Euro 2020, played in 2021, was one of the greatest tournaments in recent memory.
It seemed like every day held multiple instant classics, including the final, which saw Italy lift the trophy after a dramatic penalty shootout against England. With the next edition coming up in less than a year, let’s take a look ahead at some early odds for Euro 2024.
Euro 2024 Odds
Euro 2024 odds are current as of 3:00 p.m. ET on Sept. 5th, 2023, at DraftKings Sportsbook.
- France (+500)
- England (+500)
- Germany (+550)
- Spain (+800)
- Portugal (+900)
- Italy (+1200)
- Netherlands (+1400)
- Belgium (+1400)
- Denmark (+2000)
- Croatia (+2500)
Euro 2024 Best Bet
France (+500)
Yes, they’re the favorites, but not without excellent reason; they are unquestionably the best team in the World. In fact, as co-favorites with perennial letdowns in England, France may be undervalued at just +500.
French striker Kylian Mbappé is building a legacy as the greatest player in the history of international competition. The 24-year-old followed up a 2018 World Cup win as a teenager with an extremely close call in 2022’s tournament, where he had one of the highest single-tournament goal totals of all time, tied Pelé in sixth on the all-time career list, and slotted in a hat trick in the final.
Between the 2018 and ‘22 cups and Euro 2020, Mbappé’s France squad has yet to be eliminated from a tournament by a method that is not a shootout.
After coming so close in Qatar despite being the most-injured team in the tournament, they’ll return players like star goalkeeper Mike Maignan, dynamic attacker Christopher Nkunku, and versatile defender Lucas Hernandez.
This elite French side is only getting better, making them our best bet to win this tournament.
Euro 2024 Contenders
England (+500)
With the same odds as France, the Three Lions are not a squad to be taken lightly. They’re one of the deepest and most talented squads in the World but have not quite put it together under manager Gareth Southgate, as they lost a semifinal in the 2018 World Cup, the Euro 2020 final to Italy, and, of course, a quarterfinal against none other than France in Qatar.
Harry Kane is still the leading man as the captain of the team and one of their most prolific strikers of all time, but the best player right now might be Jude Bellingham, who is tearing it up with Real Madrid.
Keeper Jordan Pickford is always an imposing force. At the same time, forwards Buyako Saka and Jack Grealish have begun to come into their own and could provide excellent attacking support to Kane.
At +500, this probably isn’t the best value, but this squad is as talented and experienced as any England have fielded over the past decade or more; this could very well be the year football finally comes “home.”
Germany (+550)
After bowing out in the group stage as victims of one of the most chaotic groups we’ve seen recently, the much-hyped Germany squad was probably the biggest disappointment of the 2022 World Cup. Amazingly, they had the best-expected goal differential per game of anyone in the tournament based on xG, but some dreadful finishing in front of the net cost them dearly, as they could not convert their chances.
It’s very tempting to write off the World Cup failure as impossible to replicate; their underperformance relative to xG was so drastic that it’s impossible for them to repeat. This might be true; they’ll be better in front of the net in Euro 2024, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be good enough to win.
Another group stage exit would be pretty shocking; Germany does have some of the best playmakers in the World, with the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, and İlkay Gündoğan in the fold. Still, they don’t have a consistent enough striker who can tuck away the chances they need to win big games and get to the end of this tournament.
Spain (+800)
Spain was the only team who may have outplayed Italy in Euro 2020, as they outpossessed the eventual champs by a mark of 70% to 30% and owned the xG contest, too, with 1.62 to Italy’s 0.56. If not for a gorgeous strike from Federico Chiesa and some Gianluigi Donnarumma shootout heroics, it’s possible that Spain would have moved on through that semifinal and knocked off England to lift the trophy.
The Spanish team is full of young faces but have stayed true to their possession-based identity throughout the years. The midfield is their strength, with youngsters Pedri and Gavi joined by Rodri, perhaps the best defensive midfielder in the World.
If new manager Luis de la Fuente can figure out the striker position, Spain could be a real threat to get a step further than last time and win it all at Euro 2024.
Euro 2024 Sleepers
Italy (+1200)
After winning it all last time out, Italy are just the sixth favorite to repeat as Euro champs in 2024. Of course, there’s good reason for this.
Many of the stars of that squad have had a rough couple of years, such as veteran central defense pairing Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, who were critical to the last title run but don’t have much of a future with the team at their age. Star forward Federico Chiesa has dealt with many injuries while Lorenzo Insigne is in MLS.
Then there’s the team’s infamous failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, an astonishing second-consecutive Cup they’ve missed. The loss to North Macedonia was incredibly fluky, as the Azzurri outshot their opponents 32 to 4, but it was an embarrassment nonetheless.
With rising talents like Sandro Tonali joining the squad and critical pieces like Donnarumma and Chiesa primed to contribute again, Italy is far from the juggernaut they were in the summer of 2021, but they’re great value at +1200.
Netherlands (+1400)
Lastly, we come to one of the most snakebitten footballing nations, the Netherlands, who have thrice been runners-up at the World Cup without winning a final and won their lone Euro title in 1988, with three third-place finishes since then.
This team is characterized by a stout defense led by Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, and Nathan Aké, allowing the Dutch to follow a formula that has seen some success in years past.
What makes this Dutch team different from the last one that attempted to win the Euro is its attacking options. Younger talents like Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen give the Oranje hope that this year could be the one, and they could finally get back on top of the footballing World.
