Whisper it, but this may be Englandโs best chance of winning a major international tournament in decades.
Gareth Southgate will take a squad of generational talents to EURO 2024 in Germany this summer. Yes, there are vulnerabilities in defence and in midfield should Declan Rice get injured, but all things considered the Three Lions are in a great place to lift the trophy.
Seven teams potentially stand in their way of triumphing in the EURO 2024 final in Berlin on July 14.
Group of Life?
The EURO 2024 odds make England the 3/1 favourites to prevail in Germany, with that status as favourites aided by what can only be described as a โhelpfulโ Group C draw.
Others prominent in the EUROs outrights betting include France and Germany, but they โ the former in particular โ have a much tougher group to get through than England.
History tells us that caution should always be taken when assessing England’s chances at a major tournament but (on paper) the Three Lions appear to have a straightforward task.
Serbia are Englandโs first opponents. They were knocked out during the group phase of World Cup in 2022 having failed to win a game, before squeaking through EURO 2024 qualification โ finishing behind Hungary and just three points ahead of rowdy neighbours Montenegro.
They have some interesting players โ Premier League fans will remember Aleksandr Mitrovic, while Dusan Vlahovic andย Sergej Milinkoviฤ-Saviฤ have elite-level quality โ but Serbia are unlikely to trouble England too much.
YESSSSSSSSS!!!
The #ThreeLions are EURO finalists for the first time! ???? pic.twitter.com/AYddcT0xJt
โ England (@England) July 7, 2021
Next up comes Denmark, who the Three Lions beat at the rescheduled EURO 2020. The Danes also went out of the World Cup at the earliest opportunity, before conceding an average of a goal per game in EUROs qualifying โ in what was, it has to be said, a comfortable group.
Slovenia are Englandโs third and final opponents in Group C. They finished level on points with Denmark in qualifying, which ensured they will make just their second-ever appearance at the EUROs. However, goalkeeper and captain Jan Oblak aside, they lack the sort of world-class individual talent that can hurt Southgateโs men.
Knockout Blow
We can then trace Englandโs possible route to the final, using the betting odds as our guide.
Itโs expected that the Three Lions will win Group C, which will pit them against the best third-placed team in either Group D, E or F. Possible opponents include Austria, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic โ any of whom England will be an odds-on favourite to overcome.
According to the bookmakersโ odds, Englandโs quarter-final opponents could well be Italy โ a repeat of the EURO 2020 final, of course, where the Italians were the victors via penalties.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, as the old saying goes, and while the temperatures in Germany should be pretty toasty this summer, Southgate and his players will be seeking redemption against the Azzurri.
If they overcome Italy, England could face their hardest opponent of the whole tournament in the semis โ if the groups and brackets play out as expected, France will await in the last four.
France overcome England to secure place in the Semi-finals!@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
โ FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 10, 2022
They beat England in the quarter-finals at the World Cup in 2022, with a talented squad now enhanced by a number of young stars that have emerged since. This semi-final could be the game of the tournamentโฆ what a shame itโs so unlikely that the two teams will meet in the final.
If the Three Lions can overcome Kylian Mbappe and co, their final opponent will come from the top-half of the draw โ as per the betting odds, the most probable opposition will be one of Germany, Spain or Portugal.
Each would provide a mouth-watering clashโฆ but it would somehow be immensely satisfying for England to beat Germany in the final on their own patch, after all the heartbreaking defeats the Germans have handed out to the Three Lions over the years!
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