Following the conclusion of the final round of warm-up games, 24 teams head into the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament, a year after it was set to begin. While the likes of England and France may come in as heavily-fancied favourites to lift the trophy, there is plenty of value to be found with a closer look, and here Sports Mole rounds up three bets that we like the look of for the group stage.
Firstly, at odds of around 12/1, we are tempted to back group C favourites Netherlands to have an untimely exit from the tournament at the group stage. Although they still have enough quality in the squad to deal with the injuries of key centre-back Virgil van Dijk and midfielder Donny van de Beek, we would not be surprised to see them fall short under the questionable charge of Frank de Boer, who has picked up just five victories from his 11 games in the hot seat, including wins over minnows Gibraltar and Georgia.
If they are to qualify out of the group, it could be largely down to talisman Memphis Depay's inspiring performances in attack, but a recent 2-2 draw with Scotland and a 4-2 loss to Turkey could suggest they struggle to get over the line against competitive sides, and they will undoubtedly take on some resilient nations in group C. They kick off their European Championships campaign with a game against Ukraine, who pipped Portugal to finish top of their Euro 2020 qualifying group, before they take on a quality-filled Austria side, with the likes of David Alaba and Marcel Sabitzer, and a North Macedonia outfit who will be on a high having qualified for the first major tournament in their history.
With these factors taken into account, we would not at all be surprised to see the Oranje crash out early, and punters can take advantage of a great price of 12/1, just like they can take advantage of a Online Casino No Deposit Bonus.
© Reuters
With the England squad arguably the strongest since the golden generation of Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand, Terry and Rooney, expectations are particularly high on the young but talented Three Lions side, and Gareth Southgate will be desperate for his side to get off to a strong start. Although they face some tough competition in group D, at odds around 5/2, we like the look of a bet on England to win all three group games as they look to march towards the knockout stage with plenty of momentum.
Starting with a game against Croatia at Wembley, Southgate's side will look for revenge against the team that knocked them out of the World Cup at the semi-final stage three years ago, and the opponents have been slightly weakened since then, with key players Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic no longer in the squad after their run to the final in 2018. That is followed by a clash with local rivals Scotland at Wembley, with high expectations to beat a slightly inferior outfit, particularly with the advantage of over 20,000 fans inside their home stadium.
Finally, the Three Lions will take on Czech Republic, with plenty of momentum expected to be under their belt and, despite an undoubtedly tough and resilient opposition, Southgate's men should outclass their opponents in London as their young stars look to prove themselves on the world stage, boosted by one of the world's elite strikers in Harry Kane, who will have his eye on another Golden Boot award after finishing as the top scorer in the 2018 World Cup.
© Reuters
Our final call is for Denmark to top group B at around 9/4, having cruised through qualifying with a strong squad of players, despite being drawn in a group with Belgium. In eight qualifying matches, The Red and White netted 23 goals while only conceding six to remain unbeaten, finishing just one point behind leaders Switzerland, and they come into the tournament on the back of a commendable 1-1 draw with Germany in a friendly.
Kasper Hjulmand's side also won all three of their World Cup Qualifying games at the beginning of the year convincingly, beating Israel 2-0, Moldova 8-0 and a competitive Austria side 4-0 to move comfortably to the top of their group. Although they are drawn with one of the pre-tournament favourites, the Danish national side boasts a strong collection of talent all over the pitch, with Champions League winning centre-back Andreas Christensen and AC Milan defender Simon Kjaer shielding experienced Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel at the back.
Meanwhile, they quietly possess one of the strongest midfield units in the tournament, with Tottenham Hotspur enforcer Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg expected to line up behind Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Delaney and Inter Milan Midfielder and Danish talisman Christian Eriksen, who will also support the front line featuring RB Leipzig target man Yussuf Poulsen and Barcelona's Martin Braithwaite. We would not be surprised to see Denmark spring a surprise on the world's top-ranked club, while comfortably defeating Russia and FInland in their other group games.
