Women's Euro 2022 Odds: Lionesses gunning for glory on home soil

Football didn’t come home last year, but it could this summer.

England Women’s team will be looking to go one step better than Gareth Southgate’s finalists when they host Euro 2022, a 16-team tournament for which the Lionesses have been installed as one of the favourites for glory.

An impressive unbeaten run under a world class manager has subsequently heightened expectations that this talented Lionesses outfit can go all the way and win their first major tournament.

BettingOdds.com has taken a look at the prices in a wide-open outright winner market, assessed England’s chances of glory on home soil, and picked out some fancies in an intriguing race for the Golden Boot…

The action gets underway on Wednesday 6th July at Old Trafford when England lock horns with Austria, and runs through to the final at Wembley on Sunday 31st July - All matches will be shown on the BBC.

What are the odds saying?

Spain are the narrow favourites for Euro 2022 glory with most bookmakers (best-priced 9/2, bet365).  La Roja have surprisingly never been crowned European Champions but are currently unbeaten in 22 matches stretching back over two years: this dazzling streak contains 19 wins, three draws, 108 goals scored and just two conceded. Incredible numbers. 

Boss Jorge Vilda has an immensely talented pool of players at his disposal (mainly from Barcelona who won every league game and reached the Champions League final last season), however they have been hit by a devastating injury to Ballon d’Or Féminin holder Alexia Putellas, which rules her out of the tournament.

England - more on them in a moment - are also 9/2 with bet365, closely followed by talented France and holders Netherlands (both 5/1), then eight-time winners Germany (7/1) who have lost just three of their 48 European Championship matches.

World No.2 Sweden are well worth contemplating at 17/2. The 1984 champs are located in a reasonable Group C - alongside Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal - finished 3rd at the 2019 World Cup and were brilliant en-route to a silver medal at last summer’s Olympics; memorably smashing the US and Australia in the group stages. The Blue and Yellow have also lost just once in the last two years, which was the Olympic final defeat to Canada.

When it comes to outsiders, Denmark could be an each-way shout at 33/1 with Paddy Power. The Danes were runners-up in 2017 but this time around they feature in a very tough Group B alongside Spain and Germany, which reflects their big price.

Can England actually win it?

There are multiple reasons why this could be England’s time: Home soil, a strong and talented team, a creditable recent tournament record, an excellent manager, while they can draw confidence from this year’s Arnold Clark Cup triumph ahead of Spain, Germany and Canada. Simply put, England have every chance of thriving at Euro 2022.

In ​​Sarina Wiegman, England have a tactically astute, experienced, ruthless - she opted not to select influential former skipper Steph Houghton - and successful manager who knows what it takes to win a major tournament after propelling Netherlands to Euro 2017 glory. Wiegman’s impact since taking charge of the Lionesses has been extremely impressive: 11 wins, two draws, zero defeats, 80 goals scored and just three conceded.

Wiegman will be secretly delighted at England’s Group A. Norway and the returning Ada Hegerberg will be a serious threat, but England should really swat aside Austria and Northern Ireland. The real test should come in the quarter-finals where they are likely to face either Spain or Germany. 

It’s always a dangerous game attempting to predict a route to the final, but if England and Spain avoid each other in the quarter-finals then there’s every chance they could lock horns in the final. England, who have come unstuck in the semi-finals of their last three tournaments, are 13/8 (Paddy Power) to reach the final and 5/1 (Betfair) to finish runners-up this time around.

Players to keep an eye on include the majestic Lauren Hemp who could well be a shout for Player of the Tournament, as well as the country’s record-goalscorer Ellen White. 

If you’re after some England-related betting specials, you can back the hosts at 18/1 to score 20 or more goals, 22/1 to reach the final and lose on penalties, and 28/1 to have 70 or more shots on target.

Who will win the Golden Boot?

Ellen White boasts an impressive record for England and will be playing in front of home crowds, meaning its no surprise to see the Man City star installed as one of the favourites to win the Golden Boot (7/1). White, who is also 8/5 to be England’s top scorer, hit the half-a-century mark for England earlier this year - a record - and was joint top-scorer at the 2019 World Cup. Providing she’s fully fit and recovered from Covid, she has an excellent opportunity to rack up the goals this summer.

Beth Mead (16/1) has been in great form of late and is 7/2 to top score for the Lionesses, while Lauren Hemp represents a tasty 33/1 outsider in the outright market.

In the absence of both star player Alexia Putellas and record sharpshooter Jennifer Hermoso (both injured), Spain will look to Real Madrid's Esther Gonzalez for goals. The 29-year-old, who has 16 goals in 22 games for her country, is available at an even more tempting 16/1 to top the goal scoring charts, and a tempting 33/1 to top score with Spain winning the Euros.

Another player with a real eye for goal is Marie-Antoinette Katoto (7/1), who scored 32 goals in 33 games for PSG last season and has accumulated 24 goals in 29 games so far for France. The 23-year-old could potentially run riot in Group D.

Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema simply can’t be overlooked at 8/1. Aged 25, she has the most goals in WSL history and has already hammered in 92 goals for her country. There's every chance she could well hit the century mark this tournament given that she could go big in the group stages.

Germany's Lea Schuller is in the mix around 12/1, Stina Blackstenius (25/1) is worth keeping an eye on, especially if Sweden go deep into the tournament. Not too many are predicting Norway to go far, however if they progress from their group and proceed to make waves in the KO stages it will be because of the brilliant Ada Hegerberg. After all, this is a player who has scored a staggering 236 goals in 210 games for current club Lyon. Her huge each-way price of 33/1 is well worth taking advantage of. If you're after another juicy price, Norway to win and Hegerberg to top score is out at 225/1 with Betfair.