There is just under a month until Euro 2016 kicks-off as fans wait with excitement and anticipation for what promises to be an excellent period of football. Over the next few weeks the managers will be confirming their final 23-man squads for the tournament that kicks off with France v Romania on June 10th. Of course, we all hope England will win, but for those of you who will be having a bet on any other sides we will examine who you should be sticking your money on.
England’s striker Harry Kane (R) gestures as he talks with England’s striker Wayne Rooney during a team training session in Watford, north of London, on June 1, 2016.
England are set to play Portugal in an international friendly football match at Wembley on June 2, ahead of Euro 2016. (Photo credit: GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)
The favourites are fairly clear for this one, hosts France, holders Spain and World Cup winners Germany, and it is easy to see why. Starting with France, who have a relatively straightforward group, the hosts are blessed with some truly terrific young talents, including Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann. They have been in scintillating form for their club sides and as European players go, not many have had better domestic campaigns. Another reason to go for France is their home advantage. The last time they hosted a major tournament they won it, with the 1998 Zinedine Zidane inspired World Cup triumph. With the crowd on their side and an electric atmosphere they may be too hard to stop on their own patch. If you fancy them, you can keep up with all the latest news and odds and play a football bet here at Betway. Another frontrunner should be Spain, simply put they have a ludicrously talented squad, the majority of whom have played together, and won together over the past decade. With young starlets such as David De Gea and Alvaro Morata adding to the proven quality of Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos, they could have the perfect blend. The final of the favourite three is Germany. Don’t let England’s excellent recent 3-2 win in Berlin fool you, the Germans know when to take things seriously. Their 7-1 demolition of Brazil will go down in football history and a lot of that team will feature in France. Their qualifying campaign was a bit iffy with defeats at Poland and Republic of Ireland but they made it through and you can expect Thomas Muller and his mates to find an extra gear when the going gets tough towards the knockout stages.
PARIS, FRANCE – MARCH 29: N’Golo Kante of France celebrates scoring his teams first goal of the game with teammates Andre-Pierre Gignac and Antoine Griezmann during the International Friendly match between France and Russia held at Stade de France on March 29, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
As for England, they make up the best of the rest, with the likes of Belgium, Croatia, Portugal and Italy. Roy Hodgson’s men were handed a comfortable group which should be an important factor when considering who to bet on. The unlucky ones were Belgium and Italy, both drawn together with Republic of Ireland and Sweden making up this years ‘Group of Death’. A safe passage to the knockout rounds which can make life so much easier will not happen for one of them.
Overall, it should be a great tournament with many outstanding players and whilst the three favourites will expect to get to the semi-finals, this year more than any has shown that anything can happen in football. So, who knows, we shouldn’t rule out anyone, maybe Northern Ireland will take a leaf out of Leicester’s book and shock Europe!