Euro 2016 Odds – Germany Heads the Pack

The draw for Euro 2016 was announced on Saturday and world champion Germany still sit as the favorites thanks, in part, to a favorable grouping. Host France are hot on their heels, though, while surging Spain – who also happen to be the defending champs – round out the top-three.

Will Belgium, the current no. 1 team in the FIFA rankings, emerge from their “group of death”? Can Cristiano Ronald match his Real Madrid form with Portugal?

Let’s have a look at the Euro 2016 futures.

Odds to win Euro 2016:

Germany: 10/3

Germany hasn’t won the Euro since 1996, and the last team to win the World Cup and the Euro back-to-back was France back in 1998 and 2000. Germany’s team will be just as stacked as the one that claim the World Cup, but they have let off the gas in recent months and even had some issues qualifying for the main draw before rounding into form late.

When the European tournament takes the stage in June of 2016, it will be Thomas Muller, Marco Reus, and Mario Götze leading the way.  They are a young but already vastly experienced and will keep the Germany national team dominant for years to come.

France: 3/1

France are at 3/1 largely because they’re the host nation. The squad still has a lot of work to do and off-field drama between Karim Benzema and Mathieu Valbuena isn’t helping.

Spain: 9/2

After a disastrous 2014 World Cup, Spain will be looking to bounce back at the next major tournament. They got off to a great start, dominating the qualification group. But without the combination of Xavi and Iniesta, it remains to be seen whether La Roja can get back to their championship status from years past.

England: 10/1

England had the best qualification run in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. They also have a shockingly easy group for the main draw (Russia, Wales, and Slovakia). But everybody knows how the English tale always seems to end at major tournaments.  Indeed, they’ve never won the European title, with their best finish being third place all the way back in 1968.

Belgium: 11/1

Kudos to Belgium for reaching the pinnacle of the FIFA rankings.  They have talent all over the field and can beat anyone in any stadium on any day, especially if they maintain their aggressive style.  They’ve never won a major title, though, and will have to get out of a group which also contains Italy, Ireland, and Sweden if they’re going to end that drought in 2016.

Portugal: 16/1

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only reason Portugal finds itself this high in the odds. But Ronaldo has struggled lately with Real Madrid, and he hasn’t been great with the national team – either with his play or his attitude – in recent years.

Italy: 20/1

Italy has four World Cup titles to its name, but just one Euro (1968). They’ve lost two finals since then. Another member of the “group of death,” the Azzurri would likely be ecstatic just to reach the finals this time around.

The Field:

Austria: 33/1

Croatia: 33/1

Wales: 50/1

Poland: 66/1

Russia: 66/1

Switzerland: 66/1

Czech Republic: 80/1

Iceland: 80/1

Turkey: 80/1

Sweden: 100/1

Republic of Ireland: 150/1

Slovakia: 150

Ukraine: 150/1

Romania: 250/1

Hungary: 350/1

Albania: 500/1

Northern Ireland: 500/1

(Photo credit: Steindy (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo may appear cropped.)