because should either or both survive this section their value is sure to shorten significantly on the soccer odds board.
Germany are notorious competitors with a track record of success on the international stage that’s something to behold. They did stumble in their last national outing when as the defending champions they suffered an ignominious exit in the round robin stage of the 2018 World Cup. They’ll be motivated nevertheless to mend their reputation and reclaim the respect of their peers in this tournament.
Portugal, arguably, bring an even better squad to this Euro competition than it did more than four years ago now. Cristiano Ronaldo leads a star-studded A Selecao cast that includes Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Jota, to name a few.
England are dubbed as the second-best bet in the tournament, but to look at their group is to equally get a sense of foreboding. Although Group D is nowhere nearly as daunting as Group F, it’s the sort of group that might not be trickier than initially anticipated. Scotland, Croatia and the Czech Republic could do some damage and thwart Gareth Southgate’s side in the tournament, not unlike the shock the Three Lions suffered In 2016 when they stumbled out of the Euro tournament in the R16 to Iceland. Then there’s the fact that Croatia finished runners-up to France in the World Cup finals three years ago, stunning more than a few ardent soccer betting fans by beating England in the semis 2-1.
Over the last few national tournaments, Belgium have been on the receiving end of a measure of favour. However, they’ve yet to live up to the expectations in both Euro and World Cup competition. On an individual level, there’s a lot to like about the talent contained within such as Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard (should he be 100%) and Thibaut Courtois.
What might favour the Belgians—at least in the early stages – is the fact that they’ve been drawn into a group that is potentially winnable. Group B features Denmark, who are the dangerous floaters in their section but Russia and Finland are amongst the longshots of the tournament with most sports betting sites offering five-digit odds where those two squads are concerned.
Spain falls into a group that includes Poland, Slovakia and Sweden – three teams that are priced no better than +8000 with Slovakia the longshot at +35000. Spain’s position in Group E is reason to consider La Furia Roja in the betting as it’s one of the easiest groups based on how the competition is viewed at the best sportsbooks. And at +800 they’re a tasty and reasonable bet to contemplate for early soccer picks.
Turkey (+5000), Switzerland (+8000) and Wales (+20000) are teams that could surprise in the competition, but they fall into the same group as Italy (+1000). I Azzurri are amongst those teams that have a legitimate shot to claim the trophy in this tournament so it would take something special by one or more of the aforementioned triplet to advance out of Group A, never mind make a run for it.
On paper, the easiest group in the tournament is Group E that features Austria (+12500), Netherlands (+1200), North Macedonia (+40000) and Ukraine (+10000). Certainly, if a Cinderella story were to emerge, it wouldn’t be surprising if it came out of this section.
· France+450
· England+500
· Belgium+550
· Spain+800
· Germany+900
· Portugal+900
· Italy+1000
· Netherlands+1200
· Denmark+2200
· Croatia+4000
· Turkey+5000
· Poland+8000
· Sweden+8000
· Switzerland+8000
· Ukraine+10000
· Austria+12500
· Russia+12500
· Czech Republic+15000
· Wales+20000
· Hungary+25000
· Scotland+25000
· Finland+35000
· Slovakia+35000
· North Macedonia+40000
You can find this odds at Bovada Sportsbook (visit our Bovada Review)