With the much anticipated Euro 2016 tournament finally set to kick off this week, with hosts France taking on Romania in the opening fixture, teams having started to arrive in France with the possibility of filling their hotel suites for over a month should they make it to the final. With the usual suspects expected to make up the majority of the final 16 teams, there are not many teams who are fancied to pull off a Leicester City style upset this summer.
Five of the world’s top ten FIfa ranked teams will be taking part in Euro 2016, with others including Italy, England and hosts France hoping to make a mockery of their position in the standings. Roy Hodgson’s men will be confident of making it safely out of Group B having made it to the finals as the only team with a 100% qualification record, and bookies.com have located the best football odds of 8/1 from online bookmakers. Rooney and Co will be based at the Stade Des Bourgognes during their stay in France, as they look to win their first European Championship in their history. A group containing Russia, Slovakia and neighbours Wales should pose little threat to an England side paced with attacking talent, and it is never going to be too early to back the three lions to make history come July.
With so much talent throughout the tournament this year, we could well see an outsider in real contention come the knockout stages. The likes of Croatia and Belgium, who can draw upon the services of Luka Modric and Eden Hazard among others, are just two teams favoured by bookies.com to cause an upset, with odds from bookmakers of 28/1 and 10/1 respectively.
However, with a repeat of the Euro 2004 finals in which Greece shocked the footballing world to claim glory seeming unlikely, the likes of world champions Germany and defending champions Spain will certainly once again be the most fancied in the football betting. Although, without a recognised goal scorer in both squads, this year’s golden boot award could well be one of the most lucrative markets in the football betting this year. Antoine Griezmann has been specifically picked out by bookies.com as a man to potentially pick up the prize this year.