Euro 2020 Winner Odds: Belgium provide betting value
Euro 2020 starts on Friday and our editor Neil Monnery takes a look at the outright winner market to see if he can find some value among the top tier of teams...
France (+460) - France have recently overtaken England as the betting favorite to win the tournament - in large part to the return of Karim Benzema to the squad. The Real Madrid has been on the sidelines for six years and adds a real touch of quality to an already deep selection of forwards.
Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann are superstars as well and the three of them combining sounds great on paper.
They look like they have a top notch midfield with N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba but they may lack a bit of depth in that position.
Hugo Llorios has not had a good season for his club domestically so question marks lay with the number one goalkeeper but I can see why they are the current top betting choice. They may be a little short for me price wise but no reason not to like Les Blues.
England (+600) - I just can’t fathom why England are so short. They look distinctly lacking in the middle of the park and are overloaded with talented wide players. Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford are both lacking form but are expected to start their first game.
Harry Kane is clearly their best player and it isn’t remotely close. My problem with him is he comes so deep for his club and that tactic doesn’t work for his country. At Spurs players like Son, Bale and Moura feed off of passes from deep but with England those wide players don’t make the same runs. I’m not on board with England at all.
Belgium (+750) - For as much as I don’t get why England are so short, I don’t get why Belgium are so long. They should be nip and tuck with France for the spot as betting favorite. They have the best player in the tournament in their midfield star Kevin De Bruyne at their disposal. He left the Champions League final with injury but is looking ever more likely to be ready to go for their opening game.
In Romelu Lukaku they have a striker who is being heavily linked with a potential return to the EPL. He scored 24 goals in Serie A for Inter Milan last season to go along with 11 assists. The 28 year-old has become an all-around front man and if he and KDB are on top-form - they are going to be there or thereabouts.
Portugal (+800) - For the first time in a while, when you look at Portugal, you aren’t looking at solely Cristiano Ronaldo. The Juventus’ front man has been one of the two best players in world football for the past decade but now he has some real talent alongside him at international level.
Bruno Fernandes had a wonderful season with Manchester United but his performances did tail off somewhat in the second half of the season. That is something to watch closely as the tournament starts. They also have Ruben Dias marshaling their defense and the young center-back had quite the season for Manchester City.
Germany (+900) - If the German’s had a superstar striker then they would be significantly shorter in price but anyone who has watched the EPL this season will not have come away believing Timo Werner is the answer.
Mats Hummels and Thomas Muller are both back in the squad having been informed two years ago that their international careers were over. They add plenty of valuable experience with both having been part of the World Cup winning squad of 2014.
You can never rule out Germany but they go into this one potentially shorter than what they should be - probably because everyone remembers that come tournament time - they turn up.
Spain (+1000) - No Sergio Ramos. Not even a Real Madrid squad member in sight. This is not what we have come to expect from Spain coming into a major tournament. Ramos has been the heart and soul for both team and country for the past decade plus.
His omission from the squad due to injury is a massive blow. Spain do have talented players who can step in but do they have that will to win? I’m dubious. Under manager Luis Enrique Martinez no player has scored more goals than the central defender. He’s a huge loss.
Gerard Moreno has had a fine season for Villarreal but Alvaro Morata is expected to lead the line. I’ve never personally been convinced Morata is right at the top in terms of international strikers so this pushes me away from liking Spain.
Italy (+1100) - Like Germany - Italy are known as a good tournament side. Unlike Germany however they are made up predominantly of players who ply their trade in Serie A. Only four of their players play outside of Italy - two in France at PSG and two in the EPL with Chelsea.
With Sergio Ramos out - Giorgio Chiellini takes over the mantle of strongest CB in the tournament. The long-time Juventus star is the Italian captain and they need him to be their emotional leader. This is a relatively new-look Italian side with plenty of young talent coming through. Marco Verratti can dictate play from the center of the park and Ciro Immobile can score the goals.
Euro 2020 might be a tournament too soon for this young side but look for them at World Cup 2022 to potentially do some damage.
Picks: Belgium are the value play of the top-tier teams - best priced at +750 with 888Sport at the time of writing.
