EURO 2024 group play gets underway on Friday as Germany is prepared to host its first continental championship since 1988. Twenty-four European national teams will work their way through group play to get a slot in the knockout rounds. The games will take place in ten different cities as Italy looks to retain its 2020 title. England, which lost the final to Italy on penalties, are the favorites to win going into the tournament. The first match of the tournament will pit the host nation against Scotland, which will also be the first match from Group A play. Read on to get our Euro Cup betting predictions about this initial group.
Betting UEFA EURO 2024 Group A Predictions: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland | Soccer Odds
Germany
The german team has historically played quite well when hosting continental and international tournaments. They won the 1974 World Cup and finished third at the 2006 World Cup. When they hosted EURO 1988, they made it to the semifinals. In recent years, Die Mannschaft has struggled a bit. They haven’t made it out of group play in a World Cup since 2014, and at EURO 2020 they were eliminated in the round of 16. They are the favorites to win Group A and advance to the round of 16. The other three teams have about the same projected chance (within 15.6 and 16.7% chance) to win the group.
Switzerland
Given how tight this group is, let’s look at some of the other sides as well. This team is in their third straight European Championship and their sixth overall. In the EURO 2020 tournament, they eliminated France on penalties in a raucous round of 16 showdown. Along with France, the Swiss is the only team in Europe to get to the knockout stages of the last five major global tournaments.
Hungary
Hungarians just saw a 13-match unbeaten streak end in a friendly loss to the Republic of Ireland. That streak included an eight-match unbeaten streak in EURO 2024 qualifying, as then won five matches and drew three. They didn’t win any games at EURO 2020, but captain Dominik Szoboszlai, who is also a midfielder for Liverpool in the English Premier League, missed that tournament. He is healthy now, and the Hungarian team has a chance to be a real dark horse.
Scotland
They have never gotten out of group play at EURO, but are here for the fourth straight tournament. Their qualifying group was a real gauntlet as it had both Norway and Spain. The Scots managed five wins in that group, their most in any eight-game group stage for a major tournament, including an epic 2-0 win over Spain at Hampden Park. The Manchester United midfielder had both of those goals and notched seven during the eight-game qualifying round. That was the most by any Scottish player in any World Cup or EURO qualifying schedule. If they finish second in Group A, they could well face England if that team wins Group B, as expected.
The first matches in Group A take place on Friday (Germany vs Scotland) and Saturday (Hungary vs Switzerland). On Wednesday, June 19, Germany play Hungary, and Scotland play Switzerland. On Sunday, June 23, Switzerland play Germany and Scotland play Hungary, and then group play will be done.
I like the edge that the Germans have from playing at home. Based on trends in group play, I like Scotland to finish second after their tough performance against a slate of difficult teams.
2024 EURO 2024 Odds to Win
- England +330
- France +390
- Germany +530
- Portugal +680
- Spain +730
- Italy +1425
- Netherlands +1575
- Belgium +1600
- Croatia +3800
- Denmark +3900
- Turkiye +5000
- Switzerland +6600
- Austria +7500
- Serbia +8000
- Hungary +8000
- Ukraine +9500
- Scotland +10000
- Poland +14000
- Czechia +15000
- Romania +19000
- Slovenia +26000
- Slovakia +46000
- Albania +46000
- Georgia +48000
Ready for EURO 2024! 🤩#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/Fb7WEdgJff
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) March 26, 2024
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