England booked their places at Euro 2024 in style with a resounding win at Wembley over Italy, the very team that broke English hearts at the same venue in the final of Euro 2020. England have confirmed their place as group winners – Ukraine cannot claim first place due to England’s far superior goal difference – but Italy remain in with a shout of qualifying for a tournament they won last time around. And noting that fact, the online sports betting sites still give the Azzurri a decent shout of winning back-to-back European Championships tournaments.
Italy’s path to Euro 2024 is still not assured. Indeed, with Luciano Spalletti’s team soon set to play second-place Ukraine, the team’s prospects still lie in their own hands. However, even defeat in that game – scheduled to be played in Leverkusen, Germany, on 20th November – will see the Italians secure a place in the playoff path, which will result in a further three teams joining the 20 first- and second-place finishers in the ten qualifying groups.
Teams already assured of their place
England have joined plenty of European heavyweights in already securing their place for Euro 2024. Spain, France, Belgium, Austria and Portugal, as well as hosts Germany, are guaranteed their spots. Scotland have qualified, meaning they will feature for a second consecutive time at a European Championships. Turkey somewhat surprisingly topped Group D, meaning either Croatia or Wales will need to navigate the playoffs. Many other places remain up for grabs, while only a few countries are completely eliminated, among them Sweden, who have a fine calibre in European Championship history.
But the fact remains that plenty of big names may need to navigate the tricky road of the playoffs to secure a spot at Germany 2024, and Italy are firmly among them.
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What the bookmakers say
So who will win Euro 2024? Well, unsurprisingly, England are among the favourites with the sports betting sites, while Italy, despite having failed to secure qualification as yet, remain among those with an outside shot. That’s again unsurprising considering the Azzurri’s pedigree – they are the holders no less, and coach Luciano Spalleti still has time to build an effective team, despite the troubles in qualification.
Currently it’s World Cup finalists France who just about lead the bookies’ lists, coming in at an average of around 9/2. France were also the beaten finalists at Euro 2016, winning the World Cup in between in 2018, so it’s no surprise to see Les Bleus topping this list, especially after cruising through qualifying. England, then, come next, with some of the bookies also tipping Gareth Southgate’s men at 9/2. However, the more commonly found price is 4/1 for the Three Lions, and this seems about right considering England were beaten by France in the World Cup quarter final just last year. These two are out in front.
Third on the current list of bookmakers’ odds are hosts Germany, which is perhaps slightly generous considering Die Manschaft have been on a horrendous run of form of late that culminated in the sacking of coach Hansi Flick in September. However, the situation seems slightly more optimistic under new coach Julian Nagelsmann, and the Germans will be surely be difficult to beat on home soil. Having said that, they remain a long way behind France and England in the betting, coming in at around 7/1. Perhaps a more realistic option is Spain, available at around 8/1, or Portugal, further back on 9/1. Spain haven’t had things all their own way in qualifying, losing to Scotland in the process, but Portugal have romped home, failing to lose a game so far. Both of these teams possess an array of talent that would be the envy of many other big nations, and are able to effectively blend youth and experience. The same came be said for the Netherlands, next up at around 14/1. Italy come next at an average of 16/1, suggesting the bookmakers don’t see much chance of this current iteration of the side recreating the magic of 2020. England will certainly hope that their victory at Wembley has vanquished an old foe that caused so many English hearts to break not so long ago.
