In the Mixer: England favourites as 8 experts pick their Euro 2024 winner
Content Editor at Free Super Tips, Alex was born in the shadow of Old Trafford and is an avid Man Utd fan. After graduating from university he combined his love of football, writing and betting to join FST and now closely follows goings-on in all of the top European leagues.
In The Mixer is FST’s weekly column where we catch up with eight experts in football betting and get their opinion on the hot topic of the week.
The World Cup may be over but there is plenty to get excited about and our experts have wasted no time in looking ahead to Euro 2022, with eight experts picking their best bet for the winner.
Three Lions attract backers
Gareth Freeman
Sports journalist at Free Super Tips
I tend to be fairly pessimistic when it comes to England but if I try and be as objective as possible there are reasons for optimism for the Three Lions and at 7/1 there is value there. After the last couple of tournaments, they’ve perhaps been collectively patted on the back for their displays but the 2022 World Cup feels more like an opportunity missed and there should be a desire to put that right.
Jude Belligham and Phil Foden are already quality players and they will have another 18 months of experience or so under their belts, while the squad looks well balanced in all areas. I’m not totally convinced Gareth Southgate should have been kept on for another tournament but I still fancy England to go far, then get stopped whenever they end up facing the host nation and 5/1 favourites Germany.
Aaron Ashley
Sports journalist at Racing Post
England
Hosts Germany look like opposable favourites and the value could ultimately lie with England, despite the decision to keep the faith with Gareth Southgate as manager..
The Three Lions were runners-up four years ago and then were far from disgraced in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to France, who were just more efficient in the big moments and showed how much quality they possess in their penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the final.
England have some of Europe’s hottest prospects in their ranks with Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham all set to still be 24 or younger when the tournament arrives.
Their recent narrow misses at recent major tournaments should only fuel the fire and I’m not sure they have any real reason to fear anyone, although 15-2 shots Spain too have some of the world’s brightest prospects and would be a threat to all if they could find someone to carry their goalscoring burden.
Aidan Perkins
Sports journalist at ICS
England’s recent performances in the major tournaments have largely been positive and it looks like boss Gareth Southgate is going to stay on for the Euros in Germany to try and finally end the long drought for silverware.
The Three Lions were only a penalty shoot-out away from winning on home soil in 2021 and they have a talented young squad that should be even better when summer 2024 comes around.
Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford are among the players Southgate will be aiming to build his team around in the lead-up to the Euros and there will be a sense of making up for a big missed opportunity in Qatar after England were somewhat unluckily edged out by France in the quarter-finals.
At odds of around 7/1, England look good value to win the next major tournament.
Portugal emerge as best of the rest
Liam Flin
Sports journalist at Racing Post
France pushed Argentina to the limit in the World Cup final but they flopped in the Euros which followed the last World Cup and it remains to be seen how they will perform with Didier Deschamps potentially no longer in the dugout.
My pick, therefore, would be Portugal, who put in a couple of eye-catching performances in Qatar, not least their 6-1 drubbing of a sturdy Switzerland in the last 16.
Rafael Leao and Goncalo Ramos are stars in the making and only add to a litany of top talents in the final third, while Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes are top creative outlets and Ruben Dias is a calm presence at the back.
There is work to do after the World Cup but they were Euro winners only six years ago and if they make the right call with Fernando Santos’s replacement, they could go the distance.
James Milton
Sports journalist at Racing Post
France’s depth of talent and England’s brilliant youngsters mean they set the standard but the 12-1 about Euro 2016 winners Portugal is an eye-catching price.
They looked a liberated side at the World Cup once Cristiano Ronaldo had been dropped, thrashing Switzerland 6-1 in the last 16, and whoever replaces Fernando Santos as coach will have a cracking squad of players.
Ronaldo must be ushered into international retirement and veteran defender Pepe should not be hard to replace while Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who missed the World Cup through injury, is another high-class attacking talent.
Hungary distinguished themselves against some tough opponents at Euro 2020 and in this year’s Nations League and they could be worth a small each-way bet at 150-1.
Aaron Rogan
Sports journalist at Free Super Tips
None of the leading candidates jump out at the available prices, so I prefer a flier on a side who didn’t even qualify for Qatar. As the outstanding golden generations of Croatia, Belgium and possibly Denmark begin to fade, look to Norway as the side to pick up that gauntlet.
Erling Haaland will be 23 at next summer’s tournament and Norway are by no means a one-man team. They have a young squad which includes Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard and Brentford’s Kristoffer Ajer.
Their Under 21s play at their first Euros in 10 years next summer, while 18-year-old Andreas Schjelderup looks set to be Norway’s latest wonderkid. Norway’s squad contains players from Napoli, Sassuolo, Benfica and Roma, so they’ve got a solid group supporting a striker who could be the best player in the world after another 18-months under Pep Guardiola’s watch.
At a massive 66/1, they’re worth an each-way look.
Ian Wilkerson
Sports journalist at Racing Post
The fact the finals are just 18 months away perhaps means we can pay more attention to the most recent form, and to that end there is little doubt France are the team to beat.
Didier Deschamps’ squad were the outstanding European team at the World Cup and they were still missing stars such as Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema who could still easily be involved in Germany in the summer of 2024.
They have some making up to do in the Euros as well, falling to Portugal at home in 2016 and then shockingly to Switzerland on penalties two years later, so there should be plenty of hunger and a lack of complacency.
Of the others, Germany should still be difficult to beat on their own patch despite another miserable World Cup, and England and Spain’s young exciting squads should also play a prominent role.
Bobbie Jackson
Sports journalist at ICS
Spain laid down an early marker at the 2022 World Cup when beating Costa Rica 7-0 but the goals dried up as the competition developed and they came up short against Morocco in the quarter-finals.
New head coach Luis de la Fuente inherits a hugely talented squad with plenty of young stars to work with and they look an attractive option at 7-1.
La Roja had the fourth-youngest squad in Qatar with the likes of Gavi, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Nico Williams all getting the chance to experience a major competition.
La Fuente will need to solve the problem of putting the ball in the net consistently but have to be regarded as contenders for Euro 2024.
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