2024 will see the UEFA European Football Championship return to Germany, although this time we will see games played in the former East German city of Leipzig for the first time. Will the hosts win their fourth title to get away from Spain as the most common winner of this event?
The full details of the tournament
The Euro 2024 matches will be played at ten venues across Germany. The tournament starts on June 14 and ends a month later on July 14, which is the date the final will be played in the Olympiastadion in Berlin. 24 teams will compete, with the final three to be confirmed after the play-offs to be held in March, but who will win the most?
With the Euros approaching, you can bet on results such as the eventual winner or whether a certain team will qualify from their group. Anyone interested in sports betting in Canada can check out the latest football odds for the upcoming games in Germany, as well as the odds on many other sports and events. With teams like Iceland and Wales far down the odds list, we can focus on taking a closer look at those countries who are currently among the overall favourites.
Germany
Could the hosts win Euro 2024 in front of their own fans? They are certainly among the favourites, but the last of their victories came back in 1996 when they won the Euros in England. Since then, their best performance was reaching the final in 2008, where they lost to Spain by one goal to nil.
Germany are joined by Scotland, Switzerland and Hungary in Group A, which means they will play their first matches at the Allianz Arena in Munich, followed by the HPArena, Stuttgart and then the Waldstadion in Frankfurt. The appointment of Julian Nagelsmann has not directly solved the problems the team has had since the 2018 World Cup, but their fans will hope that their encouragement will help drive experienced stars such as Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos to victory.
France
In second place in the world behind the Argentine team that they lost so dramatically in the World Cup in Qatar, France are clearly among the hot favorites to triumph in Germany. They won the World Cup in 2018, while in the Euros their two victories so far came in 1984 and 2000. France reached the final on home soil in 2016, but lost to Portugal on that occasion.
There is no doubt who their main player is as Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick against Argentina in Qatar to become the player with the most goals in the World Cup finals. He is also the top goalscorer in Paris Saint Germain's history and has shown few signs of unease due to the near-constant debates over his future. He is finally agreed to join Real Madrid and will go to the Spanish capital after the Euros are completed, but the question is whether he will do it with another winner's medal in his luggage.
Italy
There is no doubt that Italy will surprise the sports world by winning the 2020 Euros. They did it by working hard and without any of the huge stars that Italian teams of the past boasted. Can they repeat the feat by winning it again in Germany? Their last win in the tournament before 2020 came back in 1968 and they have finished second on two other occasions.
Their place in the tough Group B with Croatia, Spain and Albania does not help Italy's chances of reaching the final again. Coach Luciano Spalletti is hopeful of doing well, but – 2020 aside – this famous footballing nation has struggled in recent years to come close to the heights they have reached in the past. That said, the Italians have shown countless times in the past that they know exactly how to grind out wins in this type of competition.
Portugal
The winners in 2016 will now be led by head coach Roberto Martínez, who will hope to give them their second victory in this competition. All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo as their veteran talisman is likely to play in his last major international tournament in Germany. Among Ronaldo's many achievements, he is the all-time top scorer, so it would be fitting if he walked out with a medal, as few expect him to play in the 2026 World Cup.
Portugal was drawn from the hat alongside the Czech Republic and Türkiye in Group F, where the third member will be one of the winners of the play-offs. Some fans felt it was the end of an era when Ronaldo was left out of the World Cup match against Switzerland and his replacement, Goncalo Ramos, went on to score a hat-trick in a 6-1 win. However, Cristiano has won back his place in an exciting Portuguese team that also has talents such as Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes.
Any of the mentioned teams could win this competition, while we cannot rule out an outsider like Croatia or Spain hitting form and taking the trophy home with them.
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