With most domestic top flights concluded across Europe, the attention will rapidly turn towards this summer’s European Championships. Euro 2024 is being hosted across Germany from June and is expected to bring a jam-packed schedule, given the expansion of the tournament to 24 nations.
While this is likely to heighten the competitive nature of the tournament, there are still a handful of teams expected to dominate and run deep into this summer’s knockout stages. Below, we’ll assess the main contenders to be crowned European champions in Berlin’s Olympiastadion on Sunday, 14th July.
England
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions are currently priced as the 3/1 favourites to lift the Euro 2024 trophy in Germany this summer. That’s based on the Outright Winner market at bet365, which is one of the most respected bookmakers across Europe. It also boasts one of the top-three most competitive welcome promotions in the eyes of The Punters Page, putting it on a par with the bookmaker offers at Parimatch and LeoVegas respectively. England have essentially got enough players to field two strong starting XIs at the Euros, but they’ll need the likes of Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham to shine to give them a chance at a first major trophy since 1966.
France
The French will also feel they have a legitimate claim at being the pre-tournament favourites for Euro 2024. Didier Deschamps’ men are currently ranked second in the FIFA world rankings and were the runners-up in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. France made what could have been a tricky qualification group – involving the Netherlands, Greece and Ireland – very easy. They dropped just two points in eight games, scoring 29 and conceding only three en route to this summer’s finals. The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Aurélien Tchouaméni will be vital to their tournament chances.
Germany
Of course, the hosts, Germany, will also come into the equation for winning Euro 2024. Although they didn’t have to qualify for this summer’s finals, Germany have prepared well for the tournament. In March, they travelled to Lyon to take on France in a highly competitive friendly, landing a comfortable 2-0 win. Germany are in Group A and have a strong chance of advancing beyond a trio of Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland.
Portugal
Portugal are joint-fourth favourites to win Euro 2024 with most bookies, alongside their near neighbours, Spain. Portugal’s squad will be buoyed by the inclusion of legendary forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been named in the travelling squad, say BBC Sport. Aged 39, this could be Ronaldo’s last major international tournament, so he’ll be desperate to go out with a bang. Portugal’s squad is likely to include nine English Premier League players, including Manchester City star, Bernardo Silva, and Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes. Their group contains Czechia, Turkey and Georgia which, on paper, looks like one of the easier draws they could have wished for.
Spain
Spain have been drawn in the so-called ‘Group of Death’ at Euro 2024, joining Croatia, Italy and Albania in Group B. Croatia are no mugs at international level and the Italians are famed for their prowess at major tournaments. As for Albania, they’ll be an unknown quantity as first-timers at the European Championships. Spain have plenty of quality throughout their squad though, even if their midfield may not have the talismanic figures of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets to call upon these days.
It’s also worth not discounting the likes of Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, all of whom have big-game players capable of rising to the occasion on the big stage. It promises to be a fascinating tournament across ten cities and world-class stadiums in football-mad Germany.
