What Will Happen to Football’s Euro 2021?
What Will Happen to Football’s Euro 2021?
This summer was due to see a break from football for many of the top professional players in Europe. However, the 2020 European Championship is now due to take place throughout the summer of 2021.
Originally scheduled to be played from the 12th of June to the 12th of July 2020, the event will now be played between the 11th of June to the 11th of July 2021. The reason for the delay is the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, which has had a huge impact, not only on sport but the day-to-day lives of people across the planet.
UEFA are not only hoping the tournament will take place using the original format of 12 cities in 12 UEFA countries but also that fans will be allowed inside the Stadiums. Baku, Copenhagen, London, Munich, Budapest, Rome, Amsterdam, Dublin, Bucharest, Saint Petersburg, Glasgow, and Bilbao are the 12 cities to be used for the tournament, with the final due to take place at Wembley Stadium, London.
The Favourites
The favourite to win the European Championship with the bookmakers at the time of writing is England and they are available at 6,00 with Bet365. The Three Lions had little trouble in qualifying for the tournament as they finished top of their group, 6 points clear of second place Czech Republic.
England reach the semi-final of the most recent major competition, the 2018 World Cup and will be hoping to go one better and make the final of Euro 2020. England have been drawn in Group D along with Croatia, Scotland, and Czech Republic. With the possibility of 3 teams qualifying from the group, there can be no doubt England are going to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament, especially as they will play every group game at Wembley Stadium.
However, should England win the group they are likely to play one of Portugal, France, or Germany in the Round of 16 and that would be a big test in the first knockout stage of the competition. If England are to succeed, Harry Kane will be the man to score the goals and you back England to win and Kane to be top scorer at 17,00 with PaddyPower.
The current World Cup holders, France, cannot be underestimated, despite landing a tough draw and they would perhaps be favourites if it were not for the fact they are in the same group as Portugal, Germany, and Hungary. France are on offer at 6,50 with William Hill and perhaps Belgium offer better value at the same price with Unibet. Time is running out for several of the leading Belgian players to win a trophy with their country and the fitness of Eden Hazard will be a huge concern for Roberto Martinez.
Germany and Spain complete the favourites to win the 2020 European Championship at 8,50 and 7,50 respectively with Bet365.
Other Euro2021 Contenders
When discussing the potential winner of Euro 2020, Portugal appear to have gone under the radar. The Portuguese are the defending champions having defeated France 1-0 in the final back in 2016. However, despite not having a brilliant qualifying campaign, where they finished second to Ukraine, Portugal have some fantastic talent in their squad. Rui Patrício, Pepe, Rúben Dias, João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Danilo Pereira, William Carvalho, Cristiano Ronaldo, and João Félix are just some of the players who are sure to feature for Portugal in the summer.
Many will be looking at Germany and France as the two teams to qualify from Group F but Portugal will have other ideas and they are available at 11,00 with Bet365 to win the 2020 European Championship.
Those looking for an outsider may wish to consider Italy. They are no longer considered as one of the major contenders in international football but they qualified for Euro 2020 in style, finishing 12 points clear at the top of their group. Italy scored 37 goals and conceding only 4 goals throughout their qualifying campaign, a record only surpassed by Belgium. Italy are 13,00 with William Hill to win the 2020 European Championship and should have little trouble getting out of a group containing Turkey, Switzerland, and Wales.
Top Euro 2021 Goal Scorer
Antoine Griezmann finished as the top goal scorer at the 2016 European Championship as France went all the way to the final. At the time of writing, the Barcelona forward is out at 20/1 with Betfair to finish as the top scorer in 2021, which seems a little generous considering he has over 30 goals for his country and netted 3 times in qualifying. Remaining with the French and an interesting prospect in terms of an outsider for top scorer is Olivier Giroud. Despite remaining a bit part player at Chelsea, Giroud scored 6 goals for France during qualifying and is the top goal scorer in the squad. You can get 34,00 with BetVictor for Giroud to be top goal scorer.
Romelu Lukaku finished with 7 goals to his name in qualifying and has been enjoying a tremendous season with Inter Milan. The Belgian is without doubt one of the in-form strikers in Europe right now and that has to make him one of the favourites to finish as top goal scorer at the European Championship. Lukaku has 57 goals in only 89 appearances for his country at the time of writing and PaddyPower offer 26,00 for Belgium to win the tournament and Lukaku to finish as the top scorer.
Among the favourites to finish as top scorer are Harry Kane (7,00), Cristiano Ronaldo (10,00), Kylian Mbappe (10,00), and Memphis Depay (17,00). In terms of an outsider, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski could be worth a shout. The Bayern Munich man has been enjoying another great season in the Bundesliga and scored 6 goals during qualifying for the European Championship. Poland are very much an outsider to win Euro 2020 but in a group with Spain, Sweden, and Slovakia, they could reach the knockout stages of the tournament. That could give Lewandowski the extra games he needs to score the goals to finish top scorer and he is on offer at 34,00 with BetVictor.
At InjuriesandBans we ‘ve got Euro 2021 previews, stats and every betting angle covered. Stay tuned!
