France is the current World Cup champion and has a collection of stars led by — but absolutely limited to — striker Kylian Mbappé. So it should come as no surprise that it is the favorite to win Euro 2020. But the second and third favorites, by only a small margin, are more unexpected: England and Belgium, mostly because they rarely win anything. England, which hasn’t won a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup but reached the semifinals of the 2018 event in Russia, is the second favorite at 7-1, based on the consensus of odds from bookmakers around the world. That’s not far-off mighty France’s 5-1 odds. England could be helped, eventually, by playing some of the tourmanent’s biggest matches on home soil: the Euro 2020 semifinals and final all will be played at London’s Wembley Stadium. But England must make it that far to benefit, and given that its potential round of 16 opponent could be Germany or Portugal, followed by Spain in the quarterfinals, its presence at the end is by no means guaranteed. As for Belgium, which has never won a major title, it currently boasts a golden generation of players who have led it to a surprising No. 1 world ranking, and it finished third at the 2018 World Cup. That has helped make it the third choice of oddsmakers at Euro 2020, at 7½-1. Just behind are some more expected contenders like Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany, all clustered around 9-1. Who isn’t going to win Euro 2020? Well, if the oddsmakers are to be believed there are three teams with absolutely no hope: Hungary, Slovakia and Finland are all in the neighborhood of 1,000-1. Even North Macedonia (500-1), at least today, is seen as having a better chance of lifting the trophy.
Source: Soccer - nytimes.com
