England are now favourites to win Euro 2024 according to the majority of bookmakers....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The shift comes after the group stage draw for the tournament took place in Hamburg, with Gareth Southgate’s side landing Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia in Group B.
Heading into the draw, and for the weeks preceding it, England were joint-favourites with France according to betting sites, with both teams priced at 7/2.
However, now the majority of companies have kept the Three Lions on that figure, but moved Les Bleus down to 4/1.
That comes after France, the 2018 World Cup winners and 2022 World Cup finalists, landed fellow giants the Netherlands, and in-form side Austria.
They will also be joined in Group D by the winner of play-off path A, which could be any one of Wales, Finland, Poland or Estonia.
Behind England and France are hosts Germany as third favourites, followed by Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.
England and France last met at the 2022 World Cup, with Didier Deschamps’ champions victorious in a tense 2-1 win.
Things could have been very different, with England captain Harry Kane missing the chance to equalise late on, blasting his second penalty of the game over the bar.
A lot has changed since then, though, with Kane flying and full of confidence at Bayern Munich, and perhaps deadlier than ever with 22 goals and seven assists in just 18 games.
7/2 England
4/1 France
6/1 Germany
7/1 Spain
8/1 Portugal
14/1 Belgium
14/1 Italy
16/1 Netherlands
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham has taken over LaLiga with Real Madrid, showing he has it all by breaking Cristiano Ronaldo-level goalscoring records, notching 15 times in 16 games, despite never previously being relied upon for goals in his career.
France, on the other hand, continue to produce copious amounts of young talent, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Warren Zaire-Emery headlining the list, but there’s confusion elsewhere.
Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo-Muani were expected to form a front line to die for after joining Kylian Mbappe at PSG, but so far it’s not turned out that way, leaving Deschamps stuck between the new generation and the tried and tested Olivier Giroud.
But for every France problem, there’s one for England, with Southgate likely to rely on both Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips despite their lack of form and game time at club level.
There’s still little to choose between the line-ups on the teamsheet, but the groups could well prove decisive as England legend Alan Shearer explained.
“I don’t think England can complain with that group,” he said.
“I think it’s pretty favourable when you look at some of the teams that have been drawn out against each other so I think Gareth [Southgate] will be extremely happy.”
