The 2024 European Championships will take place between the 14th of June and 14th of July in Germany. There are 24 teams in the tournament and they have been drawn in six groups of 4 teams. The top two teams from each group will progress to the round of 16, along with the best four third-placed teams. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at some of the favorites to win Euro 2024.
The Favorites
England
England enter the tournament as the favourites with the bookmakers and they were the runners-up in 2020. England also reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup. England qualified for the competition without a losing a game and they have some exceptional talent at their disposal. Kyle Walker, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, and Harry Kane are world class players in their position. There may be some doubts in central defence and Gareth Southgate’s tactical decisions in the big matches. Football betting enthusiasts will look at England’s recent failures in the latter stages of tournaments and may decide to look for better value elsewhere.
France
France will be in confident mood ahead of Euro 2024 despite falling at the final hurdle at the 2022 World Cup. Like England, the French qualified for the competition without losing a game and will be aiming to improve on their recent European Championship performance having gone out at the round of 16 stage in 2020. However, in their four most recent major competitions (World Cup and European Championship), France have reached the final three times. There can be no doubting their credentials when it comes to the big stage and France will be a team the other nations will want to avoid. Kylian Mbappe is without doubt the star man for France and is a massive threat in attack. There is a youthfulness to the midfield, with Real Madrid duo Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni plus Warren Zaïre-Emery of Paris Saint-Germain.
Germany
Germany are the hosts and will have the backing of the home crowd. However, they will need to improve from recent tournament performances which have left the Germans embarrassed. Germany have exited the two most recent World Cup’s at the group stage and they were eliminated from Euro 2020 in the round of 16. That is simply not good enough for a nation with the proud history of Germany but things could be about to turn for the better at Euro 2024. There may be no standout player in the German squad but there is plenty of young talent, including Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Aleksandar Pavlovic, and Kai Havertz. Blend that with the experience of Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos, and Thomas Muller, and you have the makings of a strong Germany squad that could go all the way.
Other Contenders
Some of the other nations that could shine at Euro 2024 include Portugal, Spain, and Netherlands. The Portuguese are the only team to qualify with a 100% record and will be aiming to give Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe a big send off. Spain reached the semi-final of Euro 2020 but were poor at the 2022 World Cup and will need to convince a lot of people in the group stage that they can go all the way. Netherlands could be a team to watch but you must go back to the 1998 European Championships to find the last time they made the final of the competition. Their defence could be key, with Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, Nathan Aké, and Micky van de Ven an excellent group of central defenders. Belgium will believe they have a chance but have failed to get beyond the quarterfinal stage since 1980.
Top Goal Scorers
We have briefly highlighted over some of the key players for the favorites at Euro 2024 but who could be the individuals that will really shine? Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are expected to compete for the Golden Boot and the Frenchman must be considered the favorite having finished as top goal scorer at the 2022 World Cup. Mbappe has 46 goals in 77 games for France, which is a fantastic record and fans become excited as soon as he is on the ball. France will need Mbappe to score goals if they are to win the tournament. Kane enjoyed a tremendous first season with Bayern Munich on a personal level, scoring 36 goals in only 34 Bundesliga fixtures. However, it was another disappointing season in terms of silverware for Kane and time is running out for the striker to win a major trophy. With Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney having only 3 international goals between them, Kane is going to be a key player for England in their pursuit of the Henri Delaunay Trophy.
It would be no surprise to see England and France in the final, with Germany and one of Portugal, Spain, and Netherlands making the semi-final.
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