Euro 2024: top contenders, match predictions and odds
Euro 2024 kicked off on Friday and we’ve already seen some exciting football in this first weekend of the tournament. Whether you’re watching live at home or out at your local soccer bar, or are saving the games to watch when you can, it’s the perfect way for soccer fans to get summer off to a great start.
The Euros never get quite as much attention as the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA Champions League. This is unfortunate, since it’s also a showcase of international talent and is incredibly fun to watch. It has been going on since 1960, and since 2016, the competition has had 24 teams in the finals. This year, it is being hosted in Germany, with 10 host cities providing venues for the matches. Italy are the current defending champions, but it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to hold on to the trophy for another four years.
In this article, we’ll discuss the top contenders in Euro 2024 and our predictions for some of the big matches during the early stages of the competition. We’ll close by explaining where to find odds if you’re interested in betting on the tournament, and some of the bet types available.
Euro 2024 Top Contenders
The Elo system was originally created to rank chess players but in recent years it has been used to rank teams across many sports. It’s a method of data analysis that has been adapted to compare and rank soccer teams. We’ll look at the Elo ranks created by the researchers at Total Football Analysis Magazine to see who the top contenders are in each group.
In Group A, Germany are the obvious favorites. Not only do they have the home advantage, they also have a perfect blend of veterans and energetic young players on the team. Their amazing 5-1 win over Scotland in the opening match of the tournament sealed their position as the team to watch.
Unsurprisingly, Spain are the top contenders from Group B. They are always a formidable team in international competitions and this year is no different. Croatia are close behind them in the rankings, however, so Group B could have some upsets that make the competition very interesting.
England are at the top of Group C. After losing in penalties in the final in 2020, they are hungry for a trophy. Couple that intense desire for a win with a young team full of promise, and England are serious competition. Unsurprisingly, France lead Group D. Their devastating attacking lineup coupled with a tough defense make them a tough team to beat.
Group E is where we find Belgium, a tiny country that has fielded a team that represents the final years of the “Golden Generation” of Belgian football. This is the country’s best chance to win an international competition. Rounding out the top contenders is Portugal from Group F. Ronaldo is expected to be one of the top scorers of the tournament but he’s not the only star and the team is surprisingly well balanced.
Match predictions
Euro 2024 is shaping up to be a close contest and it’s still too early to pinpoint which teams will make it to the final. For those looking purely at the statistics, a final between Germany and England seems possible. The two alternative favorites for the final are France and Portugal.
Finding odds and bet types
The popularity of football betting can’t be understated. Football is the top betting sport in most of the world and during international competitions like the Euros, it gets even more popular. Soccer fans who have a team in the tournament have two choices – place money on their national team out of loyalty or place money on the teams they actually think will win. It’s an easier choice for fans who don’t have a national team playing.
Finding odds on Euro 2024 matches is incredibly easy. Even sportsbooks that don’t typically put soccer odds front and center on their pages will advertise the odds for international tournaments. Since most sportsbooks will have Euro 2024 odds, it’s a smart idea to shop around to find the best odds for the bets that you want to place.
There are many different bets that you can place on the Euros. Basic single event bets remain the most commonly placed bets. Tournaments are the perfect time to place parlay bets – these are combinations of at least three bets where if every bet in the parlay pays out, the parlay bet will pay out. They are high risk, high reward bets.
Over/under bets are more commonly placed on football in the US, but they’re also good bets for soccer. These bets are great when you don’t feel strongly about either team playing in a match. Instead of betting on the outcome of the match, over/under bets are on the total number of goals scored. The bookmaker sets the expected number of goals scored by both teams combined, and you bet on whether or not the total goals scored will be over or under that set number.
The published material expresses the position of the author, which may not coincide with the opinion of the editor.