What to watch at EURO 2024?

A strange balance

According to the betting odds, England is the number 1 candidate for the championship at EURO 2024 (3/1 odds, meaning bet 1 win 3). According to the Opta Statistics Company's computer, England's probability of winning EURO 2024 at this time is also the highest (19.95%). Strangely, that is a team that has never won the EURO championship. At the other extreme, the reigning EURO champion Italy, with odds ranging from 14/1 - 18/1, and a 5% probability of winning according to Opta's computer, is considered outside the "championship candidate" group.

England (right) is the number 1 candidate for the championship at EURO 2024

This is a rare correlation whenever strong teams enter a major tournament. Depending on their own point of view, each fan can make their own judgment: England (or Italy) will win or… not win EURO 2024, without fear of being considered crazy, because no matter what they say, there is a certain reason. Standing in the middle of England and Italy - according to the betting market and calculations of Opta - are currently France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. It can be considered that all are competing, no one is too superior or too inferior.

For the first time in 20 years, the EURO arena does not have the presence of the World Cup defending champion (because the World Cup championship belongs to a South American team). That is also the detail that makes the race at this year's tournament look more balanced, or more open. In the top 10 of the current FIFA rankings, there are 8 European teams: including the 7 teams mentioned above and the "dark horse" Croatia - the runner-up of the 2018 World Cup (the rest are of course the 2 South American teams Argentina and Brazil). And in the top 25 of the FIFA rankings, all European teams will be present at this EURO.

The EURO arena has always been balanced, almost every team can win every time they play (this is a unique feature that makes EURO different from the World Cup and other continental tournaments). In addition, the competition format since the finals were expanded to 24 teams has led to the consequence that there will be almost no "extra" matches, because everyone has the hope of going on. In the previous tournament (EURO 2020), Denmark lost both of their first two matches, but they won their last match in the group stage and went straight to the semi-finals.

European football awaits a "new king"

This is the 17th edition of the EURO. In the previous 16 editions, there have been 11 different champions (UEFA counts Czechoslovakia’s 1976 EURO win as both the Czech Republic and Slovakia). Yet there is a good chance that a new team will emerge, winning the EURO for the first time. As mentioned, it will certainly be England, who have never won the tournament before. If France or Italy win, one of them will join Spain and Germany as joint-record 3-time winners. If Germany or Spain win, they will be the first team in history to win the EURO 4 times.

Besides who will win, the next interesting question to be awaited at this EURO is how many personal records will the legend Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) continue to write. He is already the record holder for owning too many EURO records (5 times participating in EURO finals, playing 25 matches at EURO, scoring 14 goals, scoring in 5 finals...). Now there will be new numbers every time Ronaldo appears on the field, or scores.

Georgia is the only new face in this year’s tournament (first time in the finals). Every year there are new faces in the EURO, and most of the teams that have just appeared in this arena for the first time have played quite well. So, let’s wait and see, rather than quickly write Georgia off this year’s tournament.

Waiting to see the former players in charge is also an interesting topic at this EURO. Fans have known a lot about Gareth Southgate (England), Didier Deschamps (France), Ronald Koeman (Netherlands) as both players and coaches. This year, the EURO arena suddenly has a series of new faces on the coaching bench, who were notorious when they were playing. They are Dragan Stojkovic (Serbia), Serhiy Rebrov (Ukraine), Vincenzo Montella (Italy, currently leading the Turkish team), Willy Sagnol (France, currently leading the Georgia team). If they succeed at this EURO, the press will have to spend a lot of ink.

Finally, we cannot ignore the topic of the home team Germany. Having lost miserably in the second half of 2023, the Mannschaft had to go through perhaps the darkest period in the history of this team. Then they suddenly turned around right before the EURO, making fans burst with hope.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE TEAM OF EURO 2024

The England squad is valued at around $1.63 billion, the highest of all the teams participating in EURO 2024. England's value is $300 million higher than the next team, France, which is valued at $1.32 billion. England and France are the two teams worth more than £1 billion and are also the two strongest candidates for the EURO 2024 championship. Portugal is the third most valuable team with $1.13 billion. Spain is fourth with $1.04 billion. Hosts Germany are fifth with $916 million. The remaining teams in the top 10 are the Netherlands ($910 million), Italy ($760 million), Belgium ($630 million), Denmark ($466 million) and Ukraine ($408 million).

LN

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xem-gi-tai-euro-2024-185240609222128716.htm